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The Myth of Medusaleft10985551015202530354000510152025303540Medusa was the daughter of Phorkys and Keto. Even from a young age, Medusa was considered one of the most beautiful women in all of Greece. She was golden-haired and had fair skin and bright blue eyes. Everywhere she went, men praised her beauty and many wanted to marry her.Despite the attention Medusa received, she had a different plan in mind than marriage. Medusa worshipped the goddess Athena and desired to serve her for the rest of her life. In order to be a servant of Athena, Medusa joined the temple and had to swear an oath that she would remain a virgin forever.Medusa spent many happy years working with the other virgin servants of Athena. Her daily routine included scrubbing the temple clean in order to purify it, praying to the goddess, and leaving sacrifices on the altar for Athena.One day, Medusa’s happy and peaceful life took a turn for the worst. As she busied herself washing the temple floor, Poseidon came to visit the temple. As soon as he saw her, Poseidon was struck by Medusa’s stunning beauty and immediately decided he had to have her for himself. On the spot, he asked her to marry him. When she refused, he asked her to sleep with him. When she refused him a second time, he became enraged and raped her where she stood.Angry, depressed, and humiliated, Medusa had no idea what to do next. She had broken her vows, however unwillingly, to Athena. With no one else to turn to, she went to Athena seeking sympathy and advice. However, Athena had no pity for the raped maiden.368998556451500Angry that Medusa had broken her vows—and worse still that she had done it in Athena’s temple—the goddess blamed Medusa and said it was her fault because she was too beautiful and because she should have resisted Poseidon better. As punishment, Athena transformed Medusa so that her eyes appeared blood shot and angry, her face turned a greenish hue, and her hair became a nest of writhing snakes. Then Athena cast Medusa out of the temple and commanded her never to return.The worst of Medusa’s punishments were yet to come. As part of the transformation, Athena had cursed Medusa so that any man who looked into her eyes would instantly be turned to stone. Because of this, men hated and feared her. Medusa was shunned everywhere she went.One man, Perseus, became tired of Medusa’s curse and decided to put an end to it. He hunted her all across Greece until he found her. Cornering her in a dark cave on a remote island, he cut off her head with his sword as she gazed the other way. Victorious, Perseus took the head of Medusa as his prize. But even without Medusa’s body, her head still possessed the same curse. Thus, Perseus became one of the most feared warriors of his time because in battle, he would hold the head up to the faces of his enemies and they were turned instantly to stone. After you read the story of Medusa, answer the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES. For questions 1-6, be sure to write the line number(s) that gave you the information you needed to answer the question correctly.Describe Medusa’s appearance at the beginning of the story.Who does Medusa serve?What does Poseidon do to Medusa in the temple?Describe Medusa’s appearance after Poseidon finishes with her and Athena punishes her.What curse is put on Medusa?Who kills Medusa?What does this story reveal about the Greek’s attitudes towards rape victims?What does this story reveal about the Greek’s attitudes towards women? ................
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