Zeus impregnated Medusa in a temple of Athena, a powerful Greek goddess.

But why was Medusa cursed, and who cursed Medusa?Īccording to ancient Greek mythology, in Medusa's early days, she was so beautiful she caught the interest of Zeus, the most powerful of all the Greek gods. Medusa began life as a beautiful human, albeit one with monstrous parents and sisters. Medusa is not mentioned by name in perhaps the most famous ancient Greek story, Homer's The Odyssey. In golden ringlets wav'd, and graceful shone.' Yet above all, her length of hair, they own, They, who have seen her, own, they ne'er did trace Here's a quote from his Metamorphoses, written around 8 AD: Ovid mentioned that, before she was cursed, Medusa's hair was particularly beautiful and she was very proud of it. Later on, Medusa was also written about by the ancient Roman poets Ovid and Virgil who expanded on her story and origins more. The earliest known mention of Medusa occurred in Theogony, an epic poem written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod sometime around 700 BC. Medusa, the youngest of the Gorgon sisters, was the only one of them who wasn't immortal, as well as the only one who began life as a great beauty. The other two Gorgons were named Stheno and Euryale, and their parents were the sea gods Ceto and Phorcys. She was one of the Gorgons: three sisters with human bodies, large wings, and hair made of living snakes. Who is Medusa? Medusa was a character from ancient Greek mythology known for her terrifying ability to turn people to stone. But who is Medusa really? How did she come to be so terrifying, and who killed Medusa in the end? The Medusa story is one of the most popular and enduring of all ancient Greek myths, and here we explain Medusa's entire life (and after death) story. You've probably heard of Medusa and know that she's the woman with snakes for hair.

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