Medusa: The Priestess Cursed by Athena

Medusa was the youngest of the Gorgons, a group of three sisters. Except for Medusa, Steno, and Uriel were dreaded for their frightening appearances and terrible reputation as wicked entities. Her beauty was appreciated by Mortals and gods throughout her life, and she was a gorgeous woman. Medusa became a devout admirer of the goddess Athena, and she would pretend to be the goddess Athena with her sisters and best friends' difficulties. She had grown into a stunning woman, her remarkable beauty obvious to all who saw her. Medusa longed to be a priestess and a member of the Temple of the Great Goddess, stating that when she was old enough, she would give up everything to be a part of the temple.

Medusa's best friend spent every day with her and fell in love with her. He had kept his feelings hidden for many years because they were still too young to be in a relationship and he was afraid Medusa would not reciprocate. They went for a walk one day, and amid laughter, the two stood face to face staring at one other with loving eyes, and it was at that time he confessed his love to Medusa. The apprehensive young man told Medusa that he loved her and longed to stay at her side for all eternity. With a wide smile, Medusa said, "I love you, too," and hugged him passionately. However, as soon as she stepped out of his embrace, Medusa smiled and said, "Seriously, but our love can never be; I can never be with you because there is something I wish with all my being." The lovely young lady went to the Temple of Athena and informed him that she wished to become a priestess of the magnificent goddess Athena, but that to do so, she needed to stay pure and avoid severe temptations. He was so in love with Medusa that he resolved to back her in her great dream.

When she began to prepare herself to be an Athena priestess, she went to the temple to offer herself eternally to the goddess. The new aspirants' challenging lessons in the temple of Athena began. Medusa had to be completely pure to appear before the Great Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. The training to join the Temple of Athena was far too tough. The apprentices were subjected to exams in which they were required to demonstrate their discipline, wisdom, exemplary behavior, and purity. Medusa realized her lifetime ambition and rose to the rank of Priestess. She was dedicated to her work and became known as a perfect priestess due to her behavior and discipline. Medusa's amazing beauty captured all the males who watched her while she performed the sacred ceremonies in the temple with her stunning face, slim frame, and magnificent hair. Medusa has enchanted many people. These admirers realized that the gorgeous woman would never reciprocate, so they just adored and appreciated her from afar.

The news that a beautiful young woman was visiting the Temple of Athena traveled quickly throughout the land, driving an increasing number of people to attend the Temple of the Goddess only to view the gorgeous Priestess. The devotees who visited the Temple of Athena became increasingly keen on describing Medusa's beauty and perfection because they were not only struck by her appearance but also loved the flawless manner in which she executed the temple's many ceremonies and activities. Athena was observing everything happening in her Temple from Mount Olympus and kept a close eye on what was going on with Medusa. Thousands of worshippers visited one day as Medusa was completing the daily rites in the Goddess' temple, Athena was happy and honored as she sat down to watch herself being adored by hundreds of people. "You are much more beautiful than Athena, even your hair is much more beautiful," a man cried from the crowd to Medusa. Furious Athena knew that the audience had not gone to her Temple to worship her, but rather to see one of her dedicated priestesses, the attractive Medusa.

Athena decided that plotting against the worshippers who visited her temple was wrong, and she also realized that Medusa was not to blame for what was occurring because she wasn't doing it on purpose. As a result, she did not act against her supposed devotees or Medusa at the time and instead committed herself to bitterly observing as her worship was eclipsed by the attractive Priestess. The gods of Olympus were all watching what was going on in the temple of Athena, and they were all curious about the beautiful young woman. They focused their gaze on her Poseidon, watched her discontent with Athena, and decided it was time to exact his vengeance. Poseidon and Athena had a terrible feud in which they disputed the capital city of the Attica region, which they both wanted to rule and revere, but after a great battle, Athena won and kept the beautiful city of Sucropia, which was later baptized with the name Athens in honor of the goddess since their terrible quarrel in the past.

Poseidon desired vengeance on the goddess, and despite the passage of time, he never forgot his hatred for Athena. Poseidon saw how the goddess was focusing all of her attention on his most faithful and excellent Priestess and instantly began to create a scheme that would damage both Medusa's and Athena's reputations. Athena was too demanding of her priestesses because what they performed and presented to their followers had such a great influence on her reputation that she did not want any faults made by her priestesses to remain in her glory. The god of the oceans planned to exact his vengeance on the most exemplary of the priestesses. He would tear Athena's reputation, therefore taking revenge on the goddess by destroying her through Medusa. Poseidon had been watching Medusa for several days, patiently observing all her actions in order to assault her at the proper time. He worked for hours on his scheme, and even the god was captivated by the beauty of the young woman.

