--- title: "5 Medusa Quotes By Miriam Robbins Dexter" description: "5 Medusa quotes by Miriam Robbins Dexter. Plus more from Miriam Robbins Dexter and more Medusa sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_medusa-mythology_philologically-the-name-medusa-means-the_299728.jpg" --- > [“Philologically, the name Medusa means the “ruling one.” But by the time of the earliest Greek texts which contain myth, those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/philologically-the-name-medusa-means-the-ruling-one-but-by-the-time/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_medusa-mythology_philologically-the-name-medusa-means-the_299728.jpg) > [“Medusa reminds us that we must not take the female “monster” at face value; that we must not only weigh her beneficent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/medusa-reminds-us-that-we-must-not-take-the-female-monster-at-face/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/195/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_face-value_medusa-reminds-us-that-we-must-not-take_594021.jpg) > [“Thus, there is an ambivalence here about the death-aspect of the Goddess. Clearly, she represents regeneration as well as death.  Indeed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about-the-death-aspect-of-the/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_death_thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about_1360367.jpg) > [“Medusa continues to be viewed as protective and apotropaic—warding off evil, warding off the enemy—and even healing in the Greek tradition, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protective-and-apotropaic-warding/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_face-value_medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protect_1525560.jpg) > [“Although Medusa may be of use to modern feminists, providing an ancient locus for modern rage, it is important to see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/although-medusa-may-be-of-use-to-modern-feminists-providing-an/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_life_although-medusa-may-be-of-use-to-modern_2483043.jpg) ## Other authors on Medusa - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-rick-riordan-79077.jpg) Rick Riordan 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medusa/rick-riordan/) - [Joan Marler 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medusa/joan-marler/) ## More by Miriam Robbins Dexter > [“Philologically, the name Medusa means the “ruling one.” But by the time of the earliest Greek texts which contain myth, those of Homer, Medusa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/philologically-the-name-medusa-means-the-ruling-one-but-by-the-time/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“Modern Western culture has tended to dwell too much on the character of her “anger.” For example, a misogynist trend in psychoanalysis focuses upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/modern-western-culture-has-tended-to-dwell-too-much-on-the-character/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“Medusa reminds us that we must not take the female “monster” at face value; that we must not only weigh her beneficent against her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/medusa-reminds-us-that-we-must-not-take-the-female-monster-at-face/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/in-the-neolithic-period-throughout-europe-and-the-near-east-there/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“The wings and snakes may have been late additions to the portrayal of Medusa, but they are nonetheless a natural concomitant of the ferocious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/the-wings-and-snakes-may-have-been-late-additions-to-the-portrayal-of/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about-the-death-aspect-of-the/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“In patriarchal societies, the conception of life and death is often seen to be linear rather than circular. Because of a societal fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/in-patriarchal-societies-the-conception-of-life-and-death-is-often/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/many-women-have-identified-with-the-grimace-and-the-rage-of-medusa/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protective-and-apotropaic-warding/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) > [“Although Medusa may be of use to modern feminists, providing an ancient locus for modern rage, it is important to see that the raging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/although-medusa-may-be-of-use-to-modern-feminists-providing-an/) [Miriam Robbins Dexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-robbins-dexter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medusa/miriam-robbins-dexter/#itemlist", "name": "5 Medusa Quotes By Miriam Robbins Dexter", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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.” That is, she was considered to be monstrous. 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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 is multifunctional and multidimensional and she should be viewed in all of her complexity, through a non-patriarchal lens.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miriam Robbins Dexter" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about-the-death-aspect-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_death_thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about_1360367.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_death_thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about_1360367.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5a/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_death_thus-there-is-an-ambivalence-here-about_1360367.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thus, there is an ambivalence here about the death-aspect of the Goddess. 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She reminds us that we must not take the female “monster” at face value; that we must weigh not only her beneficent against her maleficent attributes, but we must also take into consideration the world view and the sociopolitical stance of the cultures which create her, fashioning the demonic female as scapegoat for the benefit and comfort of the patriarchal members of their societies.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miriam Robbins Dexter" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-robbins-dexter/medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protective-and-apotropaic-warding/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_face-value_medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protect_1525560.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_face-value_medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protect_1525560.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/miriam-robbins-dexter-42733_face-value_medusa-continues-to-be-viewed-as-protect_1525560.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Medusa continues to be viewed as protective and apotropaic—warding off evil, warding off the enemy—and even…” — Miriam Robbins Dexter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Although Medusa may be of use to modern feminists, providing an ancient locus for modern rage, it is important to see that the raging head of Medusa has lost the fullness of the original powers of the Neolithic Goddess of the Life Continuum. 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