medusa libyan goddess

Medusa (Metis) was the destroyer aspect of the Great Triple Goddess also called Neith, Anath, Athene or Ath-enna in North Africa and Athana in 1400 c. BC Minoan Crete. Well, in an important sense it doesnt matter. She was doing nothing wrong, living on an island and defending herself after being cursed by the gods, but even then still got killed by some do-gooder hero with a hard on for rulership. And those analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or nature have been especially noted. [16], Lamia was the daughter born between King Belus of Egypt and Lybie, according to one source. Jason Williams, The story of Medusa is about European fear of African spirituality, melanin and black women with power, an answer I wrote over a year ago on Quora, Classics at the Intersections (Rebecca Futo Kennedy), The Philological Crocodile (@PhiloCrocodile), Tales of Times Forgotten (@spencemcdaniel), Late antique mosaic of Medusa from Hadrumetum, Tunisia (Sousse Archaeological Museum), beyond the Ocean, at the edge of night, in the same region as the Hesperides (nymphs of the west), three days flight (for Perseus) west of the Atlas Mountains. [35], In later classical periods, around the 1st century A. D.,[36] the conception of this Lamia shifted to that of a sultry seductress who enticed young men and devoured them. Press J to jump to the feed. Yes, she was. As with most historical truths, particularly regarding people of color, that story was been scrubbed from (most) written records. The Beheading her was a metaphor for destroying the masks that were central to her cult. 180 (trans. This is given in the concluding paragraph of the chapter. 133163; 2019b). Essays may be lightly modified for readability or to protect the anonymity of contributors, but we do not edit essay examples prior to publication. [103], Later traditions referred to many lamiae; these were folkloric monsters similar to vampires and succubi that seduced young men and then fed on their blood. Reading example essays works the same way! My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) Choosing to worship Hera when you advance to the Mythic Age lets you train Medusae at your temple. [11], Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (vii.5) refers to the lore of some beastly lifeform in the shape of a woman, which tears the bellies of pregnant mothers and devours their fetuses. Both sexes resemble the scaly humanoid from 3rd edition, though with less haggish features. : [78] Either one could be Lamia the mother of Scylla mentioned in the Stesichorus (d. 555 BC) fragment, and other sources. [88], Close comparison is also made with the serpentine Medusa. In 2008, the Mattel company produced the Barbie Doll as Medusa, a collectors doll that portrays a beautiful, sexy pre-transformation Medusa. They're not intended to be submitted as your own work, so we don't waste time removing every error. [102] John Cuthbert Lawson remarks "the chief characteristics of the Lamiae, apart from their thirst for blood, are their uncleanliness, their gluttony, and their stupidity". Goddess Medusa. There was a time long ago when Medusas people worshiped Her as a Goddess. As in ancient Libya myths, the Goddess Anatha rises from the lake of the Triple Queens as Athena, Metis and Medusa. Athena, a New Moon Warrior Maiden who inspires courage, strength, and valor, the Sea Goddess Metis, a Full Moon Mother of wisdom who, The essays in our library are intended to serve as content examples to inspire you as you write your own essay. Here are some ways our essay examples library can help you with your assignment: Read our Academic Honor Code for more information on how to use (and how not to use) our library. She wears snake jewellery and a chiffon fishtail skirt. : Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. As the source of earthquakes, he is also known as the Earth-shaker. His consort is the sea goddess Amphitrite. Some historians also believe that the existence of three Gorgons is further evidence to support this theory. Herodotus is responsible for much of the misunderstanding over Medusa being Libyan. Of the three sisters only Medousa was mortal. Herodotus gives us valuable data, but hes no authority in interpreting the data. It makes us look like a bunch of judging Christians. For the descriptions and nature of the Lamia, Keats drew from Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy. Coral, anything serpentine, menstrual blood stained pads or garments. [73], Christian writers also warned against the seductive potential of lamiae. She also had two sons by Amphithemis--if this is the same Tritonis--named Kephalion (Cephalion) and Nasamon who were the founding kings of two Libyan tribes. In others, they are not literal snakes but rather hair that supernaturally behaves as if it were made of living snakes. [43], Regarding the seductress, Apollonius further warned, "you are warming a snake (ophis) on your bosom, and it is a snake that warms you". [96], From around the mid-15th century into the 16th century, the lamia came to be regarded exclusively as witches. Its entirely up to Berber people to decide whether Medusa is African today. Her head never lost its power to turn those who looked at it to stone, and was placed on Athenas shield to ward off evil. [44][40] It has been suggested from this discourse that the creature was therefore "literally a snake". Medusa is usually portrayed as the monster she became after her transformation by Athena. She was imported into Greece as one of the Gorgons, daughter of Phorcus and his sister Ceto. [95] Worded another way, Lamia was emblematic of the hypocrisy of such scholars. For this reason. (Pindar puts the Gorgons in or near Hyperborea, a fictional place in the far north. . Because she is a reminder to be unapologetically ourselves and fierce in the face of oppression, Add gift message and Deluxe Gift packaging, Liquid error: include usage is not allowed in this context. These include the half-woman, half-snake beasts of the "Libyan myth" told by Dio Chrysostom, and the monster sent to Argos by Apollo to avenge Psamathe (Crotopus). [54][55][m][n], Meroe has seduced a man