Did Athena punish or protect Medusa?

Athena punished Medusa by turning her hair into fearful snakes, capable of turning onlookers to stone.


Was Athena protecting or punishing Medusa?

It is in the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses that her story is most deeply elaborated. She was lovely, according to the poem—until she was raped in Athena's temple by Poseidon. Athena then punished her for this violation, by turning her into the monstrous, stony-glanced creature that we know.

Why did Athena not help Medusa?

Athena could not punish Poseidon for what he did to Medusa. As a result, the goddess did the only thing she could do, which was to protect her former priestess. Giving Medusa the ability to turn people to stone then becomes a mechanism of self-defense than it does anything else.


How did Athena punish Medusa?

The snake-haired Medusa does not become widespread until the first century B.C. The Roman author Ovid describes the mortal Medusa as a beautiful maiden seduced by Poseidon in a temple of Athena. Such a sacrilege attracted the goddess' wrath, and she punished Medusa by turning her hair to snakes.

What was Athena's punishment?

As punishment for defiling her sacred space, Athena turned Medusa's hair into snakes and cursed her to turn any man who looked at her head into stone (Ovid, Metamorphoses IV). Some later feminist interpretations of the story portray Athena's actions as helping Medusa ensure that no man would attack her again.


Why did Athena Help Perseus Kill Medusa? - (Greek Mythology Explained)



Who made Athena pregnant?

Chapter 8: Athena. Zeus swallowed his consort METIS [mee'tis] (“wisdom”), after he had made her pregnant, because he feared that she would bear a son who would overthrow him. And so ATHENA [a-thee'na], or ATHENE (MINERVA), was born from the holy head of Zeus.

Who did Athena punish?

Athena knew that Poseidon lusted after Medusa, this was made evident by his ravishing her. So to get back at him, Athena cursed Medusa so that Poseidon couldn't seduce him anymore. One can argue that Medusa is caught in the middle of a crossfire between two deities.

Why did Athena put Medusa's head on her shield?

Athena has been depicted with snakes near her and with snake haired Medusa's head upon her shield. This symbolically was to enforce Athena's power of victory through death and destruction of the enemy.


How did Medusa get pregnant?

Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon.

Why did Athena curse Medusa?

Medusa and Poseidon engaged in a love affair and would have two children together, but not before Athena discovered the illicit affair. When Athena discovered the affair, she was enraged and immediately cursed Medusa by taking away her beauty.

Was Athena mean to Medusa?

According to Apollodorus' version of the myth, Athena was angry with Medusa because she had claimed to be more beautiful than the goddess. In both cases, however, the result was the same. In the end, Athena turned Medusa into a figure of horror, a Gorgon with venomous snakes instead of hair.


Why did Athena stay a virgin?

One of the reasons she became a virgin was to avoid having a fate similar to her mother, Metis. Even though she is a virgin goddess, Athena has demigod children, who are born from her own thoughts combined with the thoughts of mortal men she loves. These children are "gifts" to the men she favors.

Why didn't Athena punish Poseidon instead of Medusa?

Poseidon was a god, and Athena was a goddess. She was not powerful enough to punish Poseidon. He is a elder god, which makes him second only to Zeus.

Is Athena still a virgin?

In her aspect as a warrior maiden, Athena was known as Parthenos (Παρθένος "virgin"), because, like her fellow goddesses Artemis and Hestia, she was believed to remain perpetually a virgin. Athena's most famous temple, the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, takes its name from this title.


What crimes did Athena commit?

This goddess, who generally prefers to see most things from a manly point of view, acquitted Orestes 2, for she deemed Clytaemnestra's crime, killing her husband, to be greater than that of Orestes 2, killing her mother Clytaemnestra in order to avenge his father Agamemnon.

Did Athena sacrifice herself for Zeus?

Athena threw herself in front of Zeus before he could be stabbed, and fell by Kratos' hand. Saddened by what he had done. Kratos asked Athena why she would sacrifice herself. Athena replied that Zeus must live so that Olympus could prevail.

Is Athena jealous of Medusa?

In fact, Athena was jealous of Medusa's beauty and lustrous hair. Poseidon ravaged her and took what she held dearly, her purity. Athena, outraged by this incident, cursed Medusa and turned her wonderful hair into venomous snakes, her beautiful face turned so ugly that any man who gazed upon would turn to stone.


Can Medusa turn females to stone?

Yes. When Perseus decapitated her head, her head was still active, meaning that her head could be used as a weapon, and could still turn people (and other creatures) into stone. The Gorgon sisters were Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale. Their gaze could turn anyone who looked at them to stone, regardless of gender.

What goddess killed Medusa?

Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head.

What was Medusa's vow to Athena?

She vowed to be celibate her entire life as a priestess of Athena until she fell in love with Poseidon. She went against her vow and married him. For this Athena punished her hideously. She turned Medusa into an ugly creature by making her eyes bloodshot and raging and her face haglike.


What does Medusa symbolize?

According to The Met Museum, Medusa is portrayed in most Greek art as an "apotropaic symbol used to protect and ward off the negative," representing a "dangerous threat meant to deter other dangerous threats, an image of evil to repel evil." In modern tales of Gorgon though, she is a symbol of female rage.

What does the story of Medusa teach us?

The story of Perseus and Medusa is a story of perseverance, bravery, and dignity. Perseus personifies the length one would go to in order to save the ones you love. Perseus shows the authenticity of his character when he rescues the helpless Andromeda from the Cetus and the attachment to the rock.

What does Athena protect?

Athena appears in Homer's Odyssey as the tutelary deity of Odysseus, and myths from later sources portray her similarly as helper of Perseus and Heracles (Hercules). As the guardian of the welfare of kings, Athena became the goddess of good counsel, of prudent restraint and practical insight, as well as of war.


What has Athena done wrong?

When the contest was over, Athena saw Arachne's weaving and became angry. Not only was the work better than Athena's, it made the gods look foolish. She then cursed Arachne and turned her into a spider. She was close friends and attended to by Nike, the goddess of victory.

Who did Athena fall in love with?

She never had a true lover or someone to hug and hold her; all she had was her loving mother, caring father and most of all her brothers and sisters. For some very strange reason it was hopeless that she would fall in love; Hephaestus tried once, yet failed. Athena was well known for giving advice/mentoring heroes.