Was Medusa really such a monster?

Or was the snake-haired priestess simply a lonely, lovesick woman cursed for what was partly Poseidon's mistake?

Or was the snake-haired priestess simply a lonely, lovesick woman cursed for what was partly Poseidon's mistake?

In ancient Rome, when the emperor wanted to distract people from the real issues, he organised gladiator games. Today in India, we celebrate IPL as Naxalites and Maoists spread mayhem across vast portions of the country.



But even modern gladiator games can be overshadowed by a story of love and betrayal. So, we spent last week watching modern troubadours unfold the bizarre tale of a cricket star and the two women in his life, the to-be-bride and the former-bride. While the truth will never be known, one thing is clear. The idea that a handsome man could find a fat, young woman attractive seemed ridiculous and unacceptable to most readers and columnists.

Insidiously, the former wife, now divorced, with her pudgy face plastered across the media, was transformed into a monster, the bone in the kebab, the telephone trickster, the hurdle between the hero and his damsel. In many ways, she was Medusa, the monster who had to be slain so that Perseus could marry the beautiful Andromeda. This ancient Greek myth, horribly contorted by recent Hollywood film Clash of the Titans, tells the story of the unfairness of the gods as they interfere in the affairs of men. Much of the story reminds us of how close mythology is to real life or rather how close real life is to mythology.

Athena, serene goddess of skill, and Poseidon, cantankerous god of the sea, were rivals. Both wanted to be the patron deity of Athens. But the Athenians preferred Athena because she gave them the olive tree whereas Poseidon gave salty water that could not be consumed. The sea god, therefore, was always jealous of Athena, and angry with her.

One day, the prudish Athena, to her horror, found Poseidon making love to one of her many priestesses inside her temple. The name of this priestess was Medusa. Athena cursed Medusa that she would have snakes for hair, and anyone who looked at her face would turn into stone. A stricken Medusa ran to the hills and hid her face from everyone. Those unfortunate enough to look upon her turned to stone. So, Medusa's lair was full of stone creatures who had seen her once -- stone trees, stone lizards, stone lions, stone men, stone women. No one saw her. She did not even dare look at her own reflection, lest she too turned to stone. So, she sat alone and wept and wailed. To the world, she was a monster. In her mind, she was a lovesick girl ravished by an insensitive god.

In Ethiopia, meanwhile, there was a princess called Andromeda. Her mother said she was more beautiful than the sea-nymphs. Enraged by this arrogance, Poseidon sent a monster called Cetus to wreak havoc on the coast of Ethiopia until the king willingly offered his daughter as sacrifice. Pretty Andromeda wept, but Poseidon did not care for her tears. He wanted her blood.

Poseidon was thus responsible for turning one woman (Medusa) into a monster and another (Andromeda) into a damsel in distress. A human hero called Perseus would save the damsel.

To do so, he would have to destroy the two monsters created by Poseidon -- Medusa and Cetus.

Perseus was no ordinary man. His grandfather Acricius had been told that he would be killed by his daughter's son. So, he locked his daughter Danae in a tower, away from all men. While in the tower, Danae was visited by Zeus, god of the sky. He came to her in a beam of sunlight like a shower of gold, and made her pregnant. When Acricius found his daughter with child, he sealed them both in a chest and threw them in the sea. Poseidon ensured the chest did not sink until it was found by fishermen, who gave shelter to mother and son. Perseus, son of a god and a mortal woman, grew up educated by Athena herself.

Maybe, to prove his greatness or to save the princess Andromeda, Perseus declared that he would bring back the head of the dreaded Medusa. He was helped on his quest by Athena who gave him a curved knife and a polished shield. Perseus entered Medusa's lair and placed the shield such that Medusa looked at her own reflection and turned to stone. Then, without looking at her face, only at her reflection, he cut her head off with the curved knife. From the severed neck rose a horse, the flying horse Pegasus, son of Medusa and Poseidon. Perseus leapt on the back of this stallion and galloped home.

On his way, he saw the king of Ethiopia tying Andromeda to a rock with chains and offering her to the dreaded Cetus. As the monster rose, Perseus showed Cetus the stone-head of Medusa. Spellbound by its ugliness, Cetus turned to stone. Perseus was thus able to overpower the monster and rescue Andromeda. With Cetus dead, Perseus and Andromeda got married and lived happily ever after.

Poseidon is responsible for the creation of Medusa (indirectly) and Cetus (directly). From a psychoanalytical lens, it seems as if the two monsters were one and the same, created by a god (Poseidon) and killed by a human (Perseus) who are almost two ends of one spectrum -- the ego and the alter-ego. Poseidon loses the girl (Medusa) and creates a monster; Perseus destroys the monster and gets the girl (Andromeda).

As for Medusa, her face became a talisman to protect oneself from the evil eye. Her face was imprinted on Athena's shield. She became a warning to all the girls who dared to dream. Ravished by a god, cursed by a goddess and tricked by a hero, was Medusa really a monster or a poor victim?u00a0

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