Perseus, one of the most famous of the legendary heroes of ancient times, was the. The editors of encyclopaedia britannica this article was most recently revised and updated by adam augustyn, managing editor, reference content. One of the best stories to begin with is the story of medusa. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article.
One of the most popular monsters of greek mythology, medusa was a beautiful maiden with golden hair. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos. It is the story in george bernard shaws play pygmalion 19 and the musical and movie my fair lady. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes of greek mythology. Greek mythology matawanaberdeen regional school district. Transformed into a vicious monster with snakes for hair, she was. The story of how medusa was killed by perseus is one of the most thrilling stories in greek mythology. The gorgons lived in the west, near the ocean, and. The amazing story of medusa really is easy reading for kids and children who are learning about the history, myths and legends of the ancient roman and greek gods. The archers drew back their bowstrings, men raised their spears ready to strike down perseus.
Their teeth were giant boar tusks, their hands were made of bronze and they had wings of gold. The sirens were creatures that sang beautifully, luring those passing by to their deaths. Greek mythology introduction the ancient greeks were great storytellers. Apr 18, 2019 in ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the gorgons. The story of medusa zeus, hera and little io greek. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the gorgons. Perseus was born to the god, zeus, and mortal woman, danae, making him a demigod with great strength and intelligent ingenuity. King polydectes tricks perseus into promising to bring back the head of medusa, one of the dreaded gorgons. So, in a twisted series of events, medusa fulfills her role of protecting athena. They washed up on the sandy shores of the isle of lemnos. The myths team many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. Adapted from the myths and legends of ancient greece and rome by e. Greek and roman mythology a to z native american mythology a to z.
Zeus ruled the entire universe no one was mightier than the mighty zeus. Medusa was asleep and perseus, using the reflection in athenas bronze shield as a guide so as to not look directly at the gorgons and be turned into stone, managed to cut off her head with his sickle. Perseus kept medusas unsightly head in bag and used it against his other adversaries. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The story of medusa greek mythology explained youtube. She was then shut in a box with percius and thrown out to sea. Her hair held the same powers as her head so that when it was exposed it caused a storm which chased away the foes. A later version of the gorgon story also tells of further differences between the gorgons, for a story tells of how medusa was not born monstrous but was transformed from a beautiful maiden into the famous monster by athena. The earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiods theogony. Short myth stories and legends roman and greek gods and. Polydectes, the king of seriphus, wishes to marry danae, and plots to get rid of perseus because he may object.
The story begins on the island of seriphus, the home of perseus and his mother, danae. In the british writer iris murdochs novel a severed head 1961, the heroine is a medusa figure. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. Olympus in the form of a stream of gold, which poured through the roof of the chamber, and soon danae had a baby named perseus. Medusa is one of the most famous characters of greek. The gorgons of ancient greek myth were three monsters, the sisters stheno, eurayle and medusa.
She vowed to be celibate her entire life as a priestess of athena until she fell in love with poseidon. There are myths from every culture in the world, but the bestknown ones are from ancient greece, rome or from the norse people of northern europe. Additional facts and information about the mythology and legends of individual gods and goddesses of these ancient civilizations can be accessed via the following links. Each siren combined the appearance of a woman and a bird, with the exact appearance varying depending on the artist. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology with a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. Nov 19, 2018 perseus is not intimidated by the grey women and their eyeball, or by hermes s complicated directions, or by medusa, or by a winged horse sprouting out of medusa s blood, or by andromeda s. Whispers ran through all the people in the temple who quickly began to leave for everyone knew that athena enjoyed watching over the people of athens and feared what might happen if the goddess had overheard medusas rash remarks. Printable version of this story greek index greek coloring pages athena craft medusa craft perseus craft on and on medusa went about her beauty to anyone and everyone who stopped long enough to hear her until one day when she made her first visit to the parthenon with her friends. The story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and. Alongside each photograph, the story of perseus and medusa is told via selected texts from the book book of greek myths by ingri and edgar parin daulaire borrowed from the princeton public library. Perseus was the son of danae and zeus, who came to danae in the form of a golden spring. A beautiful mortal, medusa was the exception in the family, until she incurred the wrath of athena, either due to her boastfulness or because of an illfated love affair with poseidon.
