Back in 2013 was the first year that I held a role for Spring Mysteries Festival, and I had the honour of working with Athena. She is the Goddess of wisdom, strategy, and the arts of civilization. She is known for her fairness.
Naturally, when I was working with her, I wanted to understand how what happened to Medusa was fair. Viewed through our lens of modern morals, it seems the least fair thing that could have happened to her. I wrote this story in January 2013, and I have since seen similar stories published online, so I know I am not the only one who has come to a similar conclusion. I’m posting it here in full, because I want the context all in one place.
One Does What One Must
by Mary Malinski
Athena speaks of Medusa:
She was one of my favorites. As Arachne would have been, had she not tried to set herself above me. But Medusa chose to serve, and she did it well.
Most people think I only favored men, and sided with the Gods. That’s because that’s all they tell you about. In truth, I uphold the Law, even when it is not comfortable for me to do so.
She was beautiful. She could have had any husband she chose. She was also clever. She kept them all close enough to think they had a chance, yet far enough away to keep her vows. Men came back with offerings more frequently than they needed to just to see her face, and so the temple prospered. They made up questions and petitions just to speak with her. And still she was a faithful priestess. She was very much like Penelope in that way. I liked her, too…
Then my uncle, Poseidon, who almost always found quarrel with me in some way, heard of Medusa’s beauty. He would have her, priestess of mine or no. As with all others who courted her, she refused his advances. But one cannot always deny the Gods. He forced himself on her. To add insult to injury, he raped her in my temple.
Though it cost me much, I had to uphold the Law, the very Law that I had handed down that said all vows are sacred and breaking them must be punished. If only she had taken other vows…Some of my priestesses were married women.
Since I could not seek revenge on my uncle directly, though I very dearly wanted to, I made sure that he would never touch Medusa again, by turning her into a Gorgon whose very gaze turned all that she looked upon to stone.
At first, in her anger, she sought men out and turned them to stone. Eventually, in her grief, she exiled herself, and found company with the other Gorgons, the only creatures not affected by her deadly stare. She became a story mothers told their children to frighten them into doing as they were told, and a prize for men who wanted an unbeatable weapon, though none of them succeeded in obtaining it.
Medusa tired of constantly being hunted. I took pity on her, and so it was I who whispered to King Polydectes the prize he should require of young Perseus as a wedding gift. I gave Perseus my shield, and asked father for his and Hermes’ aid. I told Perseus how to approach Medusa by looking only at the reflection in the shield. And I guided his hand, so that Zeus’s sword struck true to end Medusa’s suffering. Once Perseus had his justice with lecherous Polydectes, he returned her head to me. I placed it on the aegis, to keep her close to my heart, in gratitude for her faithful service.
Over the past couple of weeks and years, I’ve heard other retellings of the Medusa myth that paint it in the traditional light, the one where Athena is jealous or petty at best, and merely a tool of the patriarchy at worst. These versions upset me. When I heard yet another version last week that talked about how Athena betrayed Medusa by sending Perseus after her, and Athena placing her head on her breastplate as twisted and demented, well… I got mad. And I got inspired.
Image of Athena and Medusa, found on Reddit. Artist unknown.
Because viewing Medusa’s story through that lens is dismissive of the strength, power, and wisdom of a Goddess, as well as all women. Athena was never a Goddess who just did what she was told. She could see the big picture – she played the long game.
If women want to have any power and authority in a patriarchal society, it is nearly impossible to change the system from outside of it. Sometimes you need to be inside the system to create effective change. And that means looking and acting like those in power to curry favour with them, to be able to gain that power for yourself and use it to create the change that you want to see. That is playing the long game.
Athena was entrusted to uphold the Divine Order of the Universe, the order that Zeus had put in motion. She was the only one allowed to wield Zeus’ thunderbolts. She was revered by the ancients, a picture that is not told through myths, but can be found when you read devotional hymns to her, as in Homeric Hymn #11 to Athena, translated by Roy George:
I celebrate the powers of Pallas Athena, the protectress of the city: Dread, as Ares, She busies herself with the works of war, With the sack of cities, with the battle-cry and with the combats. It is She also who saves the fighters that go to war and come back alive. Hail, Goddess, give us good fortune and happiness!
As women, we need to lift each other up. We need to see the power and beauty and strength in each other. We need to look for the best possible interpretations of our sister’s choices, and not tear other women down simply because they are in a position of power. We need to support the women who are fighting for our rights from inside the system, even when it appears they are conforming to it to get the work done. Especially then.
This isn’t meant to discount or undermine our rage. Athena gave Medusa the tools she needed to embrace her rage and fight back in the ways she herself could not and maintain her position of authority. The system that celebrated rationality and order wouldn’t allow Athena to express that rage, so she equipped Medusa to do that sacred work.
And yes, feminine rage and social justice looks monstrous to patriarchy, so Medusa became the monster that Athena could not be. Saying that Athena betrayed Medusa undermines the agency of both of them. We need both. We need the rational, strategic, long-game thinking, AND we need the emotional, anger-fueled motivation to take action for justice.
Ultimately, both Athena and Medusa are social justice warriors, they just go about it from different directions. Instead of villianizing one or the other, let’s celebrate both. Neither one is better or worse than the other. Whichever side you relate to or work with, the other side is not your enemy. Remember that we are stronger together.
