In the city of Athens, the Parthenon stood as the temple to Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom and strategy. There, she was aided by many priestesses who had sworn to keep their virginity.
One of these young women was Medusa, who had corn-silk hair smelled of lavender. Her wide eyes were a deep blue-violet shade, and her skin was lightly suntanned. Almost anyone who saw her agreed that her beauty was parallel to that of Aphrodite.
Like the others, Medusa was mortal. But Athena, who had seen promise and talent in the young woman, had offered her immortality after fifteen years of service. She had served five.
.Before swearing her virginity and entering the temple as a priestess, Medusa had caught the attention of Poseidon, the lord of the sea. This caused the men who idolized her to go into frenzy. And thus Medusa sought refuge, finding it in the Parthenon. But she had not thought about it well enough.
Now that she had sworn to virginity and entered a place where any male—even the gods—were not allowed, she could no longer see Poseidon. As such, Medusa began to grow lonely. They only times she could see him were on the holidays, when the priestesses had no duties in temple.
One day, towards the end of a rough week, she felt as though she needed something to make her feel better. So she asked Poseidon to come and visit her.
It was a day that Athena had to tend to a matter on Olympus and would arrive at the temple much later than usual. As such, with would give them extra time to see each other. Medusa waited for him by the back entrance, a secluded area of the temple where it was almost sure they would be unnoticed.
He came through the door, looking more handsome then Medusa had remembered. His black hair and beard were neatly cropped, and his eyes were bright blue, like the ocean that he tended too. His sun-tanned skin matched hers, and with those muscles, Medusa thought that carrying the sky would be much less a burden for him that it had been for Atlas.
“Hello, darling,” he said, embracing her. “It’s good to see you.”
“I wish I could quit this mundane job. I wish I could go back five years and not have taken the vow.” She sniffled and then laughed, continuing. “But ten years isn’t long. I can put up with her, with this place for that amount of time, and then I’ll be immortal. I can go to Olympus and spend eternity with you.”
Poseidon laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “Olympus is an amazing place. I know you’d love it there.”
Medusa smiled, exposing perfect, china-like teeth. “You’ve said that to me many times before.”
Poseidon responded by leaning in and kissing her for a long time, until it was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Medusa jerked away and urgently gestured Poseidon to leave. “Someone’s coming!” she hissed. Her eyes were glassy and desperate.
He realized this and began to make his way toward the exit, but a shadowy figure came into view.
It was Athena, and her eyes were blazing like fire.
Medusa shrank back, shaking. “Milady,” she managed. She’d never seen anyone look so angry before in her life. How would she explain this? Suddenly Medusa felt guilty for ever inviting Poseidon to come visit her. How absolutely stupid could she have been?
But it seemed little use trying to explain this to Athena, who looked as though she needed to punish someone to be satisfied. Medusa gulped and shrank back into Poseidon’s arms, but with a wave of her hand Athena drew them apart, creating an invisible force field so that they could not be near.
“Medusa,” she said coldly. “I’m disappointed in you.”
“Milady,” Medusa croaked, thick tears forming in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“You aren’t sorry,” she replied. “You’re sorry that you were caught.”
Medusa choked back more tears, gesturing towards Poseidon and hoping that he would say something that would save her. But he remained still. Instead he mouthed to her, “Be Strong. Don’t let her intimidate you.” Medusa whimpered. That would certainly not be helpful at a time like this. Athena was a powerful goddess; immortal, whereas Medusa was not.
“Help me!” she mouthed back, but Poseidon did nothing.
“For your behavior, you must be punished,” Athena said.
Medusa gulped as Athena grabbed her arm and began to drag her into the darkness of the corridor from which she came.
The goddess ran so fast that the emotions Medusa was experiencing—fear and betrayal—came in a blur and meshed together violently. Once she was free from whatever punishment she faced, she would confront Poseidon for betraying her. It was his fault that she would be punished. Medusa knew that this would not be a light scolding.
Her thoughts were confirmed when they reached an old, dark room that was empty except for a long glass cabinet. Inside it shone at least a hundred tiny multicolored bottles. It was silent, and Medusa grew anxious waiting for something to happen.
That was when Athena threw her into the wall. She hit it head-first, and her silky hair become matted with blood. Medusa cried out; it like being rammed by a Cyclops. Athena walked over and forced Medusa to sit up, chaining her to the wall and gagging her mouth with rope while she went rummaging through the glass cabinet.
“Where was that one?” she whispered to herself.
That was when Athena paused for a moment and then grabbed a little green jar, making it clear to Medusa that she was going to have to drink it.
Medusa shook in protest, knowing that something bad was inside the bottle.
“Ssh,” Athena said. “One little sip, that’s all it takes.”
Because Athena would have to take the rope off of her mouth to give her the potion, Medusa planned to scream as loud as she could in hopes that someone would hear her and come to her rescue.
However, Athena was too quick. She yanked off the rope and forced a mouthful down Medusa’s mouth. She began to feel the effects instantaneously.
It was like swallowing fire. Her head soon felt it, and Medusa—who wasn’t gagged anymore—cried out in fierce pain, and Athena simply smiled.
"Have mercy!" Medusa cried.
