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faces for those they considered enemies. Medusa was also the only mortal Gorgon out of the three sisters. Some later scholars say that actually Medusa was born as a normal human being, and was later transformed into a Gorgon, with a face so terrible no one could look at her without being turned to stone.
the land to bring him gifts. Since Perseus was poor, he could not bring anything, and instead the King told him that the best gift of all would be the head of Medusa. Perseus agreed and went off to face the monster. He survived her gaze thanks to his shield, which he used as a mirror so he would not be turned into stone. Before defeating her, a great battle between the two took place. As she was well familiar with her own home, she often possessed great confidence. It is said that this is mainly how many past soldiers had died at her hands. Medusa would often attempt to trick her victims by catching them off guard. Thankfully, however, Perseus was much more agile; not necessarily from a physical stand point, but rather mentally. Of course, having the blood of a warrior also helped in his victory as well. When he returned, the King wouldn't believe that he accomplished the deed, so Perseus lay down the head, and by looking into the Gorgon's eyes, the King and all the nobles turned to stone. In one of the most surprising twists of the story, apparently Medusa was pregnant from Poseidon, and when she was killed, the winged horse Pegasus sprang from her body. Some African texts say that Perseus tricked the titan Atlas and got Medusa to turn him into stone, by flying past him with his shield when fighting Medusa. After the deed was done, he gave the head of the Gorgon to Athena. The Goddess then placed the head on her shield, as a warning to all who would oppose her. Some say she was behind the whole plot, by initially having witnessed her relation with Poseidon. However, to this day this information cannot be entirely confirmed. While Medusa's life was shrouded with secrets, her death was the subject of many different interpretations, but always came back to being beheaded and having her head be an instrument of vengeance against King Polydectes. In a way, she proved useful both in life and death, in different ways.
Impact
Overall, the story of Medusa is one of the central female myth of Ancient Greek, and is riped with deceit, murder and revenge. It's a story of mythical proportion, where even the strongest could be brought down to nothing but a stone statue by a simple look, which can tell much about the hidden power of women. It's no surprise that her appearance and powers were used by so many societies and for different purposes. Both a beautiful figure and a horrific, unspeakable monster, Medusa provided food for thought to many of the world's greatest philosophers, along with the basis for many other stories that came out of it. Without her, few would know of Gorgons, and her story reached every part of the world, although in slightly different ways. Today, the story of Medusa is well known throughout the world. Ever since televisions and film came to be, endless stories have been told through many visual styles. For those who are not particularly fond of reading or Greek mythology in general, such films have been able to capture their minds and heart nevertheless. The future of Medusas life will forever remain uncertain, as new developments (or myths) continue to develop all across the globe. This enables everyone to interpret their own versions of the story, and as a result even bring to life new chapters. All in all, Medusa will forever live thanks to the never-ending theories and speculations surrounding her life and eventual death.