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Surely everyone has heard the story of Perseus and Medusa the Gorgon. And if not everyone, then many had a question about how it all began. Why did Perseus go into battle with Medusa, in which he could easily have died? Why did he need the head of this gorgon? Let's rewind the film and find out why Perseus went to the island of the Gorgons. To find an explanation for this, we should start from the very moment of the hero’s birth.

Birth of Perseus

The city of Argos was ruled by King Acrisius, who had a daughter, Danae. One day, the king was predicted to die at the hands of his own grandson, the son of Danai. Acrisius decided to protect himself. He ordered a room of stone and bronze to be built underground, in which he hid Danae from prying eyes. But Zeus the Thunderer saw the beautiful daughter of Acrisius, fell in love with her and entered the dungeon with a golden shower, and the girl became his wife. Soon Danae gave birth to a lovely boy, whom she named Perseus. But Perseus and Danae did not live long in the chambers under the palace of Acrisius. One day the king went down into the dungeon and saw there little boy. Having learned that he was the son of Zeus and Danae, he was frightened and ordered Danae and his grandson to be put in a wooden box and thrown into the sea. The box floated for a long time until the waves threw it out near the island of Serif. At that time, the fisherman Dictys was on the shore, and a box fell into his net. The fisherman opened it, saw in it a beautiful woman with a child and took them to the king of Serif, Polydectes, who sheltered them. There Perseus grew up, and among the young men of the entire island there was no one equal to him in beauty, strength and dexterity.

Perseus and Medusa Gorgon

Polydectes wanted to marry the beautiful Danae, but she hated him. Then the king decided to act by force, but Perseus stood up for his mother. And since then, Polydectes has harbored a grudge against Danae’s son. He was constantly thinking about how to get him out of the world. Finally, he found a way out. The king called Perseus and ordered him to prove that he was the son of Zeus by bringing the head of Medusa the Gorgon to the palace. Perseus agreed and went to the western edge of the earth, where the gorgons lived. Their entire body was covered with strong and shiny scales. Only the curved sword of Hermes could cut it. Gorgons had copper hands with sharp steel claws. Poisonous snakes moved on their heads. The gorgons, with their sharp fangs, lips red as blood and eyes burning with rage, were so terrible that, looking at them, every traveler turned to stone. Gorgons flew quickly through the air thanks to wings with golden feathers. Any person they saw, the gorgons tore into pieces with their own hands and drank his blood. Two of the gorgons were immortal, and only one - Medusa the Gorgon - was mortal. So Perseus had to kill her. The gods of Olympus decided to help him. The messenger of the gods, Hermes, and the daughter of Zeus, Athena, came down to Perseus. Athena handed the hero a copper shield, which reflected everything that happened around him. And Hermes gave the young man his sword, which could cut any steel, and showed the way to the gorgons. Perseus walked for a long time and finally arrived in the country where the Grays lived. Only they knew the way to the gorgons. They had one eye and one tooth for three, passing them on to each other in turns. When they did this, Perseus snatched them from the hands of the Grai and promised to return them only in exchange for showing the way to the Gorgons. The Grays hesitated for a long time, but there was nothing to do - they told the hero where the gorgons were. Perseus went further and arrived to the nymphs. They gave him three gifts: a Hades helmet, winged sandals and a magic bag. He put on his sandals and quickly flew to the island of the Gorgons. And he sees: all three sisters are sleeping on a coastal stone. Perseus was confused: which of them is the Gorgon Medusa? The answer was whispered into his ear by Hermes, who flew up. Looking into the mirror shield and not turning his head towards the gorgons, so as not to petrify, Perseus swung his sword and cut off her head. Medusa's blood poured into the sea, and the giant Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus flew out of it. The hero quickly put the gorgon's head in his bag, put on the helmet of Hades and rose up on his winged sandals. The noise woke up her sisters. They saw that Medusa the Gorgon was lying dead and in terrible anger they rose above the island, seeking revenge on the killer. But they did not find Perseus, who was invisible thanks to the helmet of Hades. And he flew further and further.

Perseus and Atlas

Perseus flew across the sky for a long time and finally arrived in the country where the titan Atlas reigned. His greatest treasure was a tree with golden apples. The goddess Themis predicted to him that their son Zeus would kidnap them. When a wanderer approached his gate and called himself Perseus, the son of Zeus, Atlas remembered this prediction and rudely ordered the hero, calling him a liar, to get out of his garden. Perseus got angry, quickly pulled out the head of the gorgon Medusa and, turning away, showed it to the titan. Immediately Atlas turned into a mountain supporting the vault of heaven. And Perseus flew on.

Perseus frees Andromeda

Perseus reached the possessions of King Kepheus and saw that a girl was chained to a high rock standing above the sea. The hero asked who she was. The girl called herself Andromeda, the daughter of King Kepheus, chained to a rock because of the boasting of her mother Cassiopeia. She offended the nymphs by declaring that she was the most beautiful. For this, their father Poseidon sent a sea monster to Ethiopia, the country of Kepheus, destroying the city and devouring people. And it will retreat only if Andromeda is sacrificed to it. As soon as the girl told Perseus about this, the sea began to boil and the waves rose - this monster was rising from its bottom. Immediately Perseus pulled out the head of the gorgon Medusa and showed it to the monster, and immediately he turned to stone. Perseus cut the chains holding Andromeda with the sword of Hermes and together they went to the house of her father Kepheus. They were joyfully greeted there and soon had a noisy wedding.

Return to Serif

Taking Andromeda with him and flying to Serif, Perseus saw his mother in the temple of Zeus. Danae told him that she was hiding there from the persecution of Polydectes. Perseus got angry, went to the king's palace and found him with his friends at the banquet table. When the hero said that he had brought the head of the gorgon Medusa, they did not believe it and began to mock him. The offended Perseus pulled it out of her bag and showed it to those present. And King Polydectes and his friends turned into stone.