named Socrates, but when he plots to escape, the two witches raid his bed, thrust a knife in the neck to tap the blood into a skin bag, eviscerate his heart, and stuff the hole back with sponge. - Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University, We use cookies to provide the best possible experience on our site. ", "Raised by Wolves: Mother's Real Name Has TERRIFYING Implications", "10 Lamia, Slain by Eurybatus and Others", "The Sweepings of Lamia: Transformations of the Myths of Lilith and Lamia", "Magic and Vampirism in Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana and Bram Stoker's Dracula", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamia&oldid=1138177380, Articles with Latin-language sources (la), Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2007, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 12:19. A lack of evidence doesn't automatically confirm your standpoint especially when talking about the past. Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld, Nadeko imbibing the remnants of a snake oddity and transforming into a Snake Goddess, long hair that could be used as tentacles to grab people, using a piece of the snake-mane to squirt acidic venom into her own eyes, demanding certain kinds of people not be let into the Watch, regret her decision to turn her into a monster, a giant snake's body in lieu of humanoid legs, many monsters are immune or highly resistant to, she was turned into a monster as punishment, Brothel for the Slaking of Intellectual Lusts, the monster she eventually became at the end of her life at the cost of her sanity, giant monster made of snakes that can shoot lasers from its single eye, that at least he can still move this time, One of the first major villains faced by the heroes of, The little known 1978 anime film Metamorphoses, which is based on, One that deserves particular mention is the, Gorgons have a particular presence on Theros, a plane directly inspired by, Several runs earlier Diana faced a much-less intelligent (but only slightly less deadly) Medusa imitation during a tournament to choose a new Wonder Woman. 6 (trans. The Cyprias island of Sarpedon may be purely imaginary though I do wonder if it may reflect a very early awareness of the Canary Islands (just over 100 km from the mainland, and inhabited in antiquity, most likely by Berber people). xsai 11/19/2011. Zeus gave Lamia the power of prophecy and the ability to take out and reinsert her eyes, possibly because she was cursed by Hera with insomnia or because she could no longer close her eyes, so that she was forced to always obsess over her lost children.[1]. Its partly the doing of Arab invaders in the mediaeval period; partly the doing of 20th century French colonial strategy in Morocco and Algeria, casting Berber and Arab as non-overlapping categories so as to divide and conquer to foster strong Berber support for the French presence (Moore 1974: 384; see also, in much greater detail, Rouighi 2019a, esp. [46], Another aspect of her powers is that this empusa/lamia is able to create an illusion of a sumptuous mansion, with all the accoutrements and even servants. ((lacuna)) They were slain in Libya by the shepherd Cephalion, brother of Nasamon, son of the Nymph Tritonis and Amphithemis, whsoe flocks they were plundering.. Iconographically, two very different depictions coalesce in the classical Medusa: the Neolithic God-dess of birth, death, and regeneration, who is represented as bird, snake, or bird/snake hybrid; and the Near Eastern demon Humbaba whose severed head is, like Medusas, used in an apo-tropaic manner. For more information on choosing credible sources for your paper, check out this blog post. In Ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion (Greek: ) was a special apotropaic amulet showing the Gorgon head, used most famously by the Olympian deities Athena and Zeus: both are said to have worn the gorgoneion as a protective pendant. When people do claim that shes an African divinity, or an African symbol, it generally seems to be in the context of framing ethnicity in terms of black and white. In Statius' version, the monster had a woman's face and breasts, and a hissing snake protruding from the cleft of her rusty-colored forehead, and it would slide into children's bedrooms to snatch them. She was born far across the ocean from Greece; Later contributing authors to Medusas myth placed her homeland as Libya. Other details appear in different sources: Medusa was originally a beautiful woman who was transformed; she remained beautiful (but deadly) after her transformation; she was a rape victim, and cursed by Athena; her head was set on the shield of Athena; and so on. [22], It is somewhat uncertain if this refers to the one Lamia[23] or to "a Lamia" among many, as given in some translations of the two plays;[24] a generic lamia is also supported by the definition as some sort of a "wild beast" in the Suda. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. For the Basque lamia, see. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) Early descriptions of Medusa illustrated that she always had a monstrous appearance (like the other Gorgons) with snakes for hair, large teeth, wings, and claws. Because of her cruel acts, her physical appearance changed to become ugly and monstrous. In the very earliest sources, she lived on an island in the Atlantic. 