Philosophical
Was Medusa a monster, or a warning about female power?
In older versions of the myth, Medusa was a beautiful priestess in Athena's temple. After Poseidon assaulted her there, Athena didn't punish him. She punished Medusa. Turned her hair to snakes. Made her face so terrifying it turned men to stone.
You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she's not deadly. She's beautiful, and she's laughing.— Hélène Cixous, *The Laugh of the Medusa*
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The thinker
Mythological Figure & Cultural Symbol
Medusa is a figure from ancient Greek mythology whose story has been reinterpreted by feminist scholars as a symbol of how powerful women get recast as threats.
Based on The Laugh of the Medusa — Hélène Cixous (1976), summarised and reframed by Insights.
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