Arrival in Argos

Together with Andromeda and Danae, Perseus returned to the kingdom of his grandfather. Acrisius, having learned about this, fled far to the north. And Perseus began to happily rule in Argos. After some time, Perseus organized magnificent sport games. Many came to see them. Acrisius was also among the spectators. During one of the competitions, Perseus threw a heavy disc, which hit the former king. Upset, Perseus buried his grandfather and, not wanting to rule in the kingdom of Acrisius, whom he had killed, went to Tiryns, where he ruled for many more years.

Conclusion

That's the whole legend. Now you know that the story of the battle in which Perseus and Medusa the Gorgon took part is a myth that describes only one of his many exploits.

The ability of gorgons to turn people into stone

Among the gorgons, the gorgon Medusa, mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, stood out, who, according to Pindar ( OK. 518-442 BC) and Ovid (43 BC – 17 or 18 AD), had a wonderful gift of captivating people with her gaze and turning them to stone. According to other versions of the myth, the gaze of all the gorgons turned people and animals into stone, and even water turned into ice from their gaze.

Read my works about other creatures that turned people to stone - the basilisk, the leader of the Vievichi Vie and the leader of the Fomorians Balor

Gorgons - beautiful sea maidens who became monsters

Gorgons weren't always monsters. In ancient times, the gorgon sisters were beautiful sea maidens. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Athena turned Medusa and her sisters into monsters - gorgons after Poseidon possessed Medusa in the temple of Athena. According to another myth, Euryale and Stheno decided to become gorgons themselves out of compassion for the fate of their sister, Medusa. Unlike their sisters - the gorgons, whowere immortal, the gorgon Medusa was mortal.

Gorgon Medusa

As mentioned above, the most famous gorgon was the youngest of the daughters of Forkis and Keto, Medusa - a monster with woman's face and snakes or hydras on the head instead of hair. The gorgon Medusa got her name because of the resemblance of the moving hair of snakes to jellyfish.
Gorgon Medusa is bornbeautiful sea maiden(does this not speak about her werewolf abilities, like nagas and vieviches?) - so beautiful that the god Poseidon himself decided to unite with her. Pindar, in the Twelfth Pythian Ode, described the beauty and attractiveness of Medusa, which inspired writers and poets for many centuries. However, in ancient Greek art she was also depicted with boar tusks instead of teeth.
Transformed into a monster, Medusa was forced to hide her ugly appearance from everyone, and moved “to the ends of the earth,” to a lost, remote island, where she spent long years.

Killing of the Gorgon Medusa by Perseus

G orgone Medusa was killed by the hero Perseus, who accidentally “reproached” the promise to kill her, which Athena took advantage of. The gods Athena and Hermes helped him cope with the monster. According to another myth, recounted in Euripides' Ion, Medusa was born by Gaia and killed by Athena during the Gigantomachy. According to Euhemerus, Athena herself killed her.
The head of the murdered Medusa, according to Pausanias, lay in an earthen mound near the square of Argos. Pausanias in his “Description of Hellas” wrote that the Cyclopes made the head of the Gorgon Medusa from marble and installed it near the temple of Cephisus in Argos.

Gorgon Medusa - a poisonous creature that instantly killed people

Euripides in Ion noted that one half of the blood of the Gorgon Medusa was healing, and the other– poison from a snake's body. The blood of the gorgon Medusa, given by Athena to the healer Asclepius, was used by the latter in the following way.With the help of the blood of Medusa, taken from the left side of the body, Asclepius revived people, and with the blood taken from the right side of the body, he instantly killed.

Myths ancient Greece There are a huge number of legendary creatures inhabiting the vast expanses of forests and seas. The Gorgon Medusa is a terrible monster with snakes instead of hair and a terrible scaly body.

Description of the creature

Medusa Gorgon - fantastic creature from the legends of ancient Greece, is the daughter of Phorcys and Keto.

The mythology of the ancient Greek world tells of Phorkias, the father of the three Gorgons, the patron saint of the seas, as well as his wife Keto, who was the deity of the sea depths. Medusa is the most famous among the sisters. Her terrifying appearance and ability to turn people to stone destroyed more than one generation of brave warriors.

Legend of origin

The legend tells about the sea origin of Medusa, who was the youngest in the family and did not have immortality. The girl was young and beautiful, her magnificent hair flowed down to her waist. One day she was noticed by the god of the seas, Poseidon. He deceived Medusa into intimacy by committing an outrage in the temple of Athena, in which the girl wanted to hide.

The goddess of war and wisdom did not help Medusa, but, on the contrary, became angry. The Gorgon's beautiful hair was turned into terrifying hydra snakes, and her body was mutilated, only her face remained a girl's.

External features

After Athena’s curse, Medusa’s appearance became terrifying; not a trace remained of the sweet and harmless maiden. She looks like a sea monster, her appearance:

• the head is covered with poisonous snakes that make terrible sounds;
• the body of the creature is covered with shiny scales;
• the upper limbs are copper, the fingers have sharpened claws made of steel;
• the monster has wings made of steel with golden feathers.

Medusa had enormous power both physical and magical. One glance from the monster was enough to turn a person to stone, take away the gift of speech or hearing, and kill on the spot. Legend has it that even the Gorgon's blood had a miraculous effect. Blood taken from the left side of the creature could revive the dead or heal the sick, but blood from the right side of Medusa's body could kill anyone instantly.

Even after death, the head of Medusa carried danger; it retained all the properties that it had during life.

The myth of death

Reincarnated as a monster, Medusa instilled fear in those around her; no one dared to invade the lands that belonged to her. Then, to fight against the atrocities of the angry Gorgon, Perseus, the son of Danae and Zeus, was equipped on the road. The goddess of wisdom Athena and the son of Zeus Hermes decided to help the brave young man; they equipped him for battle, giving him their sword and shield. The shield given by Athena had a mirror surface, which was supposed to reflect the gaze of the Gorgon, and the Hermes sword, thanks to its sickle shape, was indispensable in battle with the monster.

