Most of us are familiar with the legend of Medusa in which she is a hideous Gorgon with scales for skin, snakes for hair, and a gaze that turns to stone anyone who dares to look into her eyes. When we first encounter Medusa, she is usually on a deserted island with her two sisters, and Perseus has arrived to cut off Medusa?s head. But what about Medusa?s origins? With a little research, I unearthed several accounts of her original form. Some stories portray Medusa as being born a horrific creature:
?Gorgones, three celebrated sisters, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, whose names were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, all immortal except Medusa. According to the mythologists, their hairs were entwined with serpents, their hands were of brass, their wings of the colour of gold, their body was covered with impenetrable scales, and their teeth were as long as the tusks of a wild boar, and they turned to stone all those on whom they fixed their eyes."
From John Lempri
