Medusa: In the Mirror of Time

by David A. Leeming

With her repulsive face and head full of living, venomous snakes, Medusa is petrifying—quite literally, since looking directly at her turned people to stone. Ever since Perseus cut off her head and presented it to Athena, she has been a woman of many a dangerous female monster that had to be destroyed, an erotic power that could annihilate men, and, thanks to Freud, a woman whose hair was a nest of terrifying penises that signaled castration. She has been immortalized by artists from Leonardo da Vinci to Salvador Dalí and was the emblem of the Jacobins after the French Revolution. Today, she’s viewed by feminists as a noble victim of patriarchy and used by Versace in the designer’s logo for men’s underwear, haute couture, and exotic dinnerware. She even gives her name to a sushi roll on a Disney resort menu. Why does Medusa continue to have this power to transfix us?

 

David Leeming seeks to answer this question in Medusa , a biography of the mythical creature. Searching for the origins of Medusa’s myth in cultures that predate ancient Greece, Leeming explores how and why the mythical figure of the gorgon has become one of the most important and enduring ideas in human history. From an oil painting by Caravaggio to Clash of the Titans and Dungeons and Dragons , he delves into the many depictions of Medusa, ultimately revealing that her story is a cultural dream that continues to change and develop with each new era.

 

Asking what the evolution of the Medusa myth discloses about our culture and ourselves, this book paints an illuminating portrait of a woman who has never ceased to enthrall.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, History, Feminism, Art

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

aka David Adams Leeming

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leeming takes an interesting approach to the myth of Medusa, in that he tries to write a biography of here--one which establishes the "facts" of her life, then surveys the various uses to which the Perseus-Medusa myth has been put over the centuries. The basic idea is a good structure for a reception studies text, and Leeming does a good job summing up the history of the myth.

What I have more of a problem with is the idea that he can present the "facts" of the Medusa myth, and determine which interpretations are fact-based and which aren't. Certainly there are broadly shared characteristics among the Classical versions, but I'm not necessarily convinced that this represents the "truth" of the myth and later versions of Medusa (as femme fatale, as beautiful victim of patriarchal authority, as liberatory symbol, etc.) are "untrue" uses of the myth. I mean, Leeming's own book shows how even the Greek and Roman versions of the myth made substantial changes, and how they may have drawn the Medusa figure from earlier mythic traditions, thereby making substantial changes to those earlier versions. If the Greeks changed who Medusa is for their own purposes, then the only reason to assign their version(s) canonical authority is a cultural prejudice identifying the Greeks as authoritative--there is an argument to be made that their versions are as much distortions as any of the uses of the myth that followed them.
https://youtu.be/Ah2QJ8lX-ic

[Kirsty Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, I'm a big fan of greek mythology and the Medusa story is a particular favourite of mine.

It did get off to a strong start, a solid retelling of the story with good references. However I felt as though the book became forced as I read on, it was incredibly repetitive and on the odd occasion I had to double check I was on a page I hadn't already read.

There were some good elements in there but the repetitiveness for me really put me off and it felt almost a slog to get to the end. Considering in total the book is 112 pages excluding the bibliography etc. I don't think it should have become difficult to read.

[Morena Koroliova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall it's a good book. It goes over the common myth everyone knows about Medusa. It talks about how different philosophers, groups, etc. Have interpreted the myth.

The last chapter is the authors personal take on it. I'm just sitting here going "how the HELL did he come up with that conclusion?". Like I'm bad and disgusted by it. This review loses an entire star for that.

So read the last chapter at your own discretion since it's all his perspective. However, if you just want a basic run down of the myth and how people have reacted to it over the ages, it's a good book.

[Michael]

Short but comprehensive, Medusa's gaze remains strong.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read