After long wanderings, Perseus came to the house of the Gorgon sisters, who, according to legend, personified old age; they were born already old: gray hair, decrepit body. All the sisters had only one whole tooth, which was used by each old woman in turn. They were the Gorgon's guards and reliably knew the way to her home. Perseus managed to find out the path to the monster, which passed through the forest nymphs. The beauties equipped the young man, giving him:

• winged sandals;
• linen bag;
• a helmet that allows you to be invisible.

The armed Perseus found all the Gorgon sisters sleeping. With a quick movement, he cut off Medusa's head and, using a mirror shield, quickly put the chopped head into a bag, he knew that even a beheaded Gorgon was dangerous. At the time of her death, Medusa was pregnant, so Pegasus and Chrysaor, whose father was Poseidon, emerged from her body.

Before finishing the matter with Medusa, Perseus was attacked by her sisters. In order not to engage in battle and get rid of persecution, he put on an invisibility helmet and winged sandals. The legend of escaping from persecution tells that while flying over Libya, several drops from Medusa’s bleeding head fell to the ground and since then poisonous echidnas have lived there. With the flow of wind, the young man was carried more and more west to the kingdom of Atlanta, where he decided to stop for the night.

Having asked the great Atlas for shelter for the night, Perseus received a sharp refusal, due to his relationship with the Thunderer. Atlas wanted to force Perseus out, but the young man took out the severed head of the Gorgon to show the titan. At the same moment, Atlas began to transform into high mountain: the beard and hair turned into dense forests, the head raised the sky, and the shoulders became mountain spurs.

Subsequently, the head of the Gorgon became the property of Athena; she wore it on her shield and successfully fought with her enemies. After this, the goddess was nicknamed “Gorgopa,” which means “with a terrible look.”

The image of the Gorgon in art

In mythology, Medusa Gorgon is presented as a terrible monster that kills people, but among the people her image is very popular and is a talisman. Often the image of a monster’s head serves as protection against the evil eye and damage. It is not for nothing that the image is widespread on found artifacts: shields, coins, sword handles. Among the sailors of Ancient Rome there was a belief that the image of the Gorgon's head on the cape of the ship would bring good luck and protect against wreck in a storm.

In France, the image of a monster on the hilt of a sword meant a symbol of freedom and equality. Today, the image of Medusa has become the logo of one of the most famous fashion houses, Versace, which considers it a mixture of beauty, philosophy and art.

Often the image is used as an emblem.

1. Legends attribute the possession of the head of Medusa to A. Macedonian - the emblem was located on the armor that protected the chest.
2. It is a decoration of the administrative region in Italy - Sicily, which is the birthplace of the Gorgon and her sisters.
3. IN aesthetic directions classicism and imperial style, Medusa the Gorgon became traditional element decor that was used to decorate fences. In the cultural capital of Russia, St. Petersburg, you can see the image of the Gorgon on the fence of the bridge and the Summer Garden.

Image in culture

The image of the Gorgon was used by the Austrian psychoanalyst Freud for psychoanalysis. The image of Medusa becomes significant for modern girls fighting for women's freedom and rights. Feminists are against the Versace company, which uses the face of an innocent girl as a logo.

IN late XIX century, astrologers named the asteroid “149 Medusa” in honor of the murdered Gorgon. In modern interpretation, the image of Medusa is used with some distortion.

1. In the novel "Stay night", presented in the form of visualization, the Gorgon is a rider on a snow-white Pegasus.
2. IN literary art contemporaries, the image of Medusa is a girl from the book series “Tanya Grotter” in leading role- Medusia Gorgonova, working as an associate professor at the Department of Non-Life Sciences.

The mythological image is often used in modern cinema.

1. In the science fiction series Doctor Who, the character of the Gorgon appears in season 6.
2. Animation "Perseus" from 1973, where Medusa is credited with the image of a seductress who lures young men to her island in order to turn her into stone.
3. In 2010, the film “Clash of the Titans” was released, where there is a creature with a snake tail and the torso of a woman with poisonous snakes on her head.

Conclusion

Gorgon is one of the 3 daughters of the lord of the seas Forkle and his sister Keto. The beauty, turned into an evil monster, brought a lot of trouble to mere mortals.

It is believed that the myths about the Gorgon Medusa are connected with the cult of the Scythian snake-legged goddess - the ancestor of Tabiti, evidence of whose existence are references in ancient sources and archaeological finds images. In the Hellenized version, this “Gorgon Medusa” gave birth to the Scythian people from her connection with Hercules.

Head of Medusa

And in the severed state, the gaze of the gorgon's head retained the ability to turn people into stone. Perseus used the head of Medusa in a battle with Keto (Whale) - a dragon-like sea ​​monster(and the mother of the Gorgons), who was sent by Poseidon to devastate Ethiopia. Showing the face of Medusa to Keto, Perseus turned her into stone and saved Andromeda, the king's daughter, which was intended as a sacrifice to Keto. Before this, he turned into stone the titan Atlas, which supported the firmament near the island of the Gorgons, and it turned into Mount Atlas in modern Morocco.

Later, Perseus turned King Polydectes and his servants, who were pursuing Danae, Perseus' mother, into stone in the same way. Then the head of Medusa was placed on the aegis of Athena (“on the chest of Athena”) - in art it was customary to depict this head on the armor on the goddess’s shoulder or under the collarbones on her chest.

Interpretations

According to the rationalist interpretation, she was the daughter of King Forcus and reigned over the people at Lake Tritonida, led the Libyans to war, but was treacherously killed at night. The Carthaginian writer Proclus calls her wild woman from the Libyan Desert. According to another interpretation, she was a heterosexual, fell in love with Perseus and spent her youth and fortune.

