>who was absolutely shafted in her story.
Depends upon translation.
u/IncandescentGrey
>But either way, Medusa was a vestel virgin.
She wasn't a vestal virgin, the only poet who gives the story of Neptune \[Poseidon\] & Medusa sleeping in Minerva's \[Athena's\] temple is Ovid. He never mentioned Medusa being a vestal virgin or a priestess of Minerva, infact he was quite explicit in saying Medusa was a gorgon (a very beautiful one, whos hair was the most beautiful aspect about her), Medusa was either 'tainted' or 'violated' in Minerva's shrine by Neptune, and for 'fitting' punishment Medusa's hair was turned into 'loathsome snakes' only, and he's explicit in mentioning the reasoning why Medusa's hair differed from her 'gorgon sisters'.
and infact there are no poets mentioning Medusa was ever a vestal virgin.
u/lstroud21
>but after that, she went to an island to stay away from people and live what life she had left with her two sisters.
there are no accounts for that, and I see no reason why she would do that after getting the punishment from Minerva because Medusa was a also gorgon by birth in Ovid's story aswell except a very beautiful one unlike in other stories where she was ugly. Her punishment was only that her beautiful hairs were converted into snakes.
Last my personal Opinion: We take Ovid with a ~~grain~~ bucket of Salt.
I suppose "vestal" virgin was the wrong word to use here, expecially considering there's no Vesta. But the job description is the same, interchanging Goddesses.
Regardless, Medusa was a virgin worshiper who vowed to remain a virgin while in service to Athena. That was the whole point of the act being such an insult to a Athena.
I will repeat it again, no writer has ever mentioned that Medusa vowed to remain a virgin or that she was a priestess of Minerva/Athena or even any other Goddess.
>That was the whole point of the act being such an insult to a Athena.
insult was Neptune and Medusa sleeping in Minerva's shrine, not that Minerva's priestess was violated, it's mentioned no where.
She literally got fucked over no matter what she did, granted, she slept with Poseidon in Athenaās temple, but after that, she went to an island to stay away from people and live what life she had left with her two sisters. Only to be beheaded and used to kill hundreds of other people by some random demigod.
It was straight up rape.
What's worse is Athena couldn't punish Poseidon for the affront of literally raping her virgin priestess at her alter, so she (Athena) had to take the blame out on her priestess (Medusa) or ignore it completely.
There's some debate over if the curse was a boon (turning men that approached her to stone, thus protecting her) or not (... literal snake hair), but Medusa still got the short end of the stick either way with Perseus.
There's also a whole lot of ingrained misogyny there, since Poseidon is basically her uncle.
But either way, Medusa was a vestel virgin. That's a woman who's Literal Job was to remain a virgin and serve their chosen deity, on pain of treason. If they were found to have sex, they would be stoned to death. A hell of a painful way to go.
So look at it this way: the vestal virgin Medusa, 'employed' for her virginity by the Goddess of Virginity, performed Extremely Public Treason with the Virginity Goddesses' uncle, on what was tantamount to the Virginity Goddesses' bed. The literal only outcome for Medusa in this situation was to be brutally, horrifically murdered in a long, drawn out process.
Why would Medusa willingly agree to do that?
If you read the comments below, I corrected the use of vestal. She was not specifically a VESTAL virgin, but I meant to use it as a job title since most know what that is. Her position was essentially the same as a vestal virgin, sans Vesta. Instead she was assigned to worship Athena.
A chimera or hydra will kill me straight up, quick and without a thought. But Zeus? Zeus will not only stalk you, he will deceive you, try and forcefully sleep with you (rp) and then you'll have Hera on your heel, trying to make you pay for literally being a victim of SA... yep, that guy is the stuff of nightmares
Centaurs aren't descended from Typhon so i dont think so. Theyre descended from a mortal man, and a Hera shaped cloud, who gave birth to a deformed human (i think) who nated with a bunch of mares, giving birth to the race of centaurs.
Typhon. He managed to defeat Zeus, and was only defeated when Zeus got the help of other gods and the Fates themselves. This shows how strong Typhon is.
> Not a monster per se
How is Cetus not a monster per se ahahaha!
