Medusa Deserved Better
TRIGGER WARNING - This post discusses sexual assault.
Before I talk about how Medusa was shafted, I'd like to share a little about her story. Although portrayed as a monster, according to Greek mythology Medusa was once a beautiful mortal woman. She was so beautiful, in fact, that she that she attracted the attention of the Greek sea god Poseidon aka Neptune (Poseidon’s Roman name). As the story goes Medusa, by most accounts a virgin, was visiting the temple of the goddess Athena aka Minerva (Athena' Roman name) when Posiden stumbled across her. He was apparently so "overcome" by his lust for her that he raped her.
Yes, you read correctly he raped her. Then after she was raped, she was further victimized by Athena. Athena, apparently angrier about the rape occurring in her temple than the fact that Medusa had been raped, decided to punish Medusa by casting her out of her temple, but not before turning her into a hideous creature with snakes for hair and the power to turn men into stone with one glance.
Here is the passage for Ovid's Metamorphoses describing the incident in question.
Her Neptune saw, and with such beauties fir'd,
Resolv'd to compass, what his soul desir'd.
In chaste Minerva's fane, he, lustful, stay'd,
And seiz'd, and rifled the young, blushing maid.
The bashful Goddess turn'd her eyes away,
Nor durst such bold impurity survey;
But on the ravish'd virgin vengeance takes,
Her shining hair is chang'd to hissing snakes.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, circa 8 A.D. - http://classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.4.fourth.html
So let me recap. A woman was raped. Her rapist was never punished. Rather than receiving support from another woman, she was blamed for her rape and subsequently punished and ostracized.
The tragedy is that Medusa's story doesn't stop there. After her rape and disfigurement, Medusa retreats to a cave. Despite her attempts to self-isolate she is repeatedly sought out by men, all of whom end up being turned to stone. This further cements Medusa reputation, stripping her of victim status and relegating her to the status of a monster.
It is this reputation that causes Perseus to seek her out and kill her. Point of clarification. Perseus doesn't kill her because she is a monster who has turned men to stone. On the contrary, he kills her so he can use her head to turn his enemy into stone. He seeks her out not for the sake of justice but to fulfill his own selfish means. Interestingly enough, some stories suggest Medusa was pregnant at the time of her death.
“For Medusa was pregnant at the time of her death, and when Perseus severed her head, her two unborn children, Chrysaor and Pegasus, suddenly sprang from her neck.”
Medusa's story has evolved over time, transforming her from innocent victim to vile seductress (see Uma Thurman's performance in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief). In every version, the demi-god Perseus is hailed as a hero for slaying the monster. Those versions omit the back story of a woman who was violated, demonized, and punished for being raped before being murdered.
As I read through the story of Medusa, I saw a number of parallels to the way we treat rape victims. As a society, we tend to want to relieve men of their responsibilities while blaming women for their own victimization with questions like:
What was she wearing?
What did she expect dressed like that?
What was she doing at...?
Why didn't she just fight back?
Why ruin a young man's life over one mistake?
And statements like:
Maybe she shouldn't have drunk so much
She was asking for it
Well, maybe she should have...
These questions and statements are not only demeaning to women, they are disrespectful to men, because it assumes that men incapable of not raping women. It suggests that like Poseidon, they are creatures driven by lust and incapable of self-control. This is a fallacy that damages men as much as is does women. Millions of men live their entire lives and never sexually assault a woman.
Before I close, I'd like to address the issue of Athena. As angry as I am with the actions of Poseidon and Perseus, I am disgusted by the actions of Athena. Her actions feel like a betrayal because she was aware of what transpired and still sided with the rapist. I'm not clear what fueled her actions. Perhaps she was jealous of Medusa, or maybe turning her into a monster was a misguided attempt to protect her. Bottom line is she failed her "sister" when she needed her most. She didn't offer confort or aid. Worse yet, she turned a blind eye and made no attempts to hold her fellow god accountable. Her betrayal, no doubt compounded Medusa's pain.
Ironically, there are many Athena's in the public and private sphere. Women who look at other women disapprovingly because of the way they dress or carry themselves. They sit in judgment of women who do not pass their moral litmus test. They nod their heads approvingly when they hear the victim blaming questions and statements I described above.
I think it's possible hints of Athena exist in all of us, not because we are bad people, but because we all want to feel safe. The Athena in us allows us to rationalize away our fears of being sexual assaulted. If only women who dress a certain way, frequent certain places, and behave a certain way get victimized, by default we are safe, right? That is also a fallacy.
Rape and other forms of sexual violence are crimes of power, not attraction or sex. Children get raped, elderly people get raped, even nuns get raped. Rape is not caused by the victim. The blame rests solely with the abuser. As I mentioned before, rape is not a foregone conclusion.
#NotYourFault #BlameTheRapist #StopVictimBlaming
The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned Into a Monster: https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/qvxwax/medusa-greek-myth-rape-victim-turned-into-a-monster
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