The animal gorgon from Libya was described by Alexander of Mindsky.

Ancient sources

In art

She was depicted as a woman with snakes instead of hair and boar tusks instead of teeth. In Hellenic images there is sometimes a beautiful dying gorgon girl.

Separate iconography - images of the severed head of Medusa, either in the hands of Perseus, on the shield or aegis of Athena and Zeus. On other shields it turned into a decorative motif - gorgoneion.

In Scythian art - an omphalos spell bowl of the 4th century. BC e. from Kul-Oba (Kerch) with 24 heads.

Beliefs and amulets

Gorgoneion is a talisman mask with the image of the head of Medusa, which was depicted on clothing, household items, weapons, tools, jewelry, coins and building facades. The tradition is also found in Ancient Rus'.

In Russian medieval culture

In Slavic medieval book legends, she turned into a maiden with snake-shaped hair - the maiden Gorgonia. The sorcerer, who manages to decapitate Gorgonia and take possession of her head, receives a miraculous remedy that gives him victory over any enemies. Also in the Slavic apocrypha - the “beast of Gorgonians”, guarding paradise from people after the Fall. In the novel Alexandria, Alexander the Great takes possession of the head.

Head of the gorgon Medusa as an emblem

In Western European painting and sculpture

In Western European literature

In culture

• Das Medusenhaupt- work of Sigmund Freud, analysis of myth from the point of view of psychoanalysis.
• The Gorgon Medusa is an iconic symbol for modern feminists. In particular, they object to the use of the image of an innocently murdered heroic woman as a logo for the Versace fashion house.
• Asteroid 149 Medusa, discovered in 1875, is named after the Gorgon Medusa.
• In the repertoire of the Knyazz group there is a song with the same name.
• The song Stare from the album of the same name is dedicated to the story of Medusa. Gorky group Park
• IN modern literature Medusa Gorgon is presented in the book series “Tanya Grotter” in the role of Medusa Gorgonova - associate professor, deputy head of Tibidox, teacher of non-living studies.
• IN visual novel Fate/stay night Medusa participates as a Rider class Servant. Her image is slightly different from the original in that she does not have snake hair, but her ability to turn all living things into stone with her gaze turns out to be real. In battles, she fights on the back of a white pegasus named Bellerophon.

Gorgon in cinema and animation

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Also, this half-man, half-snake, with writhing snakes on her head instead of hair, is found in the film “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief” (), the role was played by actress Uma Thurman.

Clash of the Titans

An evil creature, half human - half snake, whose head is swarming with snakes instead of hair, appears in the film “Clash of the Titans” (), the role was played by top model Natalia Vodianova. The original film used a doll.

Perseus (cartoon)

In the 1973 Soviet cartoon, the Gorgon appears as a seductive winged nymph with huge sparkling and constantly changing eyes, collecting stone monuments of her victims on her island.

Doctor Who

In the British science fiction series, Medusa the Gorgon appeared as a fictional creature brought to life in the Land of Fantasy. Her appearance occurred in episode 2 of season 6, "The Mind Thief" (1969), where she was played by Sue Pulford.

School of Monsters (cartoon)

Mentioned as Deuce's mother Gorgon.

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Notes

Literature

• // Kinyar P. Sex and fear: Essay: Trans. from fr. - M.: Text, 2000, p. 51-58.

see also

• Gorgons - ancient greek monsters, sisters of Medusa
• Jellyfish, the inhabitants of the sea, got their name in honor of the gorgon with moving tentacles.
• Basilisk - another monster with a magical look
• Gorgona Island is a Colombian island named after large quantity poisonous snakes.

Links

• on the website "Encyclopedia of Fictional Creatures". Gallery

Initial deities Titans Titanides Children of the Titans Olympic gods Other Olympians Gods water element Basic Chthonic deities Basic Born on earth Earth

