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<\/a>These figures served as apotropaic devices i.e. having the power to avert evil or bad luck, and were found in many sites, such as shields, temple pediments, pottery, mosaics and, of course, coins (Fig. 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is thought by some scholars that the myth of Medusa later developed to explain the gorgoneion (Deacy et al<\/em>, 2016:825), with later depictions demonstrating her in full body and running mode (Fig. 3). By the Classical period from around the fourth century BCE, Medusa had become a beautiful young woman with snake entwined hair and was often depicted with wings to emphasise her other worldliness (Fig. 4) (Wilk, 2000: 33-35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many versions of the Medusa Myth existed in ancient mythology. However, the version which has persisted into modernity is that of the Roman poet Ovid, who described her as a beautiful woman who was raped by Neptune in the temple of Minerva. The goddess punished Medusa by transforming her hair into snakes, her horrific appearance turning men to stone with her gaze. Ovid recounts Medusa\u2019s narrative as one of transformation into a monster, although whether this transformation rendered her mute is unknown. Medusa subsequently became the subject of the hero Perseus\u2019s quest to obtain the head of a Gorgon, decapitating her as she slept (Ovid, Metamorphoses<\/em> 4.771-803). The prize of Medusa\u2019s head became a source of power for Perseus, enabling him to fight battles successfully and ultimately win the prize of Andromeda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are other lesser known versions of the Medusa myth which are just as intriguing. The ancient writers Diodorus Siculus, Palaephatus and Pausanias described her as a leader of a matriarchal race of female warriors in the Tritonis area of Africa. The Medusa of these writers was not a monster, and the gods were absent from her narrative, yet she represented a figure which was immensely threatening to this patriarchal ancient world- a successful female ruler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, it was the depiction by Ovid of the beautiful rape victim punished by the gods which persisted throughout the Medieval and Renaissance periods and into modernity, partly due to the popularity of Latin texts in the monasteries of the twelfth century CE (Reynolds and Wilson, 2013: 111-122). Medusa came to represent Woman in these times: the beautiful and dangerous monster who was a threat to men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea of Medusa as a femme fatale endured throughout the Renaissance and beyond (Fig. 5). This suited the Christian agenda of the time- the erotic presence of Woman denying men the opportunity for moral virtue and reasoning (Leeming, 2013: 40-43).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The late twentieth century saw the advent of a feminist reclaiming of Medusa, both as a victim of the patriarchy and one who is capable of retribution, becoming a potent symbol of the #MeToo Movement of the early 2000s (Fig. 6). In particular, the fact that Medusa as a victim of sexual assault was not given her own voice and her story rather told by male authors, has come to represent the difficulties modern rape survivors encounter in having their voice heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Medusa continues to inspire in modern times and has become ubiquitous in modern culture such as cinema, literature, comic books, video games and tattoos (Fig. 7) (Duffy, 2020: 2-3). She has also been used in political memes, such as in the savage battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the 2016 USA presidential election (Fig. 8). Mary Beard (2017: 10-13) argues that this particular image \u00a0demonstrates the normalisation of gendered violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2021 films Black Medusa <\/em>and Photocopier<\/em> provide indirect receptions of the Medusa myth, that is, involving unrelated characters who identify with certain aspects of Medusa\u2019s persona, and are useful in their exploration of themes of sexual assault and female retribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Black Medusa<\/em> is a vengeance noir thriller set in modern day Tunisia and tells the story of the beautiful Nada, rendered mute by a previous sexual assault, who works as a digital editor during the day and spends her nights drugging, raping and murdering men she meets in the bars of Tunis (Fig. 9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photocopier <\/em>is the story of Sur, who is drugged at a party and loses her college scholarship when inappropriate photos of her are distributed online. Her investigation reveals that the perpetrator is the son of a prominent businessmen and her accusations are not listened to by the authorities. It is only when Sur finds other victims of abuse and collaborates with them that she is eventually vindicated (Fig. 10). These concepts of victims not being heard, particularly where powerful men are involved, and women having to join forces to influence society to take them seriously, are obviously reminiscent of the #MeToo movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Medusa has also been depicted in the Percy Jackson movies and TV series based on the best-selling books by the American author Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief<\/em> (2010) tells the story of Percy, a teenage student in modern day America, who discovers that his biological father is in fact the god Poseidon. As a demigod, Percy must locate Zeus\u2019s thunderbolt which has gone missing. Cue lots of supernatural adventures, including an encounter with Uma Thurman as Medusa, who is the proprietor of a garden centre populated by statues- all of them unfortunate victims of Medusa\u2019s gaze. See Percy\u2019s battle with Medusa here:<\/p>\n\n\n\nMyths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Twenty First Century Medusa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Films<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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