How did Medusa become cursed?

Medusa and Poseidon engaged in a love affair and would have two children together, but not before Athena discovered the illicit affair. When Athena discovered the affair, she was enraged and immediately cursed Medusa by taking away her beauty.

Did Medusa have names for her snakes?

Medusa’s sisters were immortal but she was mortal. Medusa wandered Africa for some time. Two species of snakes contain her name: the venomous pitviper Bothriopsis medusa and the nonvenomous snake called Atractus medusa.

How Medusa became a monster?

Her beauty caught the eye of the sea god Poseidon, who proceeded to rape her in the sacred temple of Athena. Furious at the desecration of her temple, Athena transformed Medusa into a monster with the deadly capacity to turn whoever looked upon her face to stone.

What is Medusas real name?

In Greek mythology, Medusa (/mɪˈdjuːzə, -sə/; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα “guardian, protectress”) also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair.

Why did Athena turn Medusa’s hair into snakes?

When Athena discovered the sea god had ravaged Medusa in her shrine she sought vengeance by transforming Medusa’s hair into snakes, so that anyone who gazed at her directly would be turned into stone. Stone carved panel of the head of Medusa. ( Shelli Jensen / Adobe)

How is Medusa described in Ovid’s Medusa?

In this work, Ovid describes Medusa as originally being a beautiful maiden. Her beauty caught the eye of Poseidon, who desired her and proceeded to ravage her in Athena ’s shrine. When Athena discovered the sea god had ravaged Medusa in her shrine she sought vengeance by transforming Medusa’s hair into snakes,…

How did Medusa die in the Odyssey?

Transformed into a vicious monster with snakes for hair, she was killed by Perseus, who afterward used her still potent head as a weapon, before gifting it to Athena. Medusa’s Sisters and Birth

Where does Medusa live in Greek mythology?

Medusa in Greek Mythology The Three Gorgons are sisters: Medusa (the Ruler) is a mortal, her immortal sisters are Stheno (the Strong) and Euryale (the Far-Springer). Together they live either at the western end of the world or on the island of Sarpedon, in the middle of Poseidon ‘s Great Ocean.