Greek Mythology: Medusa and the Snail

Greek Mythology: Medusa and the SnailThis semester, I have taken a look at Greek mythology, including Medusa and the Snail. One is the immortal goddess of the dark side, but she has some interesting qualities. She also has a critical role in the development of the genre. But I will focus on this study of myths this week.From the ancient lore, you may have gathered that Medusa was beautiful beyond compare, so it seems fitting that she would be portrayed as intimidating and frightening. There are many different kinds of scary. Some are really scary. They are almost physical depictions of what people see in horror movies. Some are more abstract.The traditional form of Medusa often looks like a person in some sort of creepy mask. Some masks were something resembling the front teeth of an ugly-looking insect. Others are long flowing robes that somehow resemble snakes. It was only in the Renaissance that the various Medusa forms seemed to blend into one another and we see one or two versio ns that did not.In early versions of the Medusa myth, her body was that of a woman. She is a strong figure, with a body that just about looks like a human female. But there is a thing that creeps around her and it is about the same size as her head.In the story, Medusa disguises herself as a snail and goes to the sea. It's believed that some creatures in the ocean spit live snails out into the water when they die. In this myth, she seems to have a preference for spitting out young ones, but it could be that she will also spout the older ones, or the ones that appear to be dead.When the two meet, the young snail who had been spit out earlier is alive and it grabs at Medusa. She slashes the creature on the head, leaving it gaping. Then the older one spits up some younger ones, and she continues her search.At one point, she comes across a crab and that one appears to be willing to give up some of its own young. Medusa chooses to cut off the creature's head and take the remaining baby c rabs as her own. The whole scene looks like some nightmare. The idea is that her powerful soul could find someone else to share her love with.This is one of the major recurring themes in Greek mythology, Medusa and the Snail. So, let's take a look at this Greek mythology paper!