On Medusa

ON MEDUSA

In the previous article I mentioned the similarity between Tiamat and Medusa. Both primordial monsters are killed by the god or hero and thereby chaos demises. From the torn-apart body of Tiamat emerges the earth, while Medusa’s blood generates Pegasus and Khrysaor. Perseus uses Medusa’s head to turn the sea monster into stone, who comes to take the chained Andromeda. Resettling the order by defeating the primordial beings is seen also in the story of imprisonment of Titans in the underworld Tartaros by a group of deities led by Zeus.  

A myth could point to various events at the same time and might include sub-stories diverging from the main story line. Imprisonment of Titans symbolizes both resettling of the order and handover of the political power. The meteor shower in August, seen close to the constellation Perseus, is imagined as Perseus throws into the lake Tritonis the tools he used for reaching and killing Medusa. Here I will try to discuss what Tiamat and Medusa actually are, within the confine of the motif of settling the order by defeating the primordial powers of darkness.  

  

Previously I mentioned that Tiamat is portrayed as sun-headed and in archaic period Medusa is displayed with leonine attributes associated with sun. Generation of earth from the torn-apart body of Tiamat must have explained the generation of rocks after volcanic eruptions. Though it is early to surmise the presence of a belief during the Neo-Babylonian era in the fact that once the earth was a fire ball like the sun, we can move forward from a notion of earth as a sun-like celestial body with fire underneath. Tartaros, where Titans are imprisoned, is imagined as the place the fire river Pyriphlegethon flows into. The river coils around the earth. Another point is the imagery of the chthonic (i.e. of the underworld) creatures like Typhon and Triton with serpentine features. That could be an allusion to the fact that snakes retreat below the ground in cold times.   

In creation of the imagery of Medusa as a monster that turns into stone whoever she stares at, I believe Tiamat was the source with her body that generates the earth. Maybe Medusa was the earth itself, in the centre of the universe, with her leonine / sunlike features. Underworld was both destructive and creative. It should be however taken under control by gods and heroes.