Medusa
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| “ | Medusa, the Queen of the Gorgons. Bring me her head Kratos, and I will give you the ability to wield its power. | ” |
| Medusa | ||
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| In-Game Information | ||
| Alias/es: | Queen of the Gorgon | |
| Gender: | Female | |
| Birthplace: | Island of Creation | |
| Species/Race: | Gorgon, Mortal | |
| Misc. Information | ||
| Family Member/s: | *Phorcys (father) | |
| Current status: | Deceased | |
| Location: | Athens | |
| Behind the Scenes | ||
| Voiced by: | None | |
| Appears in: | God of War | |
Contents |
Greek Mythology
Edit
The three Gorgon sisters—Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale—were children of the ancient marine deities Phorcys (or Phorkys) and his sister Ceto (or Keto), chthonic monsters from an archaic world. The Gorgon sisters lived in a temple on an island at the edge of the world (or Underworld), Medusa was the only one who was slain by the hero Perseus.
Roman poet Ovid depicted Medusa in his poem Metamorphoses as an exceptionally beautiful maiden and a priestess of Athena's Temple. Medusa was greatly admired by many men, both mortal and god. Poseidon, so enamored by Medusa, approached her in the sanctuary of the temple and raped her. Athena would appear before them, catching them in the act. Enraged that her temple had been defiled in such a manner, she cursed Medusa, painfully transforming the once beautiful maiden into a grotesque monster who's head was christened with venomous serpents and a face so hideous that one glance would turn anyone who saw her to stone.
While she was furious that Poseidon had taken favor of Medusa in her temple, she was not angry with the god of the ocean himself. As a powerful male god, this would be expected of him. In the eyes of Athena, it was Medusa who deserved to be punished. Ovid's depiction of Medusa reflects a society where women were valued as objects in a male-dominated world as Perseus describes Medusa's punishment by Athena as just and well-deserved.
God of WarEdit
During the siege of Athens, she was given the title of Queen of the Gorgons. She and her race are among the armies of Ares, as it is known that Gorgons hated Athena. As Kratos progressed through the ruins of the city, he met Aphrodite, who commanded him to slay Medusa by decapitating her. The hissing Gorgon arose from the shadows and fought with Kratos, who eventually tore her head from her body with his bare hands. Pleased, Aphrodite granted the power of Medusa's Gaze to Kratos, who in turn used it to destroy a group of Minotaurs.
Medusa's existence had come to an end, leaving her sisters, Euryale and Stheno, to lead the race of Gorgons until Euryale's death at the hands of Kratos in God of War II. Stheno appears in God of War: Ascension, this would mean that Medusa was the second queen of the Gorgons and not the first.
Powers and AbilitiesEdit
Like the lesser Gorgons, Medusa has the power to turn Kratos to stone with her gaze. Even though it is implied otherwise, Medusa's power is that of a regular Gorgon, however, she is slightly less vulnerable and thus more hits from the Blades of Chaos are needed to kill her. Medusa can also teleport by vanishing in a cloud of blood red smoke as shown when she confronts Kratos. Medusa is also very fast and can attack with her tail.
TriviaEdit
- In the Character Graveyard feature in God of War it stated that in production Medusa was going to have legs and wings instead of a snake tail much like the Gorgons in Greek mythology.
- Originally Gorgons were depicted as human females with snakes for hair and on occasion wings and tusks, but due to the 1981 Clash of the Titans film, the image of a complete serpentine body was settled in representations of them ever since.
- "Medusa", in Greek, means "Guardian" or "Protector".
- It is inplied that Medusa inprisoned Stheno in stone to become Queen of the gorgons.
- Though her skin color is pinkish/red, her head is green after Kratos beheads her similar to the lesser gorgons. This is probably a design fault and not intentional.
- In Greek mythology, Pegasus sprang from the blood of Medusa's decapitated head.
- Her sister, Stheno, had the title of Queen during the time of God of War: Ascension, she only appears in the multiplayer though.
Related Pages
GalleryEdit
