User:TAnthony/Medusa and gorgons in popular culture

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The mythological monster Medusa and other gorgons have featured in art and culture from the days of ancient Greece to the modern day. She has been variously portrayed as a monster, a protective symbol, a rallying symbol for liberty and a sympathetic rape victim.

Perhaps best-recognized by her head of living snakes and ability to turn living creatures to stone, Medusa is an ancient icon that remains "one of the most popular and enduring figures of Greek mythology" and "continues to live on in the popular imagination" though other figures are forgotten.[1]

Her likeness has been immortalized by numerous artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Peter Paul Rubens, Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin and Benvenuto Cellini.[2]

Contents

[edit] Ancient times to Renaissance

The Medusa or gorgon head, the Gorgoneion, was used in the ancient world as a protective apotropaic symbol. Among the Ancient Greeks, it was the most widely-used image intended to avert evil. Medusa's goggling eyes, fangs and protruding tongue head were depicted as mounted on the shield of Athena herself.[3] Its use in this fashion is depicted in the Alexander Mosaic, a Roman mosaic (ca. 200 BC) in Pompeii.

By the Renaissance, artists depicted Medusa's head held aloft by the realistic human form of the triumphant hero Perseus (such as in the 1554 bronze statue Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini) or evoked horror by making Medusa's detached head the main subject (as demonstrated by the 1597 painting Medusa by Baroque originator Caravaggio).

[edit] 19th Century

After the French Revolution, Medusa was used as a popular emblem of Jacobinism and was often displayed as a figure of "French Liberty" in opposition to "English Liberty," personified by Athena (whose shield bore Medusa's head).[4] "To radicals like Percy Bysshe Shelley, Medusa was an "abject hero," a victim of tyranny whose weakness, disfiguration, and monstrous mutilation become in themselves a kind of revolutionary power."[5] Shelley's 1819 poem, On the Medusa of Leonardo da Vinci in the Florentine Gallery was published posthomously by his wife Mary Shelley in 1824.[6] Octave Mirbeau's use of Medusa during this time has also been examined.[7]

[edit] Modern use

Having become "one of the most recognizable images of Greek mythology," Medusa has been featured on the cover of nearly every paperback edition of Edith Hamilton's popular book Mythology since 1942 as well as editions of Bulfinch's Mythology.

[edit] Films

[[Image:Medusa-ClashofTitans.jpg|220px|thumb|[[Medusa]] from ''[[Clash of the Titans]]''.]] It has been suggested that "most people today who are aware of the story of Perseus and Medusa owe their knowledge to the 1981 film Clash of the Titans."[8] The battle with Medusa was memorable for its use of stop motion animation by special effects creator Ray Harryhausen. Cursed by being turned from beautiful to ugly, the Medusa of Clash has snakes for hair and a snake-like lower body; in addition to turning people to stone with her gaze, she uses arrows, and unnerves enemies with the rattle on the tip of her tail.[9] Her blood is able to dissolve a metal shield, and drops of it later transform into fearsome giant scorpions; Medusa's decapitated head also retains its power to turn creatures to stone.[10] Though "the essential story sticks closer to its sources than any other interpretation," the film takes creative liberties and Medusa is imagined differently than "any previous representations, ancient or modern."[11]

The myth of the gorgon had also been notably updated and used as the basis for the 1964 Hammer horror film The Gorgon, which "abandoned the traditional myth entirely and tried to tell a new story."[12] This version takes place in a German village where a series of victims suffer mysterious and gradual petrification; it is ultimately revealed that the spirit of an ancient gorgon has possessed a certain resident, who subsequently transforms into a gorgon during the full moon.[13] When she is decapitated, her head returns to that of the human woman.[14]

[edit] Gaming

Medusa and gorgons have been featured in gaming since the advent of role-playing games. The original Dungeons & Dragons game introduced its version of Medusa in the game series' Monster Manual.

Medusa also frequently appears in video and computer games that have settings in mythology. Gorgons and some Medusas appear as minor enemies but Medusa does feature as boss (such as in God of War) or a final boss nemesis for the player to defeat (such as in Herc's Adventures for the Sega Saturn).

See also: Medusa (Kid Icarus)

There is some liberty taken with her appearance and characters with some Medusas more directly inspired by myth than others.[15]

[edit] Psychoanalysis

In 1940, Sigmund Freud's Das Medusenhaupt (Medusa's Head) was published posthumously. This article lay the framework for his significant contribution to a body of criticism surrounding the monster. Medusa is presented as “the supreme talisman who provides the image of castration -- associated in the child's mind with the discovery of maternal sexuality -- and its denial. The snakes are multiple phalluses and petrifaction represents the comforting erection.”[16][17] Psychoanalysts continue archetypal literary criticism to the present day. In 2002's The Rape of Medusa in the Temple of Athena: Aspects of Triangulation in the Girl by Dr. Beth Seeley, analyses Medusa's punishment for the ‘crime’ of having been raped in Athena's temple as an outcome of the goddess' unresolved conflicts with her father, Zeus.[18]

[edit] Feminist interpretation

In the 20th Century, feminists have reassessed Medusa's appearances in literature and in modern culture, including the use of Medusa as a logo by fashion company Versace.[19][20][21] The attack on Medusa is discussed as a potential example of violence against women or rape.