Medusa soon became aware that her hair was falling out in thick clumps, and within a minute she was bald, surrounded by a ring of burnt hair. She felt somewhat relived. Being bald wasn’t so bad, as her hair would grow back eventually. Poseidon wouldn’t even care.
That was when Medusa began to feel like hot coals were being dropped on her head. In the center, it was as if something was trapped inside. It twisted and turned, and after fifteen painful seconds something pierced through her skin and twirled around.
Hisss.
It was a snake, and every little movement it made pained Medusa, as it was attached to her skull. But that still wasn’t all. Medusa felt the wiggling inside her head again and knew that another snake was coming. It hissed madly before settling itself on her head. Thick tears flew down Medusa’s face. Somehow she knew that her whole head would be covered with snakes. She also knew that Athena would not stop.
She closed her eyes and prepared herself to endure the inevitable pain.
It slowly began to happen; one snake, then another. Her whole head became covered with hissing snakes while Athena simply watched. To keep her mind off of the pain, Medusa tried to turn her mind to other things, but found she couldn’t concentrate, instead wondering what would become of her. Where would she go? She doubted she would stay in Athens.
Finally she heard a hiss, and then it stopped. At least thirty large snakes moved in different directions, tugging at Medusa’s skull. It hurt, but the torture was over, finally over.
But Athena wasn’t done. Not yet. She moved forward and stroked Medusa’s cheek. “Now, one more little sip of the potion, and we’ll be all done.”
“No!”
That was when Medusa realized that Athena hadn’t bothered to put the gag rope back over her mouth. She screamed as loud as she could, but this proved to be a mistake, and Athena took the opportunity to force another swig down Medusa’s throat.
This time it felt like swallowing molten lava. The feeling spread throughout her entire body, and her flawless skin slowly started peeling away and disintegrating into ash.
Finally the feeling had passed through her body, although she still felt very hot. “Done…” she whispered miserably.
Athena smiled. “Dear, in time you will come to realize what is like to be repelled and feared. I am hereby banishing you from Athens, and I shall give you immortality. You shall live alone on the edge of the River Styx for eternity.”
The snakes on Medusa’s head began to hiss. A glow of white light formed around her, and she slowly lost consciousness.
When she woke, she found that she was laying face-down on a cold marble floor. She sat up, taking in the surroundings. It was a spacious old temple with ornate pillars and steps leading up to a tiny corridor. It was a chillingly reminiscent, but much darker version of Athena’s temple. Medusa snorted. She’s put me here to mock me.
She got up and walked around, pondering what she would do. If only there was a way she could kill herself, but there was nothing! Athena had made her immortal. She was doomed to live out this curse for eternity. Medusa wondered what was in the corridor. Walking up, she saw it was a dark room with a chair and tiny window. Could she beat herself to death with the chair? She frowned, doubting it. That was when she saw an ocean-blue bow and quiver, lying on the chair. It was filled with sharp arrows that looked like it could pierce through the Minotaur. She could have sworn it wasn’t there before. There was also a note. Medusa picked it up and read it.
Darling,
I very much apologize for what has happened to you it is my fault, and I feel solely responsible. I feel like I should do something to make up for it, as this is going to plague me forever. When your death comes, I will tell Hades to give you a place in the Elysium. I will also try to make sure that you will be returned to your true, lovely form. No human should have to endure what you did. One mistake does not make you evil. Until then, I’ve forged this for you so that you will be able to defend yourself from all those who will come.
—Poseidon
He still loved her, after all. She slung the quiver over her shoulder and smiled.
That was when she heard footsteps, followed by a voice that sounded eerily familiar.
“Medusa,” He yelled. “Are you here? I heard about what happened. I came down to come and rescue you!”
It couldn’t have been who Medusa thought. She walked outside the corridor and into the main hall. There he was, surely enough, his back turned to her. He had been Medusa’s lover for two years before she courted Poseidon. They had still been friendly toward each other, occasionally flirting. If Medusa hadn’t met Poseidon, there was no doubt that they would be together. She admired his nerve, but still…
“You shouldn’t have come,” she said loudly.
He heard the voice and turned, and their eyes met. He was about to say something, but he froze, his body becoming immobile. It grayed before finally crumbling into nothing.
Medusa’s mouth fell wide open. Had she been so ugly that she turned him to stone? What had Athena done to her, exactly? This couldn’t be happening! Why did he have to come? Medusa wished that she could revive him. Would everything she looked at have this fate—not just people, but any living thing? This meant that she could no longer have human contact. Until the end of time, she would be alone, with only her snakes for company.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a piece of broken glass. Perhaps if I look upon myself, I’ll be turned to stone. Maybe Athena didn’t foresee that and I will die.
She was absolutely horrified at the sight she saw. She looked as if…she looked terrible, monstrous; there was no doubt to that. Her skin was scaly, like that of the snakes that had replaced her hair. Although her eyes had kept their lovely blue-violet color, the skin around it was saggy and burnt. There was nothing left to her eyebrows; only harsh scars. It was only then that she realized that nothing had happened. Medusa shook her head and turned away from the glass, beginning to cry. She knew that her story—not that of Medusa, the beautiful priestess, but of Medusa, the monster, the gorgon—would gain renown. Others would seek her out and try to slay her. She now understood why Poseidon had given her the arrows. Come for me, she thought, and I promise you, your life will be over.
