There are Many Norse and Greek Gods. His roles took the form of everything from bringer of morning winds and bright daylight for healthy crops, to a sea god capable of bringing on great floods. Top section of a runestone found at Sanda, Gotland, Sweden, dating to the Viking Age (793-1066 CE). Director: Desmond Davis | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith. The earliest version of the story describes Poseidons seduction of the Gorgon as taking place in a meadow filled with flowers. Carved stones depicting a seven-headed cobra are commonly found near the sluices of the ancient irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka; these are believed to have been placed as guardians of the water. Norse mythology - including the stories of Odin, Thor and Loki - was the basis of the religion of the Viking warriors that plundered Europe from the 8 th to the 11 th centuries. The Mayan sky-goddess was a common attribute. There are also stories about Balder, Freyr and Heimdall.But just like the world of men, the realm of the gods was populated by both men and women. Snakes taken from stories of mythology are expressed throughout the use of language. Medusa | Myths and Folklore Wiki | Fandom In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa is a Gorgon, one of three hideous sisters whose appearance turns men to stone. Athena offered to help the hero on his quest. In Norse mythology, few stories are as dramatic as that of Jormungand, the . Irish culture is brimming with myths and legends, perhaps none so prevalent as that of St. Patrick, Irelands patron saint, banishing every last snake from the Emerald Isle. One of the most popular monsters of Greek Mythology is Medusa. When Odysseus travels to the Underworld, he fears that Persephone will send the head of the Gorgon out of the house of Hades to attack him. SHARES. The first humans of hers became high-class, but second ones became low-class. Mythology Part 3, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis | LitCharts Perseus was the real bad guy. Sarah Pruitt is a writer and editor based in seacoast New Hampshire. And a fateful apple. The Hopi people told of a young man who ventured into the underworld and married a snake-princess. Healing and snakes were associated in ancient Greek myth with Asclepius, whose snake-familiars would crawl across the bodies of sick people asleep at night in his shrines and lick them back to health. The Hopi people of North America viewed snakes as symbols of healing, transformation, and fertility. They had in their possession other items belonging to the gods that would help Perseus survive an encounter with the monster and her sisters. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) Quickly and deftly, he snatched the eye from their grasp. The name Medusa summons forth images of a terrible and cruel monster, but she was not always this way. 10 D&D Monsters From Real World Mythology - Tabletop Joab In their climactic confrontation, Thor slew the serpent with his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, but only made it nine paces before falling dead himself, poisoned by the serpents deadly venom. While Poseidon walked free, Medusa was villainized for the crime of attracting his attention. Ragnarok is a major event in the legends of the Norse. Medusa Caravaggio, Medusa, 1595 Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. In these she takes two forms. Some later writers would say that Sthennos scream could kill a man, but this seems at odds with the story of Perseus and his escape from their lair. The earliest known record about the story of Medusa and the Gorgons can be found in Hesiod's Theogony.According to this ancient author, the three sisters, Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa, were the children of Phorcys and Ceto and lived "beyond famed Oceanus at the world's edge hard by . The classical symbol of the Ouroboros depicts a snake in the act of eating its own tail. It's a new tale of a Greek hero but follows a template similar to the story of Theseus. Also, in Norse mythology, the snake biting its tail (Ouroboros) symbolized the sea as the eternal ring which enclosed the world. The winged stallion Pegasus is the offspring of the god Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa, from whose neck he was born . Around the globe, the serpent carries potent symbolism. "The snake dance is a prayer to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops.."[26] In the northwestern Indian city, Banaras, a festival called Naga Pancami is celebrated during the rainy season of Sravana (July/August) to pay homage to the supernatural snakes or deities. The head of Medusa was the single most frequently used symbol in ancient Greek art. Homer, however, mentions only one Gorgon and does not give her name. Apollo and Artemis. The most basic similarity between Norse and Greek mythologies is that they are polytheistic, meaning their respective followers believe in more than one god.. Athena took her anger out on Medusa. In sculpture, mosaics, and painting, the Gorgon began to lose her more beastly attributes. Judeo-Christian belief had always seen snakes as part of mankinds fall from perfection and her serpentine hair made Medusa more recognizably evil than ever. Yeti. The roots of this tree (usually growing in water) were guarded by Veles (Volos) the serpent god. The Curse of Medusa From Greek Mythology. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. The aegis (/ i d s / EE-jis; Ancient Greek: aigs), as stated in the Iliad, is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon.There may be a connection with a deity named Aex or Aix, a daughter of Helios and a nurse of Zeus or alternatively a mistress of Zeus (Hyginus, Astronomica 2. She is famed for her snake-like hair and her gaze, which turns those who look at her to stone. Only they knew the location of the Hesperides and their garden. Aegis - Wikipedia Pegasus and Bellerophon. 10. The only mortal of the three was Medusa, the victim of the Greek hero PERSEUS. Odin lost his eye upon visiting a Norse god named Mimir.Mimir was known as an extremely wise god, and he had also possessed a well called Mmisbrunnr.The waters in the well contained substantial wisdom and knowledge, and if someone drank from the well they would also gain wisdom. 15) Hel. In Buddhism, naga were often depicted as protectors of Siddhrtha Gautama, the Buddha, and the dharma (Buddhist teachings), but they were also seen as powerful, and potentially dangerous when angered. In Korean mythology, the goddess Eobshin was the snake goddess of wealth, as snakes ate rats and mice that gnawed on the crops. But later depictions tell a much darker tale. Why is Medusa Important? - Myth Nerd She had many suitors and was especially known for her beautiful long hair. Bellerophon had been tasked with killing the Chimera, the fire breathing monster of antiquity. Later writers would make Sthenno and Euryale resemble their sister more, even as Medusa took on a more human appearance in art. Snakes in mythology - Wikipedia The most common type of flute in ancient Greece had two bodies, a reflection of the two surviving Gorgons. