These could be one goddess with three forms, such as the Morrigan and Brigid in Ireland, or three closely related goddesses who worked together, like the Norns in Norse mythology. You know how looking at a math problem similar to the one you're stuck on can help you get unstuck? The assistance of Athena helped many heroes accomplish their goals. It's founded on a distortion, but as you say, myths are malleable. [58], Some commentators, despite the absence of actual blood-sucking, find these witches to share "vampiric" qualities of the lamiae (lamiai) in Philostratus's narrative, thus offering it up for comparison.[59]. Thats the Greek myth. In the earliest stories, Lamia was a beautiful queen of Ancient Libya who had an affair with Zeus. [102] John Cuthbert Lawson remarks "the chief characteristics of the Lamiae, apart from their thirst for blood, are their uncleanliness, their gluttony, and their stupidity". Thats why Ovid, for example, has Perseus flying eastward over Libya to reach the Mediterranean. When she's defeated, Medusa herself is turned to stone. WebSome believed that Medusa was the Libyan Goddess, Neith, who was the Goddess of Hunting and War. Her face is a Gorgons mask, but her body is that of a woman dressed and girded for battle. Ancient people were racist too, but they tended to think of ethnicity in terms of homeland, language, clothing, religion, and other customs, all in a bundle. Kibin does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of the essays in the library; essay content should not be construed as advice. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : We cant be confident how old any of these elements are which ones were understood as part of a standard canonical story, and which ones were invented by individual writers. Was the Griffin a Bird from Greek Mythology. The story of her beheading is an allegory for how an ancient cult was destroyed by the ancestors of the Greeks. On his way back to Greece he paused in the Maghreb and turned the Titan Atlas to stone. Sign up Dreadlocks? Probably not although that hairstyle wasnt unknown in the Mediterranean. More likely the snakes were inspired by a head-dress that the It's nice to know that you have read my article. As Pallas was about to give Athene a whack, Zeus skittishly held out the aegis, so that she glanced up to protect herself, and thus was wounded by Athene and fell. Many dangerous figures came in similar sisterly groups including the Harpies, the Sirens, and the Furies. Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses. Snakes are traditionally associated with menstruation. Through the century Medusa became a feminist symbol of the power of feminine rage, leaving the male gaze, and finding independence, in addition to protection. Goddess Medusa. There was a time long ago when Medusas people worshiped Her as a Goddess. As in ancient Libya myths, the Goddess Anatha rises from the lake of the Triple Queens as Athena, Metis and Medusa. Athena, a New Moon Warrior Maiden who inspires courage, strength, and valor, the Sea Goddess Metis, a Full Moon Mother of wisdom who, [94], Renaissance writer Angelo Poliziano wrote Lamia (1492), a philosophical work whose title is a disparaging reference to his opponents who dabble in philosophy without competence. Its just that if theyre thinking of a real place, its Morocco, not Libya. Modern commentators have also tried to establish that she may have originally been a dragoness, by inference. Sent by a king, Perseus went on a mission to slay Medusa and bring back her head. He carries a Medusa head that he similarly uses to petrify enemy units. [19], Other bogeys have been listed in conjunction with "Lamia", for instance, the Gorgo, the eyeless giant Ephialtes, a Mormolyce named by Strabo. (Yes, Ive seen this claimed.). Poets and scholars of all ages knew Her as the Goddess Neith. | FAQs | ^Mods | Magic ^Words. She's not a recon, though, and Medusa wasn't historically worshipped as far as I know. In Keats's version, the student Lycius replaces Menippus the Lycian. Medusa and her family are no exception. Although the lower body of Draper's Lamia is human, he alludes to her serpentine history by draping a shed snakeskin about her waist. King Polydektes of Seriphos once commanded the hero Perseus to fetch her head. [73] Pope Gregory I (d. 604)'s exegesis on the Book of Job explains that the lamia represented either heresy or hypocrisy. An anonymous commentator on the passage states this is a reference to the Lamia, but muddlingly combines this with Aristotle's subsequent comments and describes her as a Scythian of the Pontus (Black Sea) area. Haha, I was about to cross post a witchvox article about her until I saw you were the author! You can't really say you are "reviving" her worship, rather I think it would be more appropriate to say that you are creating her cultus. [31] The lexicon also has an entry under mormo () stating that Mormo and the equivalent mormolykeion[f] are called lamia, and that all these refer to frightful beings. Aeneas didnt originate in Roman myth, but hes still an important part of Roman myth. Herodotus, Histories 4. She vowed to be celibate her entire life as a priestess of Athena until she fell in love with Poseidon. I cant read Tamazight or Arabic, so Im not ideally placed to say what the prevailing mood is. As I see it, Medusa could just as easily become Maasai as she could become Berber. Short answer: no. Long answer:Medusa is part of Greek mythology which has existed longer than the current misinformation of her being an African Go Now, I cant speak from a position of authority on this, but in my limited experience, Berbers arent keen on this pigeonholing. [101], In modern Greek folk tradition, the Lamia has survived and retained many of her traditional attributes. She was one of three sisters, all known as creatures named Gorgons. [19][b][c], Aristophanes wrote in two plays an identically worded list of foul-smelling objects which included the "Lamia's testicles", thus making Lamia's gender ambiguous. They are depicted as female creatures with 'snake-like' bodies and seduce the protagonist Rael in an attempt to devour him, but as soon as they 'taste' Rael's body, the blood that enters the lamias' body causes their death. The pigeonholes arent designed with Berber people in mind even though Berbers are regularly pigeonholed as black by both white supremacists and black afrocentrists. Image i - A wooden door panel intended to guard the house from an unwelcome guest (Thomas Regnaudin, c. 1660). The woman's decision is entirely inconsequential. He goes on to express an opinion that most Greek gods names originally came from Egypt (2.50). Lamia are featured in the progressive rock album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis on the track "The Lamia." Berbers are people that speak one of the Berber group of languages Tamazight, Shawiya, Tuareg, and so on. FEBRUARY MYSTERY BOX, GET IT BEFORE IT'S GONE ON MARCH 1ST, LAST CHANCE | BUY THE FEBRUARY MYSTERY BOX, Discover your goddess | Take the quiz & get 10% off, Most recognizable for her locks of snakes, Medusa was the daughter of ancient chthonic deities of the sea. 1. Judika Isles has her as a living Goddess in her Encyclopedia of spirits. The ancient Greek origin is that she and her fellow Gorgons were simply created/born that way. [9][10] Heraclitus Paradoxographus (2nd century) also gave a rationalizing account. 11(. Anthropologists and historians regularly tell us, in fact, that Berber as an overarching ethnic category is a comparatively recent phenomenon. Uncover new sources by reviewing other students' references and bibliographies, Inspire new perspectives and arguments (or counterarguments) to address in your own essay. IF IT'S PERSONAL GNOSIS, THERE IS NO REVIVAL. Medusa, to me, is the monstrous version of a heroic mortal. Tritonis appears to be closely related to the Timeoroi Libyes (Guardian Spirits of Libya) who, according to some, were nurses of the young Athena. [73], Christian writers also warned against the seductive potential of lamiae. Medusa is not just a minor sea spirit. [14][27], Numerous sources attest to the Lamia being a "child-devourer", one of them being Horace. [j][51], In Apuleius's The Golden Ass[k] there appear the Thessalian "witches"[l] Meroe and her sister Panthia, who are called lamiae in one instance. So don't look at that illustration. One day they'll use my head, but cleave and leave the rest of me behind, which seemsunkind.". The essays in our library are intended to serve as content examples to inspire you as you write your own essay. Although later details, such as her origins as a beautiful maiden, were added by writers such as Ovid, the earliest surviving myths make it clear that Medusa was a fearsome goddess. Because they were immortal, Perseus had to flee from them instead of fight. Kibin, 2023, www.kibin.com/essay-examples/the-views-on-medusa-goddess-in-mythology-u4hTw2Vu. Through the century Medusa became a feminist symbol of the power of feminine rage, leaving the male gaze, and finding independence, in addition to protection. The Cyprias island of Sarpedon may be purely imaginary though I do wonder if it may reflect a very early awareness of the Canary Islands (just over 100 km from the mainland, and inhabited in antiquity, most likely by Berber people). Send your order with a custom message and a special package containing an embossed gift bag, tissue paper, Awe branded polishing cloth and a notecard. But once Apollonius reveals her false identity at the wedding, the illusion fails her and vanishes. Engraged, Athena, unable to punish Poseidon, banished Medusa to an island and cursed her to have snakes for hair and a face so revolting it would turn the onlooker to stone. 14. Check out our Privacy and Content Sharing policies for more information.). Kibin, 2023. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/the-views-on-medusa-goddess-in-mythology-u4hTw2Vu. [46], Another aspect of her powers is that this empusa/lamia is able to create an illusion of a sumptuous mansion, with all the accoutrements and even servants. It purports to give a full account of the capture of "Lamia of Corinth" by Apollonius, as the general populace referred to the legend. The technical term for the image of Medusas severed head is gorgoneion. Met. This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. WebTHE GORGONES (Gorgons) were three powerful, winged daimones named Medousa (Medusa), Sthenno and Euryale. [a][14][17], According to the same source, Lamia was taken by Zeus to Italy, and that Lamos, the city of the man-eating Laestrygonians, was named after her. She is depicted as the daughter of Hecate and as having glowing green eyes with serpentine slits, shriveled-up hands with lizard-like claws on them, and crocodile-like teeth. Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. We can leave that aside: Hyperborea was sometimes imagined as being in northern Ukraine, or to the north of the Caspian Sea.). Herodotus gives us valuable data, but hes no authority in interpreting the data. The heads of both figures are inhuman, which is used to convey their monstrousness. Another double of the Libyan Lamia may be Lamia, daughter of Poseidon. A slightly different version of the second origin is that Medusa was willingly seduced by Poseidon rather than raped. [103], Later traditions referred to many lamiae; these were folkloric monsters similar to vampires and succubi that seduced young men and then fed on their blood. [8], Diodorus Siculus (fl. Medusas face was said to be so horrifying to look at that it could turn men to stone. [14] A different authority remarks that Lamia was once queen of the Laestrygonians. Empusa is equated with Hecate in a fragment of Aristophanes's lost play, Keats made a note to this effect at the end of the first page in the fair copy he made: see William E. Harrold, "Keats' 'Lamia' and Peacock's 'Rhododaphne'". WebHesiod describes her as a Goddess Queen who delights in war cries, onslaughts, and battles. Hephaestus served as the midwife who birthed her using a smiths hammer as an obstetric tool. Algol, usually considered a star of ill-fortune, is traditionally perceived as representing Medusas eye. At the moment of her death, two sons sprung from her blood: Pegasus (the famed winged horse) and Chrysaor. There are two different such prequel myths regarding the origins of the original Medusa. And those analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or nature have been especially noted. Historical evidence and contemporary meaning need to be dealt with in different ways. WebDiodorus Siculus ( fl. "They say that after Athene's birth, she was reared by Triton [and presumably Tritonis], who had a daughter named Pallas. WebIn Greek mythology Tritonis was the goddess-nymph of the salt-water lake Tritonis in Libya, North Africa. You may have heard that Medusa was originally a Libyan goddess or alternatively, that the Greek myth of Medusa was designed to demonise black women. [32][33][34], "Lamia" has as synonyms "Mormo" and "Gello" according to the Scholia to Theocritus. Coral, anything serpentine, menstrual blood stained pads or garments. [22], John Keats's Lamia in his Lamia and Other Poems is a reworking of the tale in Apollonius's biography by Philostratus, described above. Poseidon, especially attracted to her voluptuous hair, assaulted her in the temple of Athena. [54][55][m][n], Meroe has seduced a man named Socrates, but when he plots to escape, the two witches raid his bed, thrust a knife in the neck to tap the blood into a skin bag, eviscerate his heart, and stuff the hole back with sponge. She is a goddess of menstrual power and hence female power. [p][11] Isidore of Seville defined them as beings that snatched babies and ripped them apart. This prompted Henderson (1998) to "humorlessly infer" that the Lamia must have been a. Keats's reworking makes this Lamia have serpent form for certain, which she wants to lose. Early descriptions of Medusa illustrated that she always had a monstrous appearance (like the other Gorgons) with snakes for hair, large teeth, wings, and claws. Medusa's main characteristics are snakes for hair and that people turn to stone just by seeing her face. And then, there's the 2021 Amazon Prime commercial in which Medusa buys sunglasses, and becomes the life of the party (but doesn't hesitate to petrify someone who is annoying her and her new friends). What makes you cringe? [11], Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (vii.5) refers to the lore of some beastly lifeform in the shape of a woman, which tears the bellies of pregnant mothers and devours their fetuses. 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