Of Gods and Monsters

I am a monster, but I wasn’t born this way. I know the very thought of me fills you with horror and disgust. But spare me a moment and I will tell you my story.

Do you know what it’s like to live with snakes on your head instead of hair? No, I don’t suppose you do. I don’t think anyone does.

There they go again, squirming and hissing on my pillow. I feel their cold breath on my neck and their tongues flicking against my skin. I don’t dare turn over on my back for fear of crushing them. Every time I try to fall asleep, they crawl across my skin and my stomach churns. My eyes burn and my head pounds with exhaustion.

Every day I must feed these ravenous serpents, digging in the dirt for grubs and killing baby mice that they swallow in a single bloody gulp.

I have been cursed by a jealous goddess who thinks I asked to be violated by a lecherous god. Like Zeus, he chases everything on two legs, male or female.

Everyone calls Athena the goddess of wisdom and bows down before her in dadawe. I once served as one of her priestesses, small and innocent, with golden hair cascading down my back. I came to her craving wisdom and knowledge in all things.

They told me, “You’re such a beauty, child. When you come of age, you’ll have men beating down your door.”

I didn’t want men beating down my door. I wanted to live a life of serene purity, serving in the temple amidst clouds of incense and the rough sensation of parchment scrolls in my hand as I prayed to all the gods. My own name, “Medousa," once meant “protectress.”

I was the lucky one. My two sisters are hideous and hide their faces in shame. People call them Gorgons, though it’s no fault of their own. They were jealous of me too. Now they gloat over my misery and shame at the loss of my virginity.

“You thought you were better than us,” they hiss like the snakes. “What did you do to seduce the great Poseidon and provoke the wrath of Athena?”

“Nothing, I swear!”

I was minding my own business one sunny day by the sea, digging up clams for supper. The sand felt warm beneath my bare feet. A fresh sea breeze filled the air and ruffled my long soft hair against my skin. Gulls wheeled overhead, screeching and diving for fish. I searched for the bubbling holes in the sand and dug up the clams, filling my leather bucket. Once I picked up an iridescent conch and held it to my ear,, listening to the musical sound of the sea within. It was a rare day of happiness, free of Athena’s demands.

Then ominous black clouds began to cover the sun. The waves roiled and crashed closer to the shore. I should have fled, but my bucket was not yet full.

Suddenly he was there with his trident, long hair dripping and mighty chest heaving with laughter.

“So! Look what I have found. A tender young virgin, ripe for the plucking.”

I backed away, my stomach cold with dread but he pounced on me and crushed me onto the sand, tearing my gown and roaring with triumph. I clawed his back with my long nails, screaming and writhing in pain.

“Silence! Do not fight me, you wretched mortal.”

It must have been less than a moment but felt like a lifetime of terror. When he was done, he strode back to the sea and sank beneath the waves.

Soon the clouds parted and the sun shone again, but everything had changed forever. I lay weeping and throbbing with torn flesh. Time passed and at last I struggled to my feet. I knew I would have to face the wrath of Athena.

I found her in the temple, stirring the steaming cauldron. The aroma of spices and herbs made me feel faint. I slumped against a column, dizzy and sick.

She swung around, gray eyes blazing.

“Where in Hera’s name have you been? I needed those clams ages ago!”

I could barely form the words. “He took me.”

She crossed to me in one step and slapped my face. “Who? Who took you?”

My lips trembled. “Poseidon.”

Her brows furrowed. “What did you do to draw his attention?”

“Nothing! I was gathering the clams.”

“Impossible. You must have revealed too much flesh or led him on with your smooth voice.”

Tears fell down my cheeks and I shook my head. “I swear, it was not my fault.”

Athena drew herself up to her full height. “They say you’re the most beautiful woman in all of Greece.” She snorted with laughter and waved her hand. “Not anymore!”

Lightning stabbed my eyes and thunder cracked overhead. I felt a blow across my shoulders and fell to the stone floor. Everything went black, and when I awoke, I felt something cold crawling on my skin.

Snakes. I screamed and tore at them but they stayed firmly attached to my head. The goddess stood over me and kicked me back onto the floor.

“From now on, you shall be called Medusa and all men shall dread you. Your gaze will condemn them to a living death in stone. You will never know the heat of passion or love’s tender kiss.”

Now Athena taunts me every day. “You brought this upon yourself, you little whore.”

“No! I am innocent.”

The gods are quick to inflict punishment on us mortals whether we deserve it or not. Every man who looks upon my face turns to stone, just as she predicte. My one consolation is my son, Pegasus, the winged horse who was born of that terrible assault by Poseidon. Charon take me away! I long to cross the Styx to the Underworld forever.

I never asked to be a monster. Avert your head at once and do not gaze upon my face or Athena’s curse shall happen to you. If the gods are merciful, I shall soon sleep in the arms of Hades, the only peace I shall ever know

At last Athena takes pity on me and promises me release from this tormented life, though I wish it weren’t so gruesome.

“If you really long for death, you shall be slain and beheaded by a man named Perseus. But I shall strike a coin with your visage and it shall become forever a symbol of protection for all men.”

.