Medusa

The tale of Medusa

Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, daughters of the old sea gods Phorcys and Ceto. Her sisters Stheno and Euryale were immortal. Medusa was not. All three had snakes for hair, and anyone who looked into Medusa's face was turned to stone on the spot.

There is an older, sadder version of her story, told best by the Roman poet Ovid. In it Medusa was born a beautiful young woman, and her hair was her pride. The sea god Poseidon assaulted her inside the temple of Athena, and the goddess, unable or unwilling to punish a god, punished the girl instead. Her hair became serpents and her gaze became death. Many modern readers see her as a victim first and a monster second.

Perseus and the mirror shield

The hero who came for her was Perseus, a son of Zeus. A cruel king, Polydectes, wanted him out of the way and sent him to bring back the Gorgon's head, a quest no one was expected to survive. But the gods helped him. Hermes gave him a curved sword of adamant and winged sandals. Athena gave him a polished bronze shield. The nymphs gave him a bag to carry the head and the helmet of Hades, which made him invisible. From the three Graeae, old women who shared one eye between them, he forced the way to the Gorgons' lair.

He found them asleep among the statues of every hero who had come before him. Walking backwards and looking only at Medusa's reflection in the shield, Perseus crept close and cut off her head with one stroke. From her neck sprang the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor. Her sisters woke screaming, but Perseus, invisible, flew away.

A head that still fights

Even dead, Medusa's gaze kept its power. On his way home Perseus used the head to turn the sea monster Cetus to stone and save the princess Andromeda, and then turned King Polydectes and his court to stone as well. At last he gave the head to Athena, who set it on her shield, the aegis, where it frightens her enemies to this day.

Medusa in Battle of Myths

Medusa is a cost 2 Greek hunter and mage. Her ability, Petrifying Gaze, turns her target and every enemy next to it to stone for a moment, dealing magic damage. With the other Greek heroes she shares Glory: whenever an enemy falls, the Greeks grow stronger and heal.

Did you know?

• The gorgoneion, Medusa's face, was painted on Greek shields, doors and coins as a protection against evil.
• Medusa's blood was said to have two powers: from one side it killed, from the other it could bring the dead back to life.