Double - Storytelling - Medusa Research - 17/11/15

In double, we were put into groups to perform tell the story of a Greek Myth. In my group there is Lorna, Charlie and I and we were given the myth of Perseus and Medusa! This being one of my favourite myths had me very excited for this performance. Below is my individual research I made on the characters and story: Source:(http://www.ancient.eu/Medusa/)


Medusa
She was originally blessed with beauty and was by far one of the most beautiful people Greece. She described "that her skin is as beautiful as fresh white snow," "her hair is brighter than the sun," "that her eyes are greener then the Aegean sea," and "that her lips are redder than the reddest rose in the world." 

Upon taking a trip to the Parthenon, a Greek temple containing statues of Greek gods and goddesses, with friends, she bragged how she was far more beautiful than all of the goddesses. At the time, the Greek goddess of wisdom and beauty, Athena, was at the Parthenon. 

After the rumour of Medusa claiming she is the most beautiful in all of Greece, Athena cursed Medusa. After uttering the words, "One day beauty will fade away. But I will make it fade away now and all your loveliness will be gone forever," Medusa's skin cracks and withers and her long silver silken hair turns to a rioting mass of thick, poisonous snakes. Any man or woman who makes eye contact with her is immediately turned to stone which isolates her from human society.

Athena banishes Medusa to the ends of the Earth with the blind monsters so she does not harm any innocent onlookers.

Perseus: 
The myth of Perseus and Medusa, according to Pindar and Apollodorus, started with a quest. Perseus was the son of Danae and Zeus, who came to Danae in the form of a golden spring. It was foretold to Danae's father, Acrisius the King of Argos, that Danae's son would kill him. So Acrisius locked his daughter away in a bronze chamber, but Zeus transformed into a shower of gold and impregnated her anyway. Acrisius, not wanting to provoke Zeus, hurled his daughter and grandson in a wooden chest into the sea. The mother and son were rescued by Dictys on the island of Seriphos. It was Dictys who raised Perseus to manhood, but it was Dictys' brother Polydectes, the king, who would send him on a life threatening quest.

The Story of Perseus and Medusa:
Polydectes fell in love with Perseus' mother and wished to marry her but Perseus was protective of his mother since he believed Polydectes to be dishonorable. Polydectes demanded horses as wedding gifts but Perseus did not have one. When Perseus confessed that he had no gift, he offered any gift the king would name. Polydectes seized his opportunity to disgrace and even get rid of Perseus and asked for the head of the only mortal Gorgon: Medusa.

Perseus, with the aid of divine gifts, found the Gorgons' cave and slayed Medusa by beheading her. Most authors assert that Perseus was able to behead Medusa with a reflective bronze shield that Athena gave to him while the Gorgon slept. At the beheading of Medusa, Pegasus and Chrysaor (Poseidon's and her children) sprang from her severed neck. Simultaneously with the birth of these children, Medusa's sisters Euryale and Sthenno pursued Perseus. However, the gift bestowed upon him by Hades, the helmet of darkness, granted him invisibility. It is unclear if Perseus took Pegasus with him on his following adventures or if he continued to utilize the winged sandals Hermes gave him. Pegasus' adventures with both the hero Perseus and Bellerophon are classic tales from Greek mythology.

Perseus returned home to his mother, safe from King Polydectes' advances, but Perseus was infuriated with Polydectes' trickery. Perseus avenged himself by turning Polydectes and his court to stone with Medusa's head. He, then, gave the kingdom to Dictys. After Perseus was finished with the Gorgon's head, he gave it to Athena, who adorned her shield and breastplate with it.