The death of medusa edward burnejones 18331898 pdart100. This differentiated comprehension activity will support learners in reading and responding to questions on a text. He is best known as the slayer of the gorgon medusa, a fearsome monster, and as the rescuer of the. There are multiple myths regarding what happened to the sirens after persephone was abducted by hades, with one saying that demeter gave them wings to search for her and another saying that he cursed them because they didnt stop the abduction perhaps the most famous story about the sirens comes in homers the odyssey, as odysseus. Contents 8 introduction vii map of the greek world, c. The latin poet ovid writes in book iv of his metamorphoses that poseidon had raped medusa in the temple of athena. The myth of perseus and medusa, according to pindar and apollodorus, started with a quest. Daulaires book of greek myths, by edgar and ingri daulaire. Some myths were so good that they have been told over and over, and still are told today. However, it also led to snakes hating mankind for worshiping the olympians. Fearing that, he hid his daughter danae in a chamber underground. According to this ancient author, the three sisters, sthenno, euryale, and medusa, were the children of phorcys and ceto and lived.
Ks2 myths and legends focused reading skills comprehension pack. The earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiod s theogony. Strangely enough, medusas story doesnt end with her death. Medusa is the name of a monster, passed down through the centuries. The gorgons of ancient greek myth were three monsters, the sisters stheno, eurayle and. Although many have seen the image or heard of the great gorgon medusa, the story of her becoming often goes unheard. Use the accompanying powerpoint with this resource as a visual aid to retelling the greek myth of perseus and medusa.
Strangely enough, medusa s story doesnt end with her death. In some variations of the myth, medusa was born a monster like her sisters, described as girded with serpents, vibrating tongues, gnashing their teeth, having wings, brazen claws, and enormous teeth. I also read contemporary retellings by jenny march in the penguin book of classical myths, robert graves in greek mythology, edith hamilton in mythology, and, for a pop culture spin, rick riordan in percy jacksons greek heroes and percy jacksons greek gods. Here are some famous myths weve featured in storytime magazine. Medusa, in greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as gorgons.
She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes. Traces the story of medusa using the ancient sources writing and art and then through the centuries to. In fact, one can argue that the most peculiar fragments of her biography are all posthumous. Perseus hid the medusas head in his leather bag and strode into the great hall. Perseus and medusa photo by nightowl on pixabay, perseus and medusa. The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena a myth submitted to the site by shainuja many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. The story of pandora and her box, snakehaired medusa, and the greedy king midas are three of the twelve myths presented in a colorfully illustrated collection of greek myths. Th e rays of sunlight, which might sometimes be seen across a dark cloud, were apollos golden arrows.
Their bodies were covered with impenetrable scales. Click the link to see the text in its original format. Medusa short tales greek myths library binding january 1, 2008. As an educator and counselor, i often use tales from classic greek mythology as a way of relating common themes that speak to the human condition.
According to this ancient author, the three sisters, sthenno, euryale, and medusa, were the children of phorcys and ceto and lived beyond famed oceanus at the world s edge hard by. Some are new myths about the ancient greek mystical world. The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek. However, she does spend all her life with athena, as she protects her goddess against many foes. The myth of perseus and medusa explained greek mythology. The tale of medusa in greek mythology can be called nothing more than a tragedy, in my opinion. The thing about myths is that the gods adventures might change, but the characters remained consistent. Perseuss grandfather akrisios goes to the oracle to ask how long he has to live. The story of medusa and athena dltks crafts for kids. Her story has been told and retold by ancient and modern storytellers, writers, and artists. This story contains mf sex, it is based on the greek myth of how medusa turned into the monster that most people know of. As soon as perseus was inside the room, phineas called to his men.