Excerpt characterizing the Gorgon Medusa

Prince Andrei led Pierre to his half, which was always waiting for him in perfect order in his father’s house, and he himself went to the nursery.
“Let’s go to my sister,” said Prince Andrei, returning to Pierre; - I haven’t seen her yet, she is now hiding and sitting with her God’s people. Serves her right, she'll be embarrassed, and you'll see God's people. C "est curieux, ma parole. [This is interesting, honestly.]
– Qu"est ce que c"est que [What are] God's people? - asked Pierre
- But you'll see.
Princess Marya was really embarrassed and turned red in spots when they came to her. In her cozy room with lamps in front of the icon cases, on the sofa, at the samovar, a young boy sat next to her with long nose And long hair, and in a monastic robe.
On a chair nearby sat a wrinkled, thin old woman with a meek expression on her childish face.
“Andre, pourquoi ne pas m"avoir prevenu? [Andrei, why didn’t you warn me?],” she said with meek reproach, standing in front of her wanderers, like a hen in front of her chickens.
– Charmee de vous voir. Je suis tres contente de vous voir, [Very glad to see you. “I’m so pleased that I see you,” she said to Pierre, while he kissed her hand. She knew him as a child, and now his friendship with Andrei, his misfortune with his wife, and most importantly, his kind, simple face endeared her to him. She looked at him with her beautiful, radiant eyes and seemed to say: “I love you very much, but please don’t laugh at mine.” After exchanging the first phrases of greeting, they sat down.
“Oh, and Ivanushka is here,” said Prince Andrei, pointing with a smile at the young wanderer.
– Andre! - Princess Marya said pleadingly.
“Il faut que vous sachiez que c"est une femme, [Know that this is a woman," Andrei said to Pierre.
– Andre, au nom de Dieu! [Andrey, for God’s sake!] – repeated Princess Marya.
It was clear that Prince Andrei’s mocking attitude towards the wanderers and Princess Mary’s useless intercession on their behalf were familiar, established relationships between them.
“Mais, ma bonne amie,” said Prince Andrei, “vous devriez au contraire m"etre reconaissante de ce que j"explique a Pierre votre intimate avec ce jeune homme... [But, my friend, you should be grateful to me that I explain to Pierre your closeness to this young man.]
– Vraiment? [Really?] - Pierre said curiously and seriously (for which Princess Marya was especially grateful to him) peering through his glasses into the face of Ivanushka, who, realizing that they were talking about him, looked at everyone with cunning eyes.
Princess Marya was completely in vain to be embarrassed for her own people. They were not at all timid. The old woman, with her eyes downcast but looking sideways at those who entered, had turned the cup upside down onto a saucer and placed a bitten piece of sugar next to it, sat calmly and motionless in her chair, waiting to be offered more tea. Ivanushka, drinking from a saucer, looked at the young people from under his brows with sly, feminine eyes.
– Where, in Kyiv, were you? – Prince Andrey asked the old woman.
“It was, father,” the old woman answered loquaciously, “on Christmas itself I was honored with the saints’ communication with the saints, heavenly secrets. And now from Kolyazin, father, great grace has opened...
- Well, Ivanushka is with you?
“I’m going on my own, breadwinner,” Ivanushka said, trying to speak in a deep voice. - Only in Yukhnov did Pelageyushka and I get along...
Pelagia interrupted her comrade; She obviously wanted to tell what she saw.
- In Kolyazin, father, great grace was revealed.
- Well, are the relics new? - asked Prince Andrei.
“That’s enough, Andrey,” said Princess Marya. - Don’t tell me, Pelageyushka.
“No...what are you saying, mother, why not tell me?” I love him. He is kind, favored by God, he, a benefactor, gave me rubles, I remember. How I was in Kyiv and the holy fool Kiryusha told me - a truly man of God, he walks barefoot winter and summer. Why are you walking, he says, not in your place, go to Kolyazin, there is a miraculous icon, the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos has been revealed. From those words I said goodbye to the saints and went...
Everyone was silent, one wanderer spoke in a measured voice, drawing in air.
- My father came, the people came to me and said: great grace has been revealed to mother Holy Mother of God myrrh dripping from the cheek...
“Okay, okay, you’ll tell me later,” said Princess Marya, blushing.
“Let me ask her,” said Pierre. -Have you seen it yourself? - he asked.
- Why, father, you yourself have been honored. There is such a radiance on the face, like heavenly light, and from my mother’s cheek it keeps dripping and dripping...
“But this is a deception,” said Pierre naively, who listened attentively to the wanderer.
- Oh, father, what are you saying! - Pelageyushka said with horror, turning to Princess Marya for protection.
“They are deceiving the people,” he repeated.
- Lord Jesus Christ! – the wanderer said, crossing herself. - Oh, don't tell me, father. So one anaral did not believe it, he said: “the monks are deceiving,” and as he said, he became blind. And he dreamed that Mother of Pechersk came to him and said: “Trust me, I will heal you.” So he began to ask: take me and take me to her. This is me for you the real truth I say, I saw it myself. They brought him blind straight to her, he came up, fell, and said: “Heal! “I will give you,” he says, “what the king gave you.” I saw it myself, father, the star was embedded in it. Well, I have received my sight! It's a sin to say that. “God will punish,” she instructively addressed Pierre.
- How did the star end up in the image? asked Pierre.
- Did you make your mother a general? - said Prince Andrei, smiling.
Pelagia suddenly turned pale and clasped her hands.
- Father, father, it’s a sin for you, you have a son! - she spoke, suddenly turning from pallor to bright color.
- Father, what did you say? God forgive you. - She crossed herself. - Lord, forgive him. Mother, what is this?...” she turned to Princess Marya. She stood up and, almost crying, began to pack her purse. She was obviously both scared and ashamed that she had enjoyed benefits in a house where they could say this, and it was a pity that she now had to be deprived of the benefits of this house.
- Well, what kind of hunting do you want? - said Princess Marya. -Why did you come to me?...
“No, I’m joking, Pelageyushka,” said Pierre. - Princesse, ma parole, je n"ai pas voulu l"offenser, [Princess, I'm right, I didn't want to offend her,] I just did that. Don’t think I was joking,” he said, smiling timidly and wanting to make amends. - After all, it’s me, and he was only joking.
Pelageyushka stopped incredulously, but Pierre's face showed such sincerity of repentance, and Prince Andrei looked so meekly first at Pelageyushka, then at Pierre, that she gradually calmed down.