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. As the Roman world embraced Christianity and its texts, Medusas evil status was furthered. The story makes more sense as an allegory: Snakes were a symbol of paganism, and Patrick was given credit for driving the pagans out and bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle. It's Norse mythology time! His actions were described as a forceful violation. Hod is the blind god of winter who kills his brother Balder and is in turn killed by his brother Vali. The Gorgons are mentioned in some of the earliest works of Greek literature. Medusa in Greek Mythology. It was said that anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. The myth of Medusa forces readers to confront an ugly truth - the victim isn't always avenged. In the broadest terms myths are traditional stories about gods, kings, and heroes. Gorgon Medusa. Phineus himself was the last of his army to be killed in this way. Perseus could not look at Medusa or he would be turned to stone. Before the soul can reach Jaaniiw in order to reincarnate (cii in Serer[4]), it must transform into a black snake. The second treasure was the magical helmet of Hades, given to him by the Cyclops in the Titanomachy. Snakes were regularly regarded as guardians of the Underworld or messengers between the Upper and Lower worlds, because they lived in cracks and holes in the ground. Valhalla is depicted as a splendid palace, roofed with shields, where the warriors feast on the flesh of a boar slaughtered daily and made whole again each evening. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? Zeus: Zeus is one of the most popular Greek mythology baby boy names. However, in her case, the snakes leaned into her ears and whispered the secrets of the universe (i.e. Medusa did nothing wrong. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, using the sword Harpe, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield (the Aegis . Medusas spirit stayed and faced him down. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), DEA / C. BALOSSINI / Contributor / Getty Images, Godong/Universal Images Group/Getty Images, Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images, Sepia Times/Universal Images Group/Getty Images, Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images, protectors of Siddhrtha Gautama, the Buddha, various versions of the Legend of the White Snake, https://www.history.com/news/snake-symbol-history-mythology, 9 Powerful Snakes from History and Mythology. It was more rare for a victimised woman to be helped and avenged than it was for her to be punished. Behemoth and Leviathan, by William Blake. And very often in mythology, as in life, the victim paid the price. Category:Norse mythology | Myths and Folklore Wiki | Fandom The religion went into decline around a thousand years ago when Christianity swept through the north of Europe. Using the winged sandals, he was able to speed out of the cavern and avoid the angry monsters. The complicated nature of Medusas crime and punishment is something our culture still grapples with today. It is used, for example, in the scientific names of many animals to reference some particularly unsightly species and, of course, some snakes. After creating Medusa herself, the goddess seemed especially eager to aid the hero in the monsters destruction. It had the power to make its wearer invisible. It had the front of a lion, the torso of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. Hecate Greek Goddess of Witchcraft : The Complete Guide. -Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. Some versions of the character emphasize her feminine features, while she is given more attributes of a snake at times when shes shown as particularly monstrous. In ancient Greek mythology, Medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the Gorgons. 12. Aapep would try to engulf the ship and the sky was drenched red at dawn and dusk with its blood as the Sun defeated it.[18]. Greek myth held that people could acquire second hearing and second sight if their ears or eyes were licked by a snake. Greek Mythology is known for its many fearsome beasts such Mantikhoras and Cyclopes. The Gorgon was mentioned again in the Odyssey. The Hesperides, a sisterhood of nymphs, were guardians of a wondrous garden at the edge of the world. In the eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, a mythological semi-divine race known as the naga (Sanskrit for serpent) took half-human, half-cobra formalthough they could shift shapes to fully take on one or the other. These were the creations of Hesiods stories and the legend of Perseus. It was after the French Revolution that the Gorgon herself began to take on more heroic connotations. But the Medusa is a unique symbol - something strong. Creatures in Norse Mythology - Life in Norway For this reason, it is taboo in Serer culture to kill snakes. More than ever before, the popular view of Medusa is a complex one. Fighting the Ethiopian king Phineus, Perseus used the head against his enemies. He would return their eye when they revealed to him the location of the Hesperides. The circle was particularly important to Dahomeyan myth where the snake-god Danh circled the world like a belt, corseting it and preventing it from flying apart in splinters. The interpretation can vary by image, person, and context. Worshippers bathe in and jump from the ledges into the pools as a way to honor them and ensure that they provide things like fertility of the land and its people, and protection from the poisons (wrath) of its bite. These white supremacists often co-opt fields like Classics, medievalism, and Norse mythology to support their racist ideologiestwisting these disciplines and repressing or ignoring evidence for the multicultural and multiracial realities of the ancient and medieval world. Likewise, the Korean snake goddess Eobshin was portrayed as a black snake that had human ears. The anthropomorphic basis of many myth-systems meant snake-gods were rarely depicted solely as snakes. Nor were the sisters ever described as fully as Medusa. Seeking a way to get her grown son out of the way, sent Perseus on a seemingly impossible quest. It's about going all the way. Nymphs who fled the gods were cursed or turned into trees and flowers. Later stories had them living in Libya, a favorite setting for myths taking place outside of the Greek world and its cultural influence.