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Somewhere in Greece, a cursed creature remained hidden among all the monsters that dwelled in the nightmares of the Greek. Many brave heroes dared to hunt it down, but none ever returned. Her name was Medusa. While Medusa is well known with her crown of snakes, less is known of how Medusa became Medusa. According to one of the many origin stories, Medusa had once been a stunning young woman, with beautiful ringlets of hair. Her incredible beauty snatched hearts wherever she went. However, Medusa was devoted to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, since childhood. Despite her seductive appearance, Medusa was chaste and pure, and she admired the goddess so much that she decided to become a priestess of the temple dedicated to Athena. Medusa was a perfect priestess, but the number of visitors who went to the temple grew everyday just to admire her beauty. This made the goddess very jealous. Although hurt and enraged, Athena decided to not take it out on the girl. Meanwhile on Mount Olympus, Poseidon noticed the goddess’s restlessness, The sea god and Athena had a major rivalry and he was waiting for the right moment to get his revenge. One day, near the shore, Medusa caught the eye of Poseidon. However, she resisted his constant flirting. Owning Athena’s priestess became an obsession due to his personal feud with the goddess. Consumed by lust, he decided to possess her by force. Medusa ran into the temple of Athena in pursuit of protection. Poseidon entered the temple, grabbed her by force, and raped her at the foot of the goddess’s statue. The goddess appeared and furiously blamed the girl for bringing dishonour to the temple and to the goddess herself. She cursed Medusa by turning her hair into writhing snakes. She also made sure that the poor girl would forever remain alone by cursing her with a gaze that would turn others to stone. Medusa, however, had no intention of hurting anyone. She retreated into a dark region where she found an abandoned temple in ruins. Despite her life of solitude and miserable existence, the young woman showed her nobility by caring for the temple and exalting the glory of Athena. Medusa’s story has been interpreted in numerous ways over the centuries. Some say that the goddess noticed the honorary acts of her former priestess and felt sorry for having enforced such a cruel punishment, and thus she sent a warrior named Perseus to sever Medusa’s head which she later placed on the Aegis to glorify her. Other modern stories suggest that the goddess rather blessed Medusa with the powers to defend herself from the filthy hunger of men. The story of Medusa continues to provoke renewed perspectives on its symbolism. To some, she symbolizes terror and rage. In modern times, Medusa is seen as a symbol of what feminine power looks like in the face of a threatening patriarchal society.