The wanderer calmed down and, brought back into conversation, talked for a long time about Father Amphilochius, who was such a saint of life that his hand smelled like palm, and about how the monks she knew on her last journey to Kiev gave her the keys to the caves, and how she, taking crackers with her, spent two days in the caves with the saints. “I’ll pray to one, read, go to another. I’ll take a pine tree, I’ll go and take a kiss again; and such silence, mother, such grace that you don’t even want to go out into the light of God.”
Pierre listened to her carefully and seriously. Prince Andrei left the room. And after him, leaving God’s people to finish their tea, Princess Marya led Pierre into the living room.
“You are very kind,” she told him.
- Oh, I really didn’t think of offending her, I understand and highly value these feelings!
Princess Marya silently looked at him and smiled tenderly. “After all, I have known you for a long time and love you like a brother,” she said. – How did you find Andrey? - she asked hastily, not giving him time to say anything in response to her kind words. - He worries me very much. His health is better in winter, but last spring the wound opened, and the doctor said that he should go for treatment. And morally I am very afraid for him. He is not the type of character we women are to suffer and cry out our grief. He carries it inside himself. Today he is cheerful and lively; but it was your arrival that had such an effect on him: he is rarely like this. If only you could persuade him to go abroad! He needs activity, and this one is smooth, quiet life ruins him. Others don't notice, but I see.
At 10 o'clock the waiters rushed to the porch, hearing the bells of the old prince's carriage approaching. Prince Andrei and Pierre also went out onto the porch.
- Who is this? - asked the old prince, getting out of the carriage and guessing Pierre.
– AI is very happy! “kiss,” he said, having learned who the unfamiliar young man was.
Old Prince was in good spirit and caressed Pierre.
Before dinner, Prince Andrei, returning back to his father’s office, found the old prince in a heated argument with Pierre.
Pierre argued that the time would come when there would be no more war. The old prince, teasing but not angry, challenged him.
- Let the blood out of your veins, pour some water, then there will be no war. “A woman’s nonsense, a woman’s nonsense,” he said, but still affectionately patted Pierre on the shoulder and walked up to the table where Prince Andrei, apparently not wanting to engage in conversation, was sorting through the papers the prince had brought from the city. The old prince approached him and began to talk about business.
- The leader, Count Rostov, did not deliver half of the people. I came to the city, decided to invite him to dinner, - I gave him such a dinner... But look at this... Well, brother, - Prince Nikolai Andreich turned to his son, clapping Pierre on the shoulder, - well done, your friend, I loved him! Fires me up. The other one speaks smart things, but I don’t want to listen, but he lies and inflames me, an old man. Well, go, go,” he said, “maybe I’ll come and sit at your dinner.” I'll argue again. Love my fool, Princess Marya,” he shouted to Pierre from the door.
Pierre only now, on his visit to Bald Mountains, appreciated all the strength and charm of his friendship with Prince Andrei. This charm was expressed not so much in his relationships with himself, but in his relationships with all his relatives and friends. Pierre, with the old, stern prince and with the meek and timid Princess Marya, despite the fact that he hardly knew them, immediately felt like an old friend. They all already loved him. Not only Princess Marya, bribed by his meek attitude towards the strangers, looked at him with the most radiant gaze; but little, one-year-old Prince Nikolai, as his grandfather called him, smiled at Pierre and went into his arms. Mikhail Ivanovich, m lle Bourienne looked at him with joyful smiles as he talked with the old prince.
The old prince went out to dinner: this was obvious to Pierre. He was extremely kind to him both days of his stay in Bald Mountains, and told him to come to him.
When Pierre left and all the family members came together, they began to judge him, as always happens after the departure of a new person, and, as rarely happens, everyone said one good thing about him.

Returning this time from vacation, Rostov felt and learned for the first time how strong his connection was with Denisov and with the entire regiment.
When Rostov drove up to the regiment, he experienced a feeling similar to the one he experienced when approaching the Cook's House. When he saw the first hussar in the unbuttoned uniform of his regiment, when he recognized the red-haired Dementyev, he saw the hitching posts of red horses, when Lavrushka joyfully shouted to his master: “The Count has arrived!” and shaggy Denisov, who was sleeping on the bed, ran out of the dugout, hugged him, and the officers came to the newcomer - Rostov experienced the same feeling as when his mother, father and sisters hugged him, and the tears of joy that came to his throat prevented him from speaking . The regiment was also a home, and the home was invariably sweet and dear, just like the parental home.
Having appeared before the regimental commander, having been assigned to the previous squadron, having gone on duty and foraging, having entered into all the small interests of the regiment and feeling himself deprived of freedom and shackled into one narrow, unchanging frame, Rostov experienced the same calm, the same support and the same consciousness the fact that he was at home here, in his place, which he felt under his parents’ roof. There was not all this chaos of the free world, in which he did not find a place for himself and made mistakes in the elections; there was no Sonya with whom it was or was not necessary to explain things. There was no option to go there or not to go there; there were no 24 hours of the day that could be used in so many different ways; there was not this countless multitude of people, of whom no one was closer, no one was further; there were no these unclear and uncertain financial relations with his father, there was no reminder of the terrible loss to Dolokhov! Here in the regiment everything was clear and simple. The whole world was divided into two uneven sections. One is our Pavlograd regiment, and the other is everything else. And there was nothing else to worry about. Everything was known in the regiment: who was the lieutenant, who was the captain, who was a good person, who was a bad person, and most importantly, a comrade. The shopkeeper believes in debt, the salary is a third; there is nothing to invent or choose, just don’t do anything that is considered bad in the Pavlograd regiment; but if they send you, do what is clear and distinct, defined and ordered: and everything will be fine.
Having entered again into these certain conditions of regimental life, Rostov experienced joy and tranquility, similar to those that a tired person feels when he lies down to rest. This regimental life was all the more gratifying for Rostov during this campaign because, after losing to Dolokhov (an act for which he, despite all the consolations of his family, could not forgive himself), he decided to serve not as before, but in order to make amends, to serve well and to be a completely excellent comrade and officer, i.e. wonderful person, which seemed so difficult in the world, but so possible in the regiment.
Rostov, from the time of his loss, decided that he would pay this debt to his parents in five years. He was sent 10 thousand a year, but now he decided to take only two, and give the rest to his parents to pay off the debt.

Our army, after repeated retreats, offensives and battles at Pultusk, at Preussisch Eylau, concentrated near Bartenstein. They were awaiting the arrival of the sovereign to the army and the start of a new campaign.

Bigirisdanova Olga
Pozharova Olesya

Medusa Gorgon

Summary of the myth

"Medusa", Caravaggio
1598-99, Uffizi
Image of a cut off
Gorgon heads

Gorgons - in Greek mythology monsters, daughters of the sea deities Phorcys and Keto, granddaughter of the earth goddess Gaia and the sea god Pontus. The Gorgons are three sisters: Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. Medusa, unlike her older sisters, is a mortal creature. In ancient times, the sisters were red sea maidens and lived in the far west, off the banks of the world river Ocean, near the Garden of the Hesperides.

