In Greek mythology, Medusa also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. Most sources describe her as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, although the author Hyginus makes her the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion. According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on an island named Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Libya, where Herodotus had said the Berbers originated her myth, as part of their religion.
| Parents | Phorcys and Ceto |
| Siblings | The Hesperides, Sthenno, Euryale, The Graea, Thoosa, Scylla, and Ladon |
| Children | Pegasus and Chrysaor |
About Medusa
Known for having venomous snakes in place of her hair and for turning people who look at her face into stone.
Achievement of Medusa
She was defeated by Perseus who began using her head as a weapon of his own before passing it on to Athena, who used it on her shield.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Medusa
Libya in Greek mythology.. Mythological rape victims.. Mythological human hybrids.. Heraldic beasts.. Women and death.. Metamorphoses in Greek mythology.