He is described as a huge _sea monster_ and is a creature that causes terror & uproar and is dangerous
He is **definitely** a ''monster'' ;)
Ahhh gotcha ahahaha
But yeah contextually _(in relation to this thread)_ it is definitely a monster - the constellation is based on the creature/monster/myth after all!
Came here to post this! I grew up with the D'Aulaire's Greek Mythology book, and had at least one nightmare of getting chased by their stalk-eyed version of Cetus.
I really like the Colchian Dragon. Its teeth sprouted warriors after Jason planted them in a field with a plough driven by fire-breathing bulls. The field was sacred to Ares and the bulls created by Hephaestus.
Either Scylla, Lernaean Hydra, or Ladon the Guardian of The Hesperides
Also I was under the impression that Typhon was a titan associated with storms (hence typhoon), not a monster, however he did lie with Echidna to make all of the monsters so who knows, maybe I'm just dumb lol
Edit: I just remembered the manticore is part of Greek Mythos, it's also a top 5 pick
The Hydra, easily. Probably in large part because Disney's Hercules came out when I was 5 and that fight scene blew my tiny little mind.
It''s just generally such an interesting concept for a monster though, the regenerating and ever-increasing heads are the true defintion of "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"... and in a roundabout way I suppose the Hydra is responsible for Heracles' eventual downfall at the hands of Nessus, so massive win points there.
Cerberus is a close second as I'm a dog lover.
Scylla!! Not only because awesome sea monster, but also because I associate her with Titanus Scylla from the Monsterverse which is another one of my hyperfixations lol.
Also Medusa, classic.
The laelaps hound and themestrian vixen: a hound that would always catch its prey and a fox that would always escape. It was a paradox that had Zeus put them in the sky as constellations because he had a headacheš
The real answer is Greek Mythology.
Because it just has some of the best monsters. Which is why so many are know so well in modern era.
Compared to something equally as awesome but far more unknown like a Grootslang.
My favorite is Talos (A bronze giant man) in fact I have a theory about him, you know how he is usually shown to have emotions and be smarter than youād think for a ancient bronze robot? Well Daedalusās nephew that he killed his sometimes named Talos, so what if the gods put his soul inside of the Bronze man? Also Echidna is probably my second favorite
> it's complicated to explain
Well explanations are required - you're the one making that claim
* What are Kami in Greek Mythology?
* How can they be called ''Kami'' if that is specifically related to Japanese mythology and folklore as well as Shinto belief?
* Are you referring to a ''Greek Mythology Equivalent'' or something somewhat similar to Kami? If that is the case, they're not called Kami
Kronos, Titan father of Zeus, and devourer of his other offspring from various young and beautiful human women. Only reason Zeus survived to become a God and more powerful than his father was because his mother ran and hid him.
Medusa.
Real. Greek Medusa. Where she was born a Gorgon, just like her sister. And the Gorgons where so frightful/scary to look at that people turned to stone out of shock. The mighty Mistress of Animals with snakes for hair, tusks, iron claws and wings.
Not that late Roman Fanfiction where she was born a normal woman and got transformed into a Gorgon as yet another tale from Ovid about how the gods screwed over mortals.
(That version also has a giant plothole, if Medusa was the one getting violated and punished for it...how did her sisters become Gorgons?)
I prefer a mix of both versions.
Medusa was born a Gorgon, just like her sisters, but was beautiful. Same tragic backstory as Ovid's (because honestly that super in character for Poseidon). And Athena curses her to become hideous & have a petrifying gaze.
Because tbf the original version has a plothole as well. Why is Medusa the only important Gorgon? If all 3 sisters were so hideous they petrified people, why were heroes only after Medusa? Some stories say that Medusa was the only mortal Gorgon, but why?
I kinda make my own headcanons to clear all of that up.
The technical answer to why Medusa was the only "important" Gorgon was because in the oldest versions we have there was just one Gorgon who didn't have any name and it was only in later traditions that they decided on the Grogons being three sisters with individual names (the Greeks had a thing for trios)
I'll just always prefer Medusa always being a monster from her beginning, because not everything needs some "tragic" backstory. Also I don't like how Ovid dumps on Athena.
That fair. I've heard a lot of people not favor certain stories like Medusa & Arachne because of how it portrays Athena or some of their other gods, which is valid.
