Ancient Goddesses in New York

About Medusa, Her Head, and the Modern and Ancient Versions of Her Story and Statues

There is a lot of controversy and confusion about Medusa. These photos are being shared here to show the original statue and the very controversial rebuttal to that statue - an art installation of Medusa, nude, holding the head of Perseus.

Which one is the hero? Mythology tells the story that she was once a fair maiden, and a god fell for her, and she took her against her will. This made others angry and Athena, especially, cursed her and blamed her for seducing the divine male. She is said to have turned her into a Gargon and cursed her with snakes for hair. When she looked at men they turned to cement. So they had to do away with her, in comes the hero Perseus.

She was thought to be a victim enough to be placed in an art installation across from Criminal Court in New York, where creepy sex offenders were having the book thrown at them. But she was out there butt naked and was vandalized twice.

I came across this famous version of Perseus with the head of Medusa while walking through The Met. It is being shared here to show the original and the reversed version.

An interesting aspect of this story is that Athena acted against Medusa and sold her out. But she later took her head and embedded it on her breastplate to acquire her ferociousness and power. Medusa's head is one of the most famous in history and her strength and power appear to live on through Athena.

Medusa is hailed as a feminist heroine in some circles, and there are modern jewelry pieces with her head being brought up by modern women. Wearing the head of Medusa in a pendant is meant to give them extra power and wearing a ring made with a snake is meant to give them wisdom. Awe Inspired sells Medusa head pendants under the heading of "Medusa Reborn," and they honor her in this way: "Patron Goddess of feminine resilience and strength, Medusa is a potent symbol that protects against evil."

For some ancient comparison, some images of The Met's ancient and centuries-old Medusa heads and pendant collection are included here.

- Laurie Sue Brockway

Sources

Awe Inspired, "Medusa Pendant - Medusa Reborn," Awe Inpired, accessed April 3, 2024, https://aweinspired.com/products/medusa-necklace-14k-yellow-gold-vermeil.

"Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021, https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2018/dangerous-beauty.

"How the Medusa Became a Monster," Vanderbilt.edu, 2020, https://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/english/English295/albright/monster.htm.

Kelly Macquire, "Medusa," World History Encyclopedia (World History Encyclopedia, June 14, 2022), https://www.worldhistory.org/Medusa/.

Madeleine Glennon, "Medusa in Ancient Greek Art," Metmuseum.org (The Met, March 2017), https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/medu/hd_medu.htm.

Captions

"Bronze Finial with the Head of Medusa," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/255243.

"Mask of Medusa," Metmuseum.org (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022), https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/190001.

"Cameo by Benedetto Pistrucci | Head of Medusa | Italian, Executed in England (London)," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/230969.

"Terracotta Hadra Hydria (Water Jar) | Greek, Ptolemaic, Egyptian | Hellenistic," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245582.

Medusa and Her Head

Medusa! Crazy snake goddess or victim of men and, even, the goddess Athena? Myths made her fearsome but modern women want to wear her on their chest as a badge of honor, as Athena did. She was fierce and could turn men to stone. Maybe we need warriors like her as a protective goddess.