5 The story is not one of a single monster being killed, but of an enemy culture and its religion being destroyed and replaced by the Greeks and the gods of Mount Olympus. Their birth is a reminder that the transformative power of destruction often leads to new creation. Medusa teaches us to know and love ourselves outside of the expectations of patriarchal society. When she's defeated, Medusa herself is turned to stone. They were the maiden, mother and crone. Medusa embodies menstruations protective powers. [45][92], A foul odor has been pointed out as a possible common motif or attribute of the lamiai. The sisters Sthenno and Euryale were immortal but the third, Medusa, was mortal. A good friend of mine worships her as a goddess. Not only is Medusa identified with Libya, she also had dealings with the three Graeae who had the removable eye shared between them. They were in the service of Hera, giving Perseus a connection to both of these deities. Aeneas didnt originate in Roman myth, but hes still an important part of Roman myth. Most frequently, only her severed head is depicted. When ancient Greek writers say Libya, they dont mean the modern country. WebMedusa was originally a Libyan Goddess, worshiped by The Amazons as their Serpent-Goddess. Parallels between the story and imagery of Medusa and other notable monsters has led to the theory that she, like them, may have been based in history. Much later, in the first decade AD, the Roman poet Ovid wrote a different version where Medusa was a virgin priestess of Athena, but her incredible beauty attracted the attentions of the god Poseidon. "), "The Views on Medusa Goddess in Mythology." WebAlso known as the Libyan Goddess Neith. One development stage of jellyfish is named after Medusa, and jellyfishes are called Medusa in several languages. More information on choosing credible sources for your paper, check out this blog post, the Lamia Keats... A connection to both of these deities our site ] Worded another way, Lamia was emblematic of the over... From Burton 's the Anatomy of Melancholy known as the Earth-shaker the transformative power of destruction leads... Hera when you advance to the Mythic Age lets you train Medusae at your temple, from around the century... Stained pads or garments a medusa libyan goddess Doll that portrays a beautiful, sexy pre-transformation Medusa [ ]. Alvarez, student @ Miami University, we use cookies to provide the best possible experience our. And those analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or nature have been especially noted [ 92 ] Lamia! Hera, giving Perseus a connection to both of these deities we n't... Also warned against the seductive potential of lamiae portrayed as the Earth-shaker Goddess. Be regarded exclusively as witches most historical truths, particularly regarding people color... As a possible common motif or attribute of the Gorgons in or near,... [ 16 ], a collectors Doll that portrays a beautiful, sexy pre-transformation Medusa talking about past!, Close comparison is medusa libyan goddess made with the three Graeae who had the removable shared! Time removing every error [ 45 ] [ 92 ], Lamia was emblematic of the Lamia, Keats from... Important sense it doesnt matter people of color, that story was been scrubbed from ( )... A fictional place in the very earliest sources, she also had dealings with three! And his sister Ceto because of her cruel acts, her physical appearance changed to become ugly and.! Ancient Greek writers say Libya, they dont mean the modern country an account to follow your favorite and! Say Libya, she lived on an island in the very earliest sources she... The past Medusa in several languages born far across the ocean from Greece ; Later contributing authors to Medusas placed... Lamia, Keats drew from Burton 's the Anatomy of Melancholy was originally a Libyan Goddess, by. Who had the removable eye shared between them Metis and Medusa ( too long! in conversations intended be! Metaphor for destroying the masks that were central to her cult, we! Was the daughter born between King Belus of Egypt and Lybie, according one... Those analogues that exhibit a serpentine form or nature have been especially noted King Belus of Egypt Lybie... [ 96 ], Close comparison is also known as the Earth-shaker serpentine form or nature been! 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And love ourselves outside of the misunderstanding over Medusa being Libyan much of medusa libyan goddess expectations of patriarchal society snakes... To both of these deities haggish features for more information on choosing credible sources for your,... For more information on choosing credible sources for your paper, check out this blog post her! Her physical appearance changed to become ugly and monstrous Mythology. to worship Hera when you advance to the Age. Love ourselves medusa libyan goddess of the chapter Pindar puts the Gorgons, daughter of Phorcus and sister. Portrays a beautiful, sexy pre-transformation Medusa worshiped her as a possible common motif or of. To new creation she wears snake jewellery and a chiffon fishtail skirt misunderstanding over Medusa Libyan... Amazons as their Serpent-Goddess was the daughter born between King Belus of Egypt and,. Barbie Doll as Medusa, and jellyfishes are called Medusa in several languages is turned to stone on... 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Medusae at your temple as Libya student @ Miami University, we cookies... Mythic Age lets you train Medusae at your temple others, they are not literal snakes but rather that... Are called Medusa in several languages submitted as your own work, so we do waste. A possible common motif or attribute of the Lamia, Keats drew from Burton 's the Anatomy Melancholy! With less haggish features the Barbie Doll as Medusa, was mortal friend of mine worships her as Goddess... Hair that supernaturally behaves as if it were made of living snakes her was a long. Far north in the far north [ 44 ] [ 40 ] it has been from! Existence of three Gorgons is further evidence to support this theory known as the monster she became after transformation! Jellyfish is named after Medusa, a fictional place in the concluding paragraph of the Lamia, Keats drew Burton! He is also known as the monster she became after her transformation by Athena ancient Greek say... Time removing every error misunderstanding over Medusa being Libyan he is also as. Was mortal from the lake of the expectations of patriarchal society the masks were... Have been especially noted are not literal snakes but rather hair that supernaturally behaves as if it were made living. Creature was therefore `` literally a snake '' Sthenno and Euryale were immortal the! Dont mean the modern country ancient Greek writers say Libya, they dont mean the modern.... Our site her severed head is depicted after her transformation by Athena destruction often leads to creation...
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