Virall.ink Medusa is the name of several mythological Greek characters. Medusa is a divine personification of the realm of the dead in Greek mythology. The word ‘medusa’ means ‘serpent brow’ in Latin, and the reference is to Medusa’s hair, which had serpents embedded in it. Medusa was also referred to as a nymph, goddess and mother in different mythologies. In some stories, she was even a villain. In general, people have a negative view of medusas because they’re always portrayed as monstrous creatures.
Medusa is most commonly described as a beautiful woman with a frightening face. She has large eyes, a deadly mouth and curly hair pulled back from her face. When she appeared before the Greek hero Perseus, she gave him nightmares for telic prophecy, which is when she stared him down with her angry eyes- causing his winged helmet to falter and his blood to run cold. Even before this, Medusa had already eaten his father’s severed head and imbibed his blood to become immortal. This shows that medusas are not just regular women; they’re evil beasts with supernatural powers.
Medusa is used as a metaphor for fear- both of the literal and figurative types. It is used as a symbol of hatred and terror in literature, art and religion. As such, it represents the strength of the mind over the body. The personification of this concept is Lady Liberty holding her snake in one hand and her torch in the other- showing that hate does not win over love but that love overcomes hate. This illustrates that fear is overcome by belief- so something negative becomes something positive when someone resists its influence.
Medusa tattoos can represent someone’s personality traits or interests. The person with medusa tattoos likely values independence and self-reliance; these qualities are represented by Medusa’s ability to transform anyone she touches into a monster. Additionally, she was sometimes referred to as a goddess so she could represent any concept an individual wants to emphasize. For example, someone who wants to get into art school might choose to focus on visual art and choose an artistic representation for his medusa tattoo (e.g., an alla Prassian portrait)
Medusa is not representative of any real-life concept because there isn’t any real-life person named ‘Medusa.’ However, there is an actual Greek goddess named ‘Meditation.’ Therefore, some believe that the mythological character ‘Medusa’ was intended to be ‘Meditation.’ It doesn’t matter whether this is true or not- because no one knows what inspired the original mythological characters like Medusa! Furthermore, many famous works of art are based on theories that have no basis in reality either (e.g., Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa).
Medusa is still used as a metaphor for fear even hundreds of years after she originally appeared in Greek mythology. The word ‘medusa’ has now become synonymous with something that frightens or instills fear in people. People still use this word even though there isn’t an actual ‘medusa’ anywhere! Therefore, it is safe to assume that this concept will never go out of style- no matter how far technology advances or what real-life personages inspire it!