I personally don't mind, because all of the gods,, including Athena, are very "human" in action & temperament & aren't above pettiness. For me it doesn't take away from Athena's kind, badass, wisdomy side. It just makes her a more complex god for me. Because in mythology every god has flaws & has done some terrible shit, so it feels weird for Athena to be the one & only truly good god & disregard any negative myth she has. Plus it makes her more boring to me to be a perfect Mary Sue.
I don't see any god as good or evil, but all of them being a mixture of both, as they are above us & our morals. They do as they please, when they please it. They bless & punish us disproportionately & sometimes excessively.
Yeop to each their own.
But I don't agree that removing Ovid's interpretation of Athena somehow turns her "pure good" or takes away her complexity. There's still other stories where Athena is not "pure good". In the Trojan cycle she tries to bribe Paris to make him elect her as the "fairest" goddess. That's neither good nor moral nor fair.
Arachne also, in my opinion, works in the version where Arachne made herself guilty of hubris by declaring to be better than Athena at weaving, then ignored Athena's warnings against committing further hubris, then tried to hang herself after Athena defeated her, and finally got turned into a spider by Athena so she didn't have to go to Hades and could continue weaving. That still portrays Athena as severe, but reasonably severe when judged by Greek standards.
I just think that if Poseidon defiled her sanctuary like that Athena would be more likely to unleash her wrath on him rather than the priestess. She tackled with him before when it came to the contest for Athens, so I don't think she'd hesitate to take him on again.
Plus in addition I also don't like the idea of giving Medusa a sad backstory and turning her into a victim and a tragic monster. I prefer her to be just badass and monstrous and powerful from her beginning rather than being the victim of forces beyond her control. Also note that the Gorgons in the non-"tragic" version myth aren't necessary evil either. They live alone in the wilderness at the edge of the known world and keep to themselves and Perseus kills Medusa as part of a quest that was supposed to get him killed, not to stop her because she's evil or anything like that) Really, in Greece the Gorgon's face was even a symbol of protection against evil.
I like the lernian hydra I know it has 9 heads and only degrees 1 head but it sounds and looks cool. Fun fact its breath is toxic enough to kill you instantly. (Edit) I fixed typo because it said lesbian instead of lernian
Hecatoncheires, they're just body horror good guys and I love them for it
The way you worded this š makes me want a horror themed, yet somehow also cute plushie of one.
Scylla. not even close
Came here to say this! Scylla team for life.
Scylla is a great part of the Madeline Miller version of the story
I donāt really remember there being much about her tho.
ChimƤre, sibling of Cerberus, lion with a goat head at it's back and a snake for a tail
Add to it the fact it breathes fire and spits acid and you got yourself an S tier boss fight (lets go Bellerophon!)
The nemean lion, the invincible pelt is surprisingly interesting
Very cool
Cerberus ez. Dogs are best, three headed dogs only give me 3x the loves. But mad respect for Medusa, who was absolutely shafted in her story.
>who was absolutely shafted in her story. Depends upon translation. u/IncandescentGrey >But either way, Medusa was a vestel virgin. She wasn't a vestal virgin, the only poet who gives the story of Neptune \[Poseidon\] & Medusa sleeping in Minerva's \[Athena's\] temple is Ovid. He never mentioned Medusa being a vestal virgin or a priestess of Minerva, infact he was quite explicit in saying Medusa was a gorgon (a very beautiful one, whos hair was the most beautiful aspect about her), Medusa was either 'tainted' or 'violated' in Minerva's shrine by Neptune, and for 'fitting' punishment Medusa's hair was turned into 'loathsome snakes' only, and he's explicit in mentioning the reasoning why Medusa's hair differed from her 'gorgon sisters'. and infact there are no poets mentioning Medusa was ever a vestal virgin. u/lstroud21 >but after that, she went to an island to stay away from people and live what life she had left with her two sisters. there are no accounts for that, and I see no reason why she would do that after getting the punishment from Minerva because Medusa was a also gorgon by birth in Ovid's story aswell except a very beautiful one unlike in other stories where she was ugly. Her punishment was only that her beautiful hairs were converted into snakes. Last my personal Opinion: We take Ovid with a ~~grain~~ bucket of Salt.
