MEDUSA
She could petrify you!

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Medusa the Gorgon. Medusa, along with her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, were the daughters of the sea Titans Porcys and Ceto. Medusa was the youngest and most beautiful (she was also the only mortal one of the three).

Once said to have been extremely wise they all served as priestesses to the virgin goddess of wisdom, Athena. However, the Seagod Poseidon (Neptune) desperately desired Medusa. In a moment of raw passion he raped Medusa inside of Athena's temple of worship. Perhaps in anger, the three sisters became petty and vindictive toward men.

Appalled either by the sisters' pettiness, or by the sacrilegious sexual act, Athena transformed Medusa and her sisters (all of whom were now wicked) into hideous beasts with scaly skin, dragon's wings and hair formed of dozens of coiling snakes. As a result, all who beheld the Gorgons were instantly turned to stone when their eyes met.

Medusa and her sisters became even more vicious and took great pleasure in torturing their victims until the day when Perseus, guided and gifted by the Gods, slew Medusa. He used her head to slay the Sea-dragon Cetus then gave the head to Athena who mounted it onto a breastplate (or shield) called the AEgis.

Upon her death, the seeds of the union of Poseidon & Medusa germinated into the young colt named Pegasus and the giant (or another winged horse) named Chrysoar, who sprang forth when the blood of Medusa made contact with the seafoam. Perseus married the princess Andromeda and they had a daughter whom they called Gorgophone (named for the slain gorgon). Medusa was also identified with the Libyan Queen and serpent-goddess of wisdom of the Amazons. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit medha, Greek metis, and Egyptian met or maat all meaning "wisdom."

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Medusa was one of the Gorgons. Her sisters, Sthenno and Euryale, were immortal but Medusa was mortal. All three were so hideous, the shock of seeing them would turn anyone to stone. Medusa is called The Gorgon or simply, Gorgon. They were daughters of the ancient pre-Titan gods Phorcys and Ceto

Myth Man's Note: Medusa's mother Ceto was the daughter of Gaia and Pontus. Her husband Phorcys was also her brother. She is the personification of the dangers and horrors of the sea and her name eventually became a name for any generic sea monster. Ceto is regarded as the mother of the Gorgons and many other monsters. Her name means "Sea Monster".

Medusa wasn't always hideous. There is a particular myth in which Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden with long silky hair that she was very proud of. One day she unwisely desecrated Athena's temple by lying there with Poseidon. Outraged, Athena turned Medusa's hair into living, hissing snakes, making it nearly impossible for Medusa to get a date. All who saw her turned to stone!

The Gorgon Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus with the help of Athena and Hermes. Using the winged sandals and Hades' helmet of invisibility provided by Hermes, and Athena's silver shield, Perseus approached the sleeping Medusa.

Perseus killed the monster by looking at her reflection on his shield, which prevented him turning into stone. He cut off her head and presented it to Athena, who placed it in the center of her Aegis, the protective shield which she wore over her breastplate.

But first, Perseus had to outrace Medusa's enraged sisters, who flew after him, the snakes on their heads and waists hissing at his heels. Perseus managed to escape thanks to the winged sandals of Hermes, and by wearing Hades' helmet of invisibility.

From Medusa's dead body the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus, her son by Poseidon, sprang forth. Her name means "Ruler".

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Chrysoar the Golden Sword. Not nearly as famous as his brother Pegasus, Chrysoar has differing legends. Sometimes he is depicted as a Giant who was given a golden sword (the meaning of the terms chrysos and soar) as a marker to his godly heritage by Poseidon. As a Giant he was the father of the monsters Echidna, Orthrys, Cerberus and Geryon by Callirrhoe (an Oceanid).

Other myths claim that Chrysoar was a winged steed, like Pegasus, who also sprang forth from the foam when the blood of Medusa dropped into the sea. While this second myth would make a total of three winged steeds birthed from the union of Poseidon & Medusa, the true tale is probably that only Celeris & Pegasus were horses and Chrysoar was a Giant, and the origin of Chrysoar as a horse is most likely a confusion of the Celeris/Chrysoar legend.

Other accounts claim Chrysoar was named so for the golden sword that Perseus used to slay his Gorgon mother, while others state that Chrysoar is actually an epithet for Bellerophon whose original name was Hipponous (meaning 'horse wisdom'). This, of course, re-enforces the fact that Pegasus and Bellerophon were actually 'brothers' (both having the same father).