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HISTORY OF MEDUSA Medusa began life as a girl so lovely she made Athena jealous. Such beauty turned Poseidon's head. He seduced the girl but, unfortunately for her did so in one of Athena's temples. Such an affront to Athena would not go unpunished particularly by one already in ill favor. So Medusa was turned by Athena into a gorgon. Since she started as human she remained mortal. As if this were not punishment enough, Athena later helped Perseus hunt her down and kill her.

MYTH OF MEDUSA When Perseus cut her head off Pegasus and Chrysaor, her children by Poseidon, sprang forth. Drops of her blood fell into the Libyan desert and turned into snakes. Later one of these snakes killed Mopsus. After Perseus left with her head Athena took charge of what was left of her body. She flayed off Medusa skin and made it into her trademark Aegis. She two drops of the blood to King Erichthonius explaining that one would cure disease and the other was a deadly poison. She gave a lock of the hair Heracles hidden in an urn.

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