TL;DR Medusa was one of three Gorgon sisters and the only mortal one. Her gaze turned people to stone, so the hero Perseus defeated her by watching her reflection in a polished shield. Her head later decorated Athena’s armour.
The myth in 60 seconds
- Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, sisters with snakes for hair, and the only one of them who could die.
- Anyone who looked straight at her face was instantly turned to stone.
- The hero Perseus was sent to fetch her head, and with help from Athena and Hermes he gathered winged sandals, a cap of invisibility and a magic bag.
- He found the Gorgons asleep and defeated Medusa while looking only at her reflection in his polished shield.
- From her sprang the winged horse Pegasus, and Perseus later gave her head to Athena, who wore it on her armour.
That’s the whole myth. Switch the Q&A back on for the backstory.
Was Medusa born a monster?
In Hesiod, yes: she and her sisters Stheno and Euryale are daughters of two ancient sea gods, Phorcys and Ceto, and simply are Gorgons. The Roman poet Ovid, writing centuries later, tells a different story. His Medusa was once a beautiful young woman. Poseidon wronged her inside Athena’s temple, and Athena, furious at the temple being dishonoured, turned Medusa’s hair into snakes.
Wait, Athena punished her? That seems unfair.
Many modern readers agree, and it is a big reason Medusa has been reimagined in recent decades as a victim rather than a villain. The myth does not settle the question, which is exactly why it still gets argued about.
How exactly does the shield trick work?
The rule was that looking directly at Medusa turned you to stone, so Perseus used the polished bronze of his shield as a mirror. In Apollodorus’s version, Athena herself guides his hand. It is basically the first recorded life hack.
Why is her face on so many old shields and buildings?
A Gorgon face, called a gorgoneion, was a popular protective symbol in the ancient world. It appears on shields, armour, coins, pottery and temple roofs. The idea seems to have been that something terrifying to look at would scare off danger. Athena’s aegis, her protective goatskin cloak or shield, carried Medusa’s head for the same reason.
Anything named after her today?
Yes, and it is squishy. Biologists use “medusa” for the free-swimming, umbrella-shaped stage of a jellyfish, because its trailing tentacles reminded someone of snaky hair. Next time you see one in an aquarium, you have our permission to look directly at it.
Where did Perseus get all that gear?
Apollodorus says he first had to find the Graeae, three old sisters who shared one eye and one tooth between them. Perseus grabbed the eye and tooth and would not give them back until the sisters told him the way to the nymphs who kept the winged sandals, the magic bag and the cap of invisibility. Hermes added a curved blade.
Can I see Medusa in a museum?
Plenty of places. Two famous Florentine examples are Caravaggio’s painted shield of Medusa in the Uffizi Gallery and Benvenuto Cellini’s bronze statue of Perseus holding up her head in the Loggia dei Lanzi.