Medusa went for a walk on the beach one day as usual when she heard a loud voice calling her name; terrified, Medusa glanced in all directions and saw an imposing and slender being emerge from the seas. It was the god Poseidon, and Medusa was paralyzed at the time as Poseidon attempted to seduce her. The young lady tried to dismiss his approaches. Despite Poseidon's high renown, Medusa did not forget her vows and refused to have contact with him. Medusa would not give up her position as an Athena priestess. Poseidon grabbed her arm firmly and warned her that she would not be there to decide and that he would make her his. Medusa sought to break free from the god's embrace at that point, and with a powerful strike to his face, she managed to flee in panic. The presence of the god horrified Medusa, and she cried out for help as she made her way to the Temple of Athena, the one place she felt safe.

Poseidon, however, would not give up and pursued the beautiful young woman to the temple, full of longing. With tears in her eyes, Medusa begged her goddess for protection, kneeling at the feet of the Statue of Athena. Meanwhile, Poseidon entered the temple, and his lust blinded him. He hurried over to the young woman and grasped her firmly, and at the altar of Athena, he defiled the most devoted of his rivals' priestesses. He then walked gently away from the temple, leaving a stained sanctuary in the temple of Athena, which the goddess was proud of for its cleanliness. He also ruined Medusa, Athena's most devoted disciple, and Priestess. When Athena saw what had occurred, she went to her temple and, enraged, accused Medusa of desecrating her Immaculate Temple. Athena warned Medusa that her eagerness and vanity had encouraged men to torment her and blamed her for Poseidon's maltreatment of her. Medusa felt ashamed and guilty after hearing the goddess's harsh comments. Athena couldn't hold back her rage against Medusa and intended to punish her forever. The goddess turned her into a monstrous and horrifying being just like her sisters.

Aphrodite also took advantage of the situation by transforming her gorgeous hair into venomous snakes. Medusa sobbed uncontrollably on the temple floor because she didn't know what to do because she was no longer pure and her appearance was very terrifying. Ithacals decided to pay a visit to the young girl after hearing horror tales about her. He found her on the floor, weeping, as soon as he entered the shrine. He called out to her and approached her carefully, comforting her. Medusa yelled at him to stay away because she didn't want him to see what she had become. Ithacals didn't listen and kept approaching her until he got to her. When he touched Medusa's shoulder, he received a big bite. Medusa, terrified, stood up and looked him in the eyes, immediately turning to stone.

Medusa was scared. She had no idea what had just happened. She embraced her friend's figure and shouted in sorrow, unable to believe what she had done. Medusa, realizing what she was sentenced to, sought to depart the city in desperation. People who saw her would yell atrocities at her hideous appearance, so the young woman would never return to visit them. Medusa was hiding amid the trees so that no one could see her. However, word had spread that a dreadful creature was terrifying and tormenting people. The citizens were furious, so they grabbed Spears and torches and set out to find and slay the Beast. All of the men who went to seek Medusa never returned, and were discovered days later turned to stone. Everyone in Athens was afraid because the terrifying monster could kill them with a single glance.

Medusa decided to go to a remote city where no one resided after seeing her unjust persecution of her. She was alone for many years there, filled with misery and pain. Her delicate and attractive humanity vanished over time, and she grew increasingly terrifying and angry. Many troops and warriors traveled in quest of the fearsome creature for years, but never one ever returned. According to legend, Medusa became pregnant by Poseidon, which enraged Athena, prompting her to seek out the hero Perseus to have him assassinate her. Athena would have given Perseus various Divine items so that he would not be turned to stone like the rest. Perseus arrived in the hyperborean lands where Medusa was wandering and spied on her to know when to confront her. He decided to wait till the hideous thing fell asleep out of fear. When night fell, Medusa was sound asleep, so he crept up to her and decapitated her with his shocked sword. He removed Medusa's head blood, which dripped unceasingly, and from that blood arose Medusa's sons, Pegasus and Crysor. Perseus triumphantly returned to the goddess Athena, handing her the head of Medusa as proof of his heroism. Disgusted, the goddess grabbed it and placed it on her Shield, where it is said to have remained forever because it still held the terrible powers of turning humans to stone.