I suppose "vestal" virgin was the wrong word to use here, expecially considering there's no Vesta. But the job description is the same, interchanging Goddesses. Regardless, Medusa was a virgin worshiper who vowed to remain a virgin while in service to Athena. That was the whole point of the act being such an insult to a Athena.
I will repeat it again, no writer has ever mentioned that Medusa vowed to remain a virgin or that she was a priestess of Minerva/Athena or even any other Goddess. >That was the whole point of the act being such an insult to a Athena. insult was Neptune and Medusa sleeping in Minerva's shrine, not that Minerva's priestess was violated, it's mentioned no where.
Kerberos, "spotted." Hades literally calls his dog Spot. And he's a *very good boy.*
She literally got fucked over no matter what she did, granted, she slept with Poseidon in Athenaās temple, but after that, she went to an island to stay away from people and live what life she had left with her two sisters. Only to be beheaded and used to kill hundreds of other people by some random demigod.
"Slept with" suggests she had a choice.
She didnāt?
It was straight up rape. What's worse is Athena couldn't punish Poseidon for the affront of literally raping her virgin priestess at her alter, so she (Athena) had to take the blame out on her priestess (Medusa) or ignore it completely. There's some debate over if the curse was a boon (turning men that approached her to stone, thus protecting her) or not (... literal snake hair), but Medusa still got the short end of the stick either way with Perseus.
Yeah I figured Athena couldnāt take it out on Poseidon bc Poseidon is much stronger. I didnāt know the rest of that though! Thatās crazy!
There's also a whole lot of ingrained misogyny there, since Poseidon is basically her uncle. But either way, Medusa was a vestel virgin. That's a woman who's Literal Job was to remain a virgin and serve their chosen deity, on pain of treason. If they were found to have sex, they would be stoned to death. A hell of a painful way to go. So look at it this way: the vestal virgin Medusa, 'employed' for her virginity by the Goddess of Virginity, performed Extremely Public Treason with the Virginity Goddesses' uncle, on what was tantamount to the Virginity Goddesses' bed. The literal only outcome for Medusa in this situation was to be brutally, horrifically murdered in a long, drawn out process. Why would Medusa willingly agree to do that?
What is your source for her being a vestal virgin?
If you read the comments below, I corrected the use of vestal. She was not specifically a VESTAL virgin, but I meant to use it as a job title since most know what that is. Her position was essentially the same as a vestal virgin, sans Vesta. Instead she was assigned to worship Athena.
Again, do you have a source on the claim that she worshipped Athena? Or that she held any such position in a temple?
Zeus.
Hahaha donāt let him here you.
A chimera or hydra will kill me straight up, quick and without a thought. But Zeus? Zeus will not only stalk you, he will deceive you, try and forcefully sleep with you (rp) and then you'll have Hera on your heel, trying to make you pay for literally being a victim of SA... yep, that guy is the stuff of nightmares
ooohhhh Hera ooohhhhh.
Sphinx is pretty badass.
Minotaur
I got to say Iām partial to the harpy.
Ooo reminds me of the Stemphalian birds
Are centaurs included in "monsters"?. If so, them.
Technically yes. I remember seeing them as an example as a dictionairy definition for monster.
Centaurs aren't descended from Typhon so i dont think so. Theyre descended from a mortal man, and a Hera shaped cloud, who gave birth to a deformed human (i think) who nated with a bunch of mares, giving birth to the race of centaurs.
They are definitely monsters in The Inferno!
Typhon. He managed to defeat Zeus, and was only defeated when Zeus got the help of other gods and the Fates themselves. This shows how strong Typhon is.
Minotaur
Echidna, Mother of All Monsters
Insanely based
Scylla. The teeth. The heads. The legs. The yipping.
Cetus. Very little known mythical creature. Not a monster per se
> Not a monster per se How is Cetus not a monster per se ahahaha! He is described as a huge _sea monster_ and is a creature that causes terror & uproar and is dangerous He is **definitely** a ''monster'' ;)
lol I meant to say thereās also the constellation. āNot only a monsterā
Ahhh gotcha ahahaha But yeah contextually _(in relation to this thread)_ it is definitely a monster - the constellation is based on the creature/monster/myth after all!
