Was Medusa A Victim Or Villain?

In many myths Medusa is often portrayed as a villain, which is understandable due to the fact that she is a woman with snakes for hair (sometimes in other myths said to have a serpent body) that are able to turn people into stone, however; I can’t help but to think that there is more to the supposed villain than what the myths say. Was Medusa really a villain, or rather was she the victim to Athena’s cruel plot for revenge. To talk about Medusa as the creature she is known as today, a snake or more commonly a gorgon, we have to start at the beginning. The problem with starting from the beginning is that the story of how Medusa came to be is a mystery. There are many myths surrounding Medusa and why Athena turned her into a

It is difficult to find myths in which Medusa just outright turns people into stone. Even then I find it that it would be hard for Medusa to turn someone into stone looking at her because no one ever dared to. Medusa lived on an island with her sisters and unless there were people in ancient Greece with death wishes, and by judging from every other myth there were, I don’t believe that she was turning people into stone happily as history has taught us to believe. Is it because of Medusa’s appearance that it is easier to presume that she was a villain who wished to turn people into statues. Maybe Athena had her twisted purpose fulfilled and was granted the wish of seeing Medusa crumble, fall, and destroy due to whatever ridiculous myth a reader chooses to follow. And maybe for Athena, seeing Medusa chased to the outskirts of the world and become a monster wasn’t enough for her, after all Athena did assist in the murder of

I am beginning to think that Medusa was never a villain and was made out to be one because she was granted the face of a villain. In modern day works where Medusa is used or her “persona” is stolen, she is made out to be an evil temptress of sorts or just bad to the bone. In Percy Jackson, by Rick Riordan, Medusa is an evil, yet stunningly beautiful, temptress who seduces people back into her lair where she turns them into stone. Percy, the protagonist, falls helpless to the “spell” of Medusa and is entranced by her beauty. In this movie and book I feel as if little of the true Medusa is used. It is not really known if Medusa did lure people into where she lived to turn them into stone and I am confused by the spell of her beauty than Percy seems to be under. A popular anime series named Soul Eater features Medusa Gorgon. The character directly uses Medusa’s name. In the anime series, Medusa Gorgon is a witch, shocking, and has two other witch sisters. In the show Medusa gorgon is able to manipulate anyone because of her amazing acting skills, similar to the way Medusa in Percy Jackson manipulated men into her lair. In Soul Eater Medusa Gorgon is the most evil character and in Percy Jackson Medusa is simply sinister due to the fact that she is a temptress seducing people to end them, see a