Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, sisters of the Graeae, Echidna, and Ladon – all dreadful and fearsome beasts. A beautiful mortal, Medusa was the exception in the family, until she incurred the wrath of Athena, either due to her boastfulness or because of an ill-fated love affair with Poseidon.

Although no earlier versions mention this, ancient depictions of Medusa as a beautiful maiden instead of a horrid monster predate Ovid. In classical Greek art, the depiction of Medusa shifted from hideous beast to an attractive young woman, both aggressor and victim, a …

2024年9月12日 · Medusa, a frequently depicted figure from classical myth, is infamous in ancient and modern art alike. The beautiful woman, raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple, was transformed into a snake-haired monster with a petrifying gaze as punishment.

2024年12月11日 · Medusa, part of a powerful Gorgon trio with sisters Stheno and Euryale, is shaped by her sea god parents Phorcys and Ceto, highlighting her unique role in Greek myths. Medusa’s change from a beautiful young woman to a dreaded Gorgon is a story full of challenges and different views in Greek myths.

One of the most popular monsters of Greek Mythology is Medusa. She was a beautiful maiden with golden hair. 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 …

2023年12月1日 · Here are the five most famous paintings depicting Medusa. 1. Caravaggio, Medusa-Murtola, 1596, private collection. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Caravaggio painted two versions of Medusa, the first in 1596 and the other around 1597. About the first version, the 17th-century poet Gaspare Murtola wrote:

Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as Gorgons. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful.

2023年3月28日 · Medusa drawings and paintings have helped keep the myth in the public consciousness, forever reminding us of the sorrowful fate that befell the wretched Gorgon. Take a look at our Medusa paintings webstory here!

2017年10月16日 · The exhibition features the earliest depiction of the beautiful Medusa in Greek art along with two dozen examples of Medusa images on ancient Greek armor, drinking cups, funerary reliefs and urns, gold jewelry, and architectural elements, as well as Roman and Neoclassical cameos.

The connection between beauty and horror, embodied above all in the figure of Medusa, outlived antiquity, fascinating and inspiring artists through the centuries. Medusa became the archetypical femme fatale, a conflation of femininity, erotic desire, violence, and death.