The name "Medusa" itself is often used in ways not directly connected to the mythological figure but to suggest the gorgon's abilities or connote malevolence; despite her origins as a beauty, the name in common usage "came to mean monster."[22] The book Female Rage: Unlocking Its Secrets, Claiming Its Power by Mary Valentis and Anne Devane notes that "When we asked women what female rage looks like to them, it was always Medusa, the snaky-haired monster of myth, who came to mind ... In one interview after another we were told that Medusa is 'the most horrific woman in the world' ... [though] none of the women we interviewed could remember the details of the myth."[23]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilk, Stephen R. Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, 26 June 2000, Front matter, ISBN 0-195-12431-6.
  2. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 200
  3. ^ Jane Ellen Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, pp 196ff.
  4. ^ Judson, B. (2001). The Politics of Medusa: Shelley's Physiognomy of Revolution. ELH. 68(1), 135-154.
  5. ^ "Ekphrasis and the Other" by W. J. T. Mitchell, excerpted from Picture Theory(The University of Chicago Press);the paper originally appeared in South Atlantic Quarterly XCI (Summer 1992), pg. 695-719.
  6. ^ Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Complete Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley, 14 June 1994, pg. 621, ISBN 0-679-60111-2.
  7. ^ Claude Herzfeld, La Figure de Méduse dans l'œuvre d'Octave Mirbeau, Librairie Nizet, Paris, 1992, 107 pages.
  8. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 209.
  9. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 214.
  10. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 214
  11. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 210.
  12. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 207.
  13. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 207.
  14. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 207.
  15. ^ Medusa the Gorgon - Atmosfear.com.au
  16. ^ Medusa in Myth and Literary History
  17. ^ Das Medusenhaupt (Medusa's Head. First published posthumously. Int. Z. Psychoanal. Imago, 25 (1940), 105; reprinted Ges. W., 17,47. The manuscript is dated May 14, 1922, and appears to be a sketch for a more extensive work. Translation, reprinted from Int. J. Psychoanal.,22 (1941), 69; by James Strachey.
  18. ^ Seelig, B.J. (2002). The Rape of Medusa in the Temple of Athena: Aspects of Triangulation. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 83:895-911.
  19. ^ Pratt, A. (1994). Archetypal empowerment in poetry: Medusa, Aphrodite, Artemis, and bears : a gender comparison. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253208653
  20. ^ Stephenson, A. G. (1997). Endless the Medusa: a feminist reading of Medusan imagery and the myth of the hero in Eudora Welty's novels.
  21. ^ Garber, Marjorie. The Medusa Reader, 24 February 2003, ISBN 0-415-90099-9.
  22. ^ Garber, Marjorie. The Medusa Reader, 24 February 2003, Introduction, pg. 1, ISBN 0-415-90099-9.
  23. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 218.

[edit] See also

[[Category:Greek legendary creatures]] [[Category:In popular culture]]

[edit] START OF OLDER VERSION

The mythological monster known as the gorgon, and in particular the gorgon Medusa, have been featured in many works of fiction. An ancient icon that remains "one of the most popular and enduring figures of Greek mythology," Medusa "continues to live on in the popular imagination" though other figures are forgotten.[1]

An ancient iconic figure whose use persists in modern culture, the gorgon is perhaps best-recognized by her head of living snakes and ability to turn living creatures to stone.

[[Image:Medusa-ClashofTitans.jpg|220px|thumb|[[Medusa]] from ''[[Clash of the Titans]]''.]] [[Image:Cap037-1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|[[Celia Mae]] from ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'']] [[Image:Rome-Gorgon1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|[[Gorgoneion]] from the opening credits of [[HBO]]'s ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'']]

[edit] Film, television and literature

It has been suggested that "most people today who are aware of the story of Perseus and Medusa owe their knowledge to the 1981 film Clash of the Titans." [2] Cursed by being turned from beautiful to ugly, this Medusa has snakes for hair and a snake-like lower body; in addition to turning people to stone with her gaze, she uses arrows, and unnerves enemies with the rattle on the tip of her tail. [3] Her blood is able to dissolve a metal shield, and drops of it later transform into fearsome giant scorpions; Medusa's decapitated head also retains its power to turn creatures to stone. [4] Though "the essential story sticks closer to its sources than any other interpretation," the film takes creative liberties and Medusa is imagined differently than "any previous representations, ancient or modern." [5]

The myth of the gorgon had also been notably updated and used as the basis for the 1964 Hammer horror film The Gorgon, which "abandoned the traditional myth entirely and tried to tell a new story." [6] This version takes place in a German village where a series of victims suffer mysterious and gradual petrification; it is ultimately revealed that the spirit of an ancient gorgon has possessed a certain resident, who subsequently transforms into a gorgon during the full moon. [7] When she is decapitated, her head returns to that of the human woman. [8]

The 2001 animated film Monsters, Inc. features monsters as the protagonists; the character Celia Mae is benevolent but "has a Medusa head of snakes that act as mirrors of her own emotions." [9]

Reflecting its use by the ancient world as a protective apotropaic symbol, [10] a gorgon image with moving snakes for hair appears on an ancient Roman wall in the opening credits sequence for the HBO series Rome, although the face itself is neither ugly or menacing.

