Medusa+and+Gorgons

The Gorgons were the 3 beautiful daughters of the sea-titans, Porcys and Ceto. They were Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale. Medusa was the youngest and most beautiful of the three but she was however, the only mortal one among them.

The three of them served as priestesses to the virgin goddess of wisdom, Athena. This continued until Poseidon RAPED Medusa inside the temple of Athena. The Goddess was angered by the sacrilege so she turned the Gorgons into hideous creatures with tongues and tusks of swine, scaly skin, dragon wings and locks of snakes for hair. More over, anyone who has eye contact with any of the sisters will be instantly turned into stone.

Medusa along with her sisters enjoyed torturing their victims until the day Perseus, guided by the Gods, killed her. Interesting enough, as she died, the effect of her being raped kicked in. From her dying body, two winged horses, Pegasus and Chrysoar were born.

She is also the “Mistress of the West Gate of Death” because her home lay at the entrance to the Underworld on the side of the western Ocean.

“The terror of the Medusa is thus a terror of castration that is linked to the sight of something. The hair upon the Medusa's head is frequently represented in works of art in the form of snakes, and these once again are derived from the castration complex. It is a remarkable fact that however frightening they may be in themselves, they nevertheless serve as a mitigation of the horror, for they replace the penis, the absence of which is the cause of the horror. This is a confirmation of the technical rule according to which a multiplication of penis symbols signifies castration.”
 * ===**Quote**===
 * Sigmund Freud** ||



Words that use Medusa: Medusa- to refer to something or someone ugly

=medusa=

Medusa stage of a jellyfish(credit: Tom McHugh—Photo Researchers) In zoology, one of the two principal cnidarian body forms; the typical form of the jellyfish. Its name derives from its tentacles, resembling the snakes borne by Medusa in place of hair. The medusoid body is bell- or umbrella-shaped. Hanging downward from the center is a stalklike structure, the manubrium, bearing the mouth at its tip. The mouth opens into the main body cavity, which connects with radial canals extending to the outer rim of the bell. A free-swimming form, the medusa moves by rhythmic muscular contractions of the bell, providing a slow propulsive action against the water. The other principal cnidarian body type is the polyp.

http://library.oakland.edu/information/people/personal/kraemer/edcm/g.html
 * **gorgonize** //v// ||
 *  || to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on : stupefy, petrify ||

Sources: http://thanasis.com/medusa.htm http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/g/pegasus.htm http://monsters.monstrous.com/medusa.htm http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Gorgones.html http://www.danscottart.com/Images/gorgons.jpg http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Medusa+(Greek+mythology)