The Medusa is a scary creature from Greek legend. She was described as having the face of a hideous woman with snakes instead of hair.
The Medusa was said to be the ugliest creature ever seen. She was one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons. They were the offspring of Phorkys and Keto, and Medusa was the only one of the three sisters who was mortal.
They say that the Medusa was once a very beautiful and many men were in love with her. However, she was extremely vain and boastful. When she wasn’t bragging about her own good looks, she would gaze lovingly at her reflection in the mirror.
She lived far in the north were the sun didn’t visit. Being very curious, she wanted to see the sun, and asked the Goddess Athena for permission to visit the south. Athena refused to allow her to and Medusa flew into a rage, claiming that Athena was jealous of her beauty.
Athena was angered and punished her by putting a curse on her. She turned her hair into writhing snakes and made her face so terrible to behold that anyone who laid eyes on her would immediately turn to stone. Athena sent Medusa to live with the blind monsters, the Gorgon sisters, at the ends of the earth.
On the island of Seriphos, there lived a young man called Perseus. The King wanted to marry his mother and so, to get Perseus out of the way, he came up with an impossible task. He ordered Perseus to bring him the head of the Medusa.
Perseus left on his mission and, along the way, he was given a shiny shield, a sharp sword and a thick sack by the Gods. When he found Medusa, he was able to sneak up behind her. Unable to look her in the face, Perseus looked at the Medusa’s reflection in his mirrored shield and managed to slay her with his sword.
The victorious Perseus beheaded her and put her head in the sack. From her headless body sprang, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a golden sword-wielding giant.
Taking the bag with the Medusa’s severed head, Perseus returned to the Palace. Standing before the King, he pulled the severed head out of the bag and turned everyone in the court to stone.