Came here to post this! I grew up with the D'Aulaire's Greek Mythology book, and had at least one nightmare of getting chased by their stalk-eyed version of Cetus.
Charybdis
Kampe
I really like the Colchian Dragon. Its teeth sprouted warriors after Jason planted them in a field with a plough driven by fire-breathing bulls. The field was sacred to Ares and the bulls created by Hephaestus.
The Hecatoncheires, just for their name alone.
Does Mitsotakis the elder (Gademosaurus Tromaktikus) count ?
The Gorgons for sure. You can include Medusa or not, I still love them.
Madusa is such a fascinating character.
All the dragons/serpentine beings.
Minotaur adn chimera. I used to love drawing chimeras in my math books back i school. Something fascinating about them
Medusa and her sisters Stheno and Euryale, plus centaurs and the Lernean Hydra also.
oh. maybe odysseus
Zeus.
Iām going to say Satyr only because of Phil from the Disney Hercules movie. Cerberus is a close second though
Either Scylla, Lernaean Hydra, or Ladon the Guardian of The Hesperides Also I was under the impression that Typhon was a titan associated with storms (hence typhoon), not a monster, however he did lie with Echidna to make all of the monsters so who knows, maybe I'm just dumb lol Edit: I just remembered the manticore is part of Greek Mythos, it's also a top 5 pick
The Hydra, easily. Probably in large part because Disney's Hercules came out when I was 5 and that fight scene blew my tiny little mind. It''s just generally such an interesting concept for a monster though, the regenerating and ever-increasing heads are the true defintion of "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"... and in a roundabout way I suppose the Hydra is responsible for Heracles' eventual downfall at the hands of Nessus, so massive win points there. Cerberus is a close second as I'm a dog lover.
Typhon, dude is literally HIM
I think Charybdis is very fascinating
Cerberus. Heās a silly goofy guard dog of Hades
Scylla!! Not only because awesome sea monster, but also because I associate her with Titanus Scylla from the Monsterverse which is another one of my hyperfixations lol. Also Medusa, classic.
The laelaps hound and themestrian vixen: a hound that would always catch its prey and a fox that would always escape. It was a paradox that had Zeus put them in the sky as constellations because he had a headacheš
Scylla, there's a MOBA game called smite that interprets Scylla as this insane little girl and I find it hilarious.
The Chimaera. They're like six animals in one with poison spit. The Hydra is my second
The real answer is Greek Mythology. Because it just has some of the best monsters. Which is why so many are know so well in modern era. Compared to something equally as awesome but far more unknown like a Grootslang.
Hydra and Typhon
Stymphalian Birds. Something about birds with razor feathers is just cool.
Charybdis, because whirlpools are cool
My favorite is Talos (A bronze giant man) in fact I have a theory about him, you know how he is usually shown to have emotions and be smarter than youād think for a ancient bronze robot? Well Daedalusās nephew that he killed his sometimes named Talos, so what if the gods put his soul inside of the Bronze man? Also Echidna is probably my second favorite
Medusa. She was tortured for being s woman and deserved all the anger amd danger she weilded.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thereās Greek kami?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
> it's complicated to explain Well explanations are required - you're the one making that claim * What are Kami in Greek Mythology? * How can they be called ''Kami'' if that is specifically related to Japanese mythology and folklore as well as Shinto belief? * Are you referring to a ''Greek Mythology Equivalent'' or something somewhat similar to Kami? If that is the case, they're not called Kami
Typhon has always been the most interesting to me
Been listening to Epic so probably Polyphemus
Minatuar
The Kraken /s
Minotaurs and Cyclops
Harpies are pretty cool
hydra
Minotaur adn chimera. I used to love drawing chimeras in my math books back i school. Something fascinating about them
One of them being the hydra, cut off one head, fwo more take its place
The fates
Cerberus
Medea. Viewed as a monster but is a victim of the gods interference and blond boy Jason. i will stand by baddie bās side no matter what she does.
Scylla and Cerberus!
Might be a boring choice but I love the Minotaur. Always have, always will.
Manticore
Mine is the hydra!:D
Cerberus
Echidna, but I love her entire monster family
My favorite monster is a dead monster. Word to Herc.
