“In patriarchal societies, the conception of life and death is often seen to be linear rather than circular. Because of a societal fear of death, death figures in patriarchal Indo-European cultures became horrific. Further, in these societies both the feminine… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share Image
“Philologically, the name Medusa means the “ruling one.” But by the time of the earliest Greek texts which contain myth, those of Homer, Medusa was not a ruler but a monster, associated with the land of Hades. In the poetry of Hesiod, Medusa became the only mortal among three Gorgon sisters. The adjective gorgos (γοργός) means “terrible,” “fierce,” and “frightful.”… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share
“Modern Western culture has tended to dwell too much on the character of her “anger.” For example, a misogynist trend in psychoanalysis focuses upon her paralyzing qualities, viewing her as a deflator of masculine strength, while curiously, at other times, seeing her snaky persona as phallic. Radical feminists also often dwell upon her anger, identifying it with a fiercely liberating… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share
“Medusa reminds us that we must not take the female “monster” at face value; that we must not only weigh her beneficent against her maleficent attributes but also take into consideration the worldview and sociopolitical stance of the patriarchal cultures which create her, fashioning the demonic female as scapegoat for the benefit and comfort of the male members of their… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share
“In the Neolithic period, throughout Europe and the Near East, there appear figurines which represent bird/women, snake/women, and bird/snake/woman hybrids. Since Goddesses with bird and snake iconography appear in early historic religions, such as those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, it has been theorized that the figurines represent powerful divine female figures in the Neolithic cultures of Europe and the Near… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share
“The wings and snakes may have been late additions to the portrayal of Medusa, but they are nonetheless a natural concomitant of the ferocious death Goddess. Wings were added to Medusa’s iconography ca. 800 BCE, by the Greeks; later on, she was described as winged in text as well. In the portrayal of the Medusa from Miletus, Medusa is associated… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share
“Thus, there is an ambivalence here about the death-aspect of the Goddess. Clearly, she represents regeneration as well as death. Indeed, the venom of a snake can be both poison and antitoxin. As I will discuss on the pages that follow, Medusa holds here the functions of the prehistoric Goddess of the life continuum: birth, death, and then regeneration. She… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share
“In patriarchal societies, the conception of life and death is often seen to be linear rather than circular. Because of a societal fear of… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share Image
“Many women have identified with the grimace and the rage of Medusa. May Sarton identifies the Medusa-face as the face of her own frozen… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share Image
“Medusa continues to be viewed as protective and apotropaic—warding off evil, warding off the enemy—and even healing in the Greek tradition, but she has… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share Image
“Although Medusa may be of use to modern feminists, providing an ancient locus for modern rage, it is important to see that the raging… — Miriam Robbins Dexter Copy Share Image