Gorgon Medusa (Greek Μέδουσα, more precisely Medusa - “guardian, protector, mistress”) is the most famous of the Gorgon sisters, a monster with a woman’s face and snakes instead of hair. But she was not born as a terrible monster, but as a beautiful sea maiden. She was so attractive that the god of the seas, Poseidon, decided to lie with her. But he chose a not entirely successful place for this - the temple of Athena. Athena was beside herself with rage, and not only did she turn the Gorgon into a winged monster, but she also endowed her with the terrifying power of turning all living things into stone with her gaze. In addition, Athena turned her innocent sisters into monsters. The Medusa sisters were forced to hide their ugly appearance from everyone, and moved “to the ends of the earth,” to a lost, remote island. And people told each other horror stories about cruel and bloodthirsty gorgons. Everyone quickly forgot about the former beauty of the gorgons and looked forward to the appearance of a hero who would rid the world of the disgusting Medusa, under whose gaze all living things turn to stone. Such was Athena's will.

One of the tasks given to Perseus by King Polydectes was to kill the gorgon Medusa. The gods Athena and Hermes helped the hero cope with the monster. On their advice, before going into battle, he visited the prophetic old women - the Grai sisters (who were also sisters of the Gorgons), who had one eye and one tooth between them. By cunning, Perseus stole a tooth and an eye from them, and returned it in exchange for winged sandals, a magic bag and the invisibility cap of Hades. The Graians showed Perseus the way to the Gorgons. Hermes gave him a sharp, curved knife. Armed with this gift, Perseus arrived to the Gorgons. And here in front of him is a rocky island, where the sisters sleep peacefully, unaware of the danger. The hero's gaze fell on the shiny shield - a gift from Athena. Like a mirror, the shield reflected both the sea and the rocks. Perseus rejoiced. Now he can fight the Gorgon Medusa. The young man rushed down. The sword flashed, and Medusa's head was in the hands of Perseus. A stream of scarlet blood gushed from the neck of the headless Medusa, and from it appeared a winged, dazzling white horse, Pegasus, and after him, Chrysaor (Golden Bow). They soared into the blue sky and disappeared from sight. From the drops of blood that fell into the sands of Libya, poisonous snakes appeared and destroyed all life in it. Local legend says that corals emerged from a stream of blood that spilled into the ocean. The hero threw Medusa's head into his bag and flew away. The gorgons Stheno and Euryale woke up. They saw a headless body younger sister and realized that Athena had completed her revenge. With a cry of horror, the gorgons soared over the island. They wanted to take revenge on the killer, to tear him to pieces with steel claws. But Perseus, invisible in his magic hat, flew away from the island, carrying the battle trophy in his bag.

The blood of the Gorgon Medusa, which has destructive and life-giving properties, was collected by Athena in two vessels and presented to the famous healer Asclepius, who was worshiped as the founder of medicine. Asclepius, using the blood of Medusa taken from the left side of the body, could revive people, and with blood taken from the right side of the body, he could instantly kill.

The head of Medusa retained even after death the ability to turn all living things into stone. And when the conqueror of Medusa landed next to the palace of the titan Atlas, Perseus turned it into a mountain, showing the head of the gorgon. Soon, the severed head of Medusa was given to Athena, and she attached it to her legendary shield - the aegis - which received the epithet "gorgoneon", and Athena herself began to be called Gorgopa - the goddess with a terrible look. Later in Ancient Rome The image of the snake-haired head of Medusa became one of the most popular on metal jewelry that served as military insignia.

Images and symbols of myth

Medusa Gorgon by Bernini

The image of the Gorgon Medusa seems frightening and dangerous: “Instead of hair, the Gorgon has moving snakes, her whole body is covered with shiny scales. The Gorgon has copper hands with sharp steel claws, wings with sparkling golden plumage. From the gaze of the gorgon, all living things turn into stone,” this is how the ancient Greek poet Hesiod (c. 700 BC) describes the gorgon in the poem “Theogony” (“The Origin of the Gods”). Indeed, her appearance was terrible, and the word “gorgos” translated means “terrible, formidable.” Depending on the circumstances, its victim becomes petrified, speechless, unconscious, or dies. Medusa's power can be turned against herself or used in the fight against other opponents. All residents were afraid of the Gorgon and considered her the embodiment of evil and cruelty. But if you remember her story, then the Gorgon jellyfish is the image of an innocently murdered heroine who suffered because of her beauty.

The blood of the Gorgon had both healing and destructive properties. Asclepius, to whom Athena gave it, could revive people with the blood of Medusa taken from the left side of the body, and with blood taken from the right side of the body he could instantly kill. It is interesting that Asclepius is always depicted with a staff entwined with a snake - a product of the blood of the Gorgon Medusa.

The ancient Greek traveler and writer Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions that several tamed snakes lived in the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus.

And the image of a snake entwining a bowl appeared in the 16th century thanks to the famous physician Paracelsus (1493-1541), and today has become a symbol of medicine.

Medusa Rondanini
OK. I century n. e. Marble
Munich, Glyptothek

The most important symbolic element of the myth is the head of the Gorgon Medusa. And in her severed state, she had the same abilities to turn people into stone. Showing the face of Medusa to Keto, Perseus turned her into stone and saved Andromeda, the royal daughter, who was destined to be sacrificed to Keto. Before this, he turned the titan Atlas, which supported the firmament near the island of the Gorgons, into stone, and it turned into Mount Atlas in modern Morocco. In medieval book legends, ownership of the gorgon's head was attributed to Alexander the Great, which explained his victories over all nations. In the famous Pompeian mosaic, the king's armor is decorated on the chest with the image of a gorgon's head. The island of Sicily is traditionally considered the place where the Gorgons lived and Medusa was killed. Her image still adorns the flag of this region.