Perseus s grandfather akrisios goes to the oracle to ask how long he has to live. Most sources describe her as the daughter of phorcys and ceto, although the author hyginus makes. A story says that hercules acquired a lock of medusas hair from athena and gave it to the daughter of cepheus, sterope, to protect the town of tegea from being attacked. One of my favorites is the medusa story, sometimes referred to as perseus and the gorgon medusa. Greek myths on including adonis and aphrodite, adventures of perseus, ages of man, amaltheas horn, argonauts, birth of athena, centauromachy, creation of man by prometheus, eros and psyche, gigantomachy, idas and marpessa, labours of heracles etc. Arguably medusa is the most famous villainess and monster of greek mythology, for medusa was the monster with hair of snakes and a stony gaze encountered by the hero perseus. The greeks have two stories of medusa and i will be analyzing ovids story of the. As the ages passed, and tribes shifted from place to place, broke up, regrouped. We find many instances of cretan myths in greek stories. We examine how she became the monster that she is so widely regarded as. Surrounded by spears, swords and shields, perseus stood quite still.
Perseus and medusa greek, issue 1 thors stolen hammer norse, issue 3 the hero twins mayan, issue 4. The greeks have two stories of medusa and i will be analyzing ovids story of the myth which pertains to the relationship of medusa. Daulaires book of greek myths ebook download free pdf. The gorgons in greek mythology greek legends and myths. Myths usually have heroes or heroines who are gods or people with. Luckily, most of these myths have been written in terms that children can understand. Medusa is widely known as a monstrous creature with snakes in her hair whose gaze turns men to stone. Favorite greek myths the light which comes from the sun, while helios was the god of the sun itself. Some myths try to explain how the universe or natural world was created. Greek mythology heros journey of perseus storyboard. The story of perseus and andromeda derives from greek mythology and contains very deep wisdom on the interactions of male and female energy. Perseus and medusa perseus was a famous greek hero. He would become one of the great heroes in greek mythology because of his ability to behead the monster, medusa.
Modern american poetry medusa in myth and literary history. Many years later, perseus presented the head of medusa to athena, who took the severed head and turned it into an ultimate shield with a metal head of medusa terrifying many enemies with a single look. In the oldest greek mythological tales, there were three gorgons, of which medusa was but one. The user submitted story below is similar to one version of the medusa myth. Perseus, one of the most famous of the legendary heroes of ancient times, was the son of zeus and danae, daughter of acrisius, king of argos. Beyond that, medusa s story is, johnston argues, a rape narrative. From medusa s body came a winged horse, pegasus, and a golden warrior named chrysaor. Medusa was one of the three gorgons, daughters of phorcys and ceto, sisters of the graeae, echidna, and ladon all dreadful and fearsome beasts. There were pretty girls there, and medusa was one of them. A fisherman opened the box and out came percius and his mother. Today we look at one of the most misunderstood characters in greek mythology, medusa. He vowed that he would slay this terrible beast and bring peace to the whole communication. Word eventually got to percius that the gorgon medusa was terrorising the island citizens, turning them all, one by one, into stone.
The story of medusa zeus, hera and little io greek myth. The goddess was outraged, and changed medusa into a monster with snakes for hair. Greek myths were a huge part of the religion in ancient greece, and offer a glimpse into the lives of the ancient people who told them. Medusas destiny was a harsh one she had no control over. Ovids description of medusa in metamorphoses in book 4. The story above is the pdf version of the myth recorded on the website below. Perseus return journey to seriphos was a long one, and stopping off in aethiopia perseus discovered that andromeda was to be sacrificed to a sea. Athenas anger being directed at medusa when poseidon raped the gorgon in a temple dedicated to the goddess. Sep, 2019 the story of how medusa was killed by perseus is one of the most thrilling stories in greek mythology. An introduction to greek mythology for children the story. So acrisius locked his daughter away in a bronze chamber, but zeus transformed into a. Check out five of these fascinating greek myths below, and meet the peopleeating, firebreathing beasts and the heroes who battled them. A story of victim blaming, one that she says sounds all too familiar in a current american context.
The thing about myths is that the gods adventures might. Why is medusas sad backstory so rarely told in greek myth. Medusa simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aug 20, 20 medusa was a formidable foe, since her hideous appearance was able to render any onlooker into stone. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and goddesses. It was foretold to danaes father, acrisius the king of argos, that danaes son would kill him. The story of medusa in greek mythology continued briefly after her decapitation. Medusa the quest of perseus differentiated reading. Medusa was terrorising the island citizens, turning them all, one by one, into stone.