Charles Stross's novella The Concrete Jungle features a "scientific" explanation for the ability of a Gorgon to turn people to stone, which is then used as the basis for technological devices which play a central role in the story.

[edit] Games and animated series

Medusa and other gorgons are also commonly used in role-playing, video and computer games.

Some games appear more directly inspired by myth; in Herc's Adventures, the protagonist is tasked to slay Medusa and collect her head, which can be equipped to turn enemies into stone. Similarly, the hero of Titan Quest must vanquish gorgons, which are found in Greece and resemble greenish females with red serpents for hair and green snake bodies. God of War also portrays gorgons as large snakes with female human torsos and snakes for hair, and a derivative Medusa is also the main antagonist in the Kid Icarus series of video games. A straight-from-the-myth Medusa also appears in the cult DVD boardgame series Atmosfear, as an anti-hero. [11] The concepts of Medusa and gorgons are personified in various incarnations in numerous other games.

The persona of Medusa is often adapted as an antagonist in various animated television series. A villainess with snakelike hair named Sedusa appears in The Powerpuff Girls, and the heroes of Teletoon's Class of the Titans come face to face with Medusa and her Gorgon sisters in Episode 1.9: "Sibling Rivalry" (2006).

[edit] Use of the name

The name "Medusa" itself is often used in ways not directly connected to the mythological figure but to suggest the gorgon's abilities or connote malevolence; despite her origins as a beauty, the name in common usage "came to mean monster." [12] The book Female Rage: Unlocking Its Secrets, Claiming Its Power by Mary Valentis and Anne Devane notes that "When we asked women what female rage looks like to them, it was always Medusa, the snaky-haired monster of myth, who came to mind ... In one interview after another we were told that Medusa is 'the most horrific woman in the world' ... [though] none of the women we interviewed could remember the details of the myth." [13]

The Marvel comics character Medusa's powers revolve around her prehensile red hair. [14] In the series Watch Over Me, the biochemical virus called Medusa results in paralysis and ultimately death (the antidote is called Perseus); the fictional Medusa spider (Latrodectus regina) in the Lost episode "Exposé" is said to have very strong attractive pheromones, and its bite paralyzes its victims for eight hours in a manner which simulates death, even to a doctor. [15] [16]

Madame Medusa is the name of the villainess from Disney's popular animated film, The Rescuers (1977).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilk, Stephen R. Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, 26 June 2000, Front matter, ISBN 0-195-12431-6.
  2. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 200
  3. ^ Jane Ellen Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, pp 196ff.
  4. ^ Judson, B. (2001). The Politics of Medusa: Shelley's Physiognomy of Revolution. ELH. 68(1), 135-154.
  5. ^ "Ekphrasis and the Other" by W. J. T. Mitchell, excerpted from Picture Theory(The University of Chicago Press);the paper originally appeared in South Atlantic Quarterly XCI (Summer 1992), pg. 695-719.
  6. ^ Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Complete Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley, 14 June 1994, pg. 621, ISBN 0-679-60111-2.
  7. ^ Claude Herzfeld, La Figure de Méduse dans l'œuvre d'Octave Mirbeau, Librairie Nizet, Paris, 1992, 107 pages.
  8. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 209.
  9. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 214.
  10. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 214
  11. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 210.
  12. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 207.
  13. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 207.
  14. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 207.
  15. ^ Medusa the Gorgon - Atmosfear.com.au
  16. ^ Medusa in Myth and Literary History
  17. ^ Das Medusenhaupt (Medusa's Head. First published posthumously. Int. Z. Psychoanal. Imago, 25 (1940), 105; reprinted Ges. W., 17,47. The manuscript is dated May 14, 1922, and appears to be a sketch for a more extensive work. Translation, reprinted from Int. J. Psychoanal.,22 (1941), 69; by James Strachey.
  18. ^ Seelig, B.J. (2002). The Rape of Medusa in the Temple of Athena: Aspects of Triangulation. Int. J. Psycho-Anal., 83:895-911.
  19. ^ Pratt, A. (1994). Archetypal empowerment in poetry: Medusa, Aphrodite, Artemis, and bears : a gender comparison. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253208653
  20. ^ Stephenson, A. G. (1997). Endless the Medusa: a feminist reading of Medusan imagery and the myth of the hero in Eudora Welty's novels.
  21. ^ Garber, Marjorie. The Medusa Reader, 24 February 2003, ISBN 0-415-90099-9.
  22. ^ Garber, Marjorie. The Medusa Reader, 24 February 2003, Introduction, pg. 1, ISBN 0-415-90099-9.
  23. ^ Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, pg. 218.


[[Category:In popular culture]]