Versace emblem

The head of the Gorgon was depicted on military medals, and then on horse harness decorations, sometimes on armor and shields - in order to intimidate and terrify the enemy. The image of Medusa on military tombstones, may have played a protective function, designed to protect the grave from destroyers. The head of the jellyfish also became the emblem of the Versace house.

The appearance of the image of the Gorgon Medusa is often associated with the legend of the “evil eye,” but it seems the most acceptable next theory: since ancient times, the Gorgon Medusa combines both horror and charm; her image cannot be understood unambiguously - it is the personification of the unity in man of chaos and order, beauty and deceit, self-restraint and depravity.

So, we can say that Medusa the Gorgon is not just an ancient fictional character, but a symbol that is a kind of mirror of human souls.

Communicative means of creating images and symbols

The Gorgon is a very famous character and was already formed by the 8th century BC. At the time of Homer, the image of the Gorgon was so famous that he easily mentioned her in his works, without delving into the description of her image or history. In general, in Homeric times, the gorgon was actively depicted on coins and in fine art; in a word, at that time the jellyfish did not suffer from lack of attention. The name "Gorgon" has been known since ancient times. Long before Homer, the Greeks called a “gorgoneion” a talisman mask, which was depicted on clothing, household items, weapons, tools, jewelry, coins and building facades. Already in those ancient times, the myths about the Gorgon and Medusa were closely intertwined and these names practically became synonymous. In Homeric times, images of Medusa were ubiquitous: they can be seen on coins, wine glasses, bread tins, above the front door and at the hearth of many Athenian homes. It was believed that drops of her blood in the amulet would protect the owner from misfortune.

After Homer, the Gorgon was mentioned in literary works Hesiod, Aeschylus, Ovid.
Ovid gives not only the story of the battle with Perseus, who killed the Gorgon, but also sets out the entire genealogy of Medusa.

Medusa Gorgon is “the embodiment of the evil eye.” Among the myths of the peoples of Scandinavia, India, Australian Aboriginals And American Indians There are quite a few that talk about people turned to stone with an “evil look.” The images on battle shields served as a “remedy” against the “evil eye.” They could be seen on the bows of ships, buildings, gates, and medallions. Although the myth of the Gorgon Medusa was neither the cause nor the consequence of the belief about the “evil eye,” it was thanks to it that mascot masks (gorgoneions) came into use.

Social significance of the myth

Summer garden fence

Medusa became a victim, beautiful and touching in her death. Medusa Gorgon is one of the most famous figures in Greek and Roman mythology. The vividness of her descriptions in European literature and images in art largely depends on how close the creations of later writers and artists are to ancient sources.

The image of a jellyfish was used in painting, literature, and architecture.

On old maps starry sky Perseus is traditionally depicted holding the head of Medusa in his hand; its eye is the variable star Algol (beta Persei).

The head of Medusa during the period of classicism and empire style, which revived ancient motifs, including this one - the gorgoneion, became a traditional decorative element accompanying military fittings in the decoration of buildings and fences. For example, it is a very common motif in the cast-iron and forged decor of St. Petersburg, flaunting, in particular, on the fence of the 1st Engineering Bridge and the lattice of the Summer Garden.

Such great artists as Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Rubens, Böcklin did not leave the myth of the jellyfish without attention. And they reflected her image in their works.

The image of Medusa continued to live in tales and legends, but only in the Middle Ages returned to literature and art. A passage from the ninth canto of Dante's Inferno can be considered typical of the medieval perception of the Gorgon. Her image in the interpretation of the Christian Dante appears as a combination of beauty and horror; Medusa is the personification of conflicting desires; she is contrasted with the image of the virtuous Matelda.

In Goethe's Faust, a jellyfish wanders around the Sabbath, taking on the image of Gretchen, which confuses the protagonist.

In the bronze sculpture of Perseus by Cellini (1553), the hero holds the head of the Gorgon by the hair (from which alone one can guess that it is Perseus who is depicted). The Gorgon doesn't look dangerous at all. Moreover, her face is a copy of Perseus's face: thin eyebrows, sensual lips, a regular nose and slightly closed eyes. Even their hair is similar - on Medusa’s head there are not snakes, but small curls.

Peruzzi. Perseus and Medusa. 1511. Fresco

Cellini's Medusa is an unsurpassed depiction of this complex and contradictory image in art, as is Ovid's Medusa in literature. All subsequent creators could not get out of the shadow of this beautiful statue. Caravaggio's stupid Perseus seems more concerned that the snakes from Medusa's head do not bite him on the nose. The figure of Perseus in the star atlas of Jan Hevelius (1687) is equally unimpressive: the hero drags the head of a Gorgon with a full, flat face almost the size of Perseus’s torso across the heavenly space.

A new look at the history of Medusa, which had developed by the beginning of the 20th century, was embodied in the sculpture of Rodin’s student Camille Claudel “Perseus and the Head of Medusa” (1898 - 1902). It also reflected the fact that shortly before the idea for the sculpture came to her, the sculptor quarreled with her teacher. Her Gorgon doesn't look like a terrible creature. But not a beautiful woman either. Bent left hand, Perseus holds her head above his. The wrinkles on Medusa's sagging cheeks emphasize the contrast between her and young Perseus. Claudel's sculpture rather depicts a worthy mature woman who, as a result of tragic misunderstandings, fell under the power of a young, stupid winner.

The Gorgon Medusa is an iconic symbol for modern feminists. In particular, they object to the use of the image of an innocently murdered heroic woman as the logo of the Versace fashion house.

So, the Gorgon jellyfish was perceived at all times ambiguously, it caused a lot of controversy and discussion, but what the great creators of art and culture said about it deserves enormous respect and attention to the jellyfish. And today the myth of the Gorgon Medusa has not lost its relevance, and everyone can extract a bit of useful information from it.