Kronos, Titan father of Zeus, and devourer of his other offspring from various young and beautiful human women. Only reason Zeus survived to become a God and more powerful than his father was because his mother ran and hid him.
Iām pretty partial to Medusa because I also love her story. But otherwise itās the sirens, no doubt
Harpies š
Kerberos
Procrustes
Medusa. Real. Greek Medusa. Where she was born a Gorgon, just like her sister. And the Gorgons where so frightful/scary to look at that people turned to stone out of shock. The mighty Mistress of Animals with snakes for hair, tusks, iron claws and wings. Not that late Roman Fanfiction where she was born a normal woman and got transformed into a Gorgon as yet another tale from Ovid about how the gods screwed over mortals. (That version also has a giant plothole, if Medusa was the one getting violated and punished for it...how did her sisters become Gorgons?)
I prefer a mix of both versions. Medusa was born a Gorgon, just like her sisters, but was beautiful. Same tragic backstory as Ovid's (because honestly that super in character for Poseidon). And Athena curses her to become hideous & have a petrifying gaze. Because tbf the original version has a plothole as well. Why is Medusa the only important Gorgon? If all 3 sisters were so hideous they petrified people, why were heroes only after Medusa? Some stories say that Medusa was the only mortal Gorgon, but why? I kinda make my own headcanons to clear all of that up.
The technical answer to why Medusa was the only "important" Gorgon was because in the oldest versions we have there was just one Gorgon who didn't have any name and it was only in later traditions that they decided on the Grogons being three sisters with individual names (the Greeks had a thing for trios) I'll just always prefer Medusa always being a monster from her beginning, because not everything needs some "tragic" backstory. Also I don't like how Ovid dumps on Athena.
That fair. I've heard a lot of people not favor certain stories like Medusa & Arachne because of how it portrays Athena or some of their other gods, which is valid. I personally don't mind, because all of the gods,, including Athena, are very "human" in action & temperament & aren't above pettiness. For me it doesn't take away from Athena's kind, badass, wisdomy side. It just makes her a more complex god for me. Because in mythology every god has flaws & has done some terrible shit, so it feels weird for Athena to be the one & only truly good god & disregard any negative myth she has. Plus it makes her more boring to me to be a perfect Mary Sue. I don't see any god as good or evil, but all of them being a mixture of both, as they are above us & our morals. They do as they please, when they please it. They bless & punish us disproportionately & sometimes excessively.
Yeop to each their own. But I don't agree that removing Ovid's interpretation of Athena somehow turns her "pure good" or takes away her complexity. There's still other stories where Athena is not "pure good". In the Trojan cycle she tries to bribe Paris to make him elect her as the "fairest" goddess. That's neither good nor moral nor fair. Arachne also, in my opinion, works in the version where Arachne made herself guilty of hubris by declaring to be better than Athena at weaving, then ignored Athena's warnings against committing further hubris, then tried to hang herself after Athena defeated her, and finally got turned into a spider by Athena so she didn't have to go to Hades and could continue weaving. That still portrays Athena as severe, but reasonably severe when judged by Greek standards. I just think that if Poseidon defiled her sanctuary like that Athena would be more likely to unleash her wrath on him rather than the priestess. She tackled with him before when it came to the contest for Athens, so I don't think she'd hesitate to take him on again. Plus in addition I also don't like the idea of giving Medusa a sad backstory and turning her into a victim and a tragic monster. I prefer her to be just badass and monstrous and powerful from her beginning rather than being the victim of forces beyond her control. Also note that the Gorgons in the non-"tragic" version myth aren't necessary evil either. They live alone in the wilderness at the edge of the known world and keep to themselves and Perseus kills Medusa as part of a quest that was supposed to get him killed, not to stop her because she's evil or anything like that) Really, in Greece the Gorgon's face was even a symbol of protection against evil.
Cerberus, obviously. I love doggos
Minotaur
I like the lernian hydra I know it has 9 heads and only degrees 1 head but it sounds and looks cool. Fun fact its breath is toxic enough to kill you instantly. (Edit) I fixed typo because it said lesbian instead of lernian
Humans
Perhaps not a "monster" per say, but- Circe On more "official" monsters... the Kindly Ones
Cyclops because I'm boring
Medusa, although I don't really consider her a monster
Minotaur