Medusa the woman with snake in place of hair, is probably one of the most well-known creatures in Greek mythology.
However she was not always like that
Daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, two primordial deities of the sea. Medusa was born with incredible beauty.
The young woman snatched hearts wherever she went.
Yet despite her seductive appearance, Medusa was chast and pure.
And because she admired the goddess Athena, she decided to become priestess of the temple dedicated to Athena
Virginity and chastity were indispensable requirements for this position
Medusa was a perfect priestess, perhaps too perfect even.
Because she was so beautiful, the number of visitors who went to the temple just to admire her grew every day.
That made the Goddess Athena very jealous.
For having the most beautiful hair of all Greece, one day a citizen dared to say that her hair would be prettier than the hair of the Goddess Athena.
Although hurt and enraged Athena did not took revenge
Nevertheless one day when the shore was near, Medusa was spotted by Poseidon, God of the seas.
He fell in love with the girl right away.
Yet she resisted the constant flirtations of the God.
Poseidon had a personal feud with Goddess Athena and so owning her priestess became an obsession.
Tired of being rejected, the God decides to possess her by force
Desperate Medusa runs into the temple of Athena in persuit of protection
Poseidon enters behind her, grabs the young woman and rapes her on the floor in front of the goddess statue.
After the violence ended, the goddess appears enraged. And she decides to cruelly punish her priestess.
For the Goddess to punish Poseidon was out of the question, since she considered that his act was of the male entities nature.
But she considered Medusa guilty of seducing the god and bringing dishonor to the temple and the goddess.
Athena curses the young woman. Turning her beautiful hair into snakes,
and from this day forward anyone who looks into her eyes would instantly petrify.
Medusa was now chased by warrior who wished for her head as a trophy, yet they were all turned into stone.
The Hero Perseus finally was able to decapitate the creature.
What no one knew was that Medusa was carrying Poseidon child.
And with her death, from her shed blood, was born the Giant Creator and the Pegasus Horse.
