Medusa, She was the only mortal of three sisters
born to the sea god Phorcys and Ceto.
she possessed great beauty and many men lusted
for Medusa.
Out of respect for the goddess Athena she
remained pure considering her vows to celibate
her entire life as a priestess of Athena's
temple.
There were thousands who visited Athena's
temple just for a glance at Medusa's beauty.
They even claimed that her hair rivaled that
of Athena.
Athena's jealousy of Medusa became resentful
as medusa's beauty was discussed everywhere.
one day, Medusa caught the attention of Poseidon
the god of the sea and he was instantly charmed
with her.
Medusa rejected multiple approaches from Poseidon
because if she wished to remain the priestess
of Athena's temple she must stay pure and
virgin.
but Poseidon couldn’t resist the temptation
and impregnated Medusa in a temple of Athena.
On getting to know, Athena did appear enraged
by the events that had just taken place and
as she broke her vows athena punished Medusa,
by turning her into a hideous hag, making
her hair into venomous snakes, and her skin
was turned greenish.
and cursed her.
Anyone who locked gaze with Medusa was turned
into stone.
Word spread of the monster that Medusa had
become and she became the target of many warriors
who wished to add her head to
their trophies list.
all that warriors shared the same fate being
turned into stone.
The hero Perseus, son of Zeus was tasked with
retrieving her head and in order to complete
the task
Perseus was given a helmet from Hades that
made him invisible to Medusa, 
a pair of winged sandals from Hermes allowing
him to reach Medusa.
Athena gave him a bronze shield that can able
to reflect the gaze of Medusa, so as to not
look directly at Medusa and be turned into
stone, and lastly, he was given a sword sharp
enough to cut off the head of Medusa.
with all of these divine gifts, Perseus then
beheaded her.
At this moment Chrysaor, the giant with a
golden sword, and the winged horse PEGASUS
sprang forth from her body.
These are her two sons.
Now that Perseus had Medusa’s head in his
bag, he went back to Seriphos.
However, while flying over Libya, drops of
Medusa’s blood fell to the ground and instantly
turned into snakes;
it is because of this that, to this day, Libya
abounds with serpents.
Perseus would use the head of Medusa to aid
him in several adventures and it played a
crucial role when defeating the Titan.
At last, Medusa is probably one of the most
FAMOUS AND misunderstood characters in Greek
mythology.
she's often regarded as a
cruel monster. she had only the best intentions
and placed her trust in the goddess Athena
who ultimately failed her
and punished her for actions that were beyond
her control.
Her being a monster did not stop artists from
preserving her likeness in their art forever.
she continues to be portrayed in pop culture.
The Temple of Artemis is one known place where
her features are prominently adorned.
She is also captured in a large marble statue.
Leonardo da Vinci did a painting of her using
oil on canvas.
The flag and emblem of Sicily also features
her head. Alexander the great had also made a tattoo in his chest of Medusa.
