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The Gorgon's Daughter

Prologue #1

Most are familiar, at least in passing, with the tragic tale of Medusa, the deadly Gorgon of ancient Greece. Her story has been retold so many times; details have been lost, with embellishments added in their place. So, let me, just briefly, disclose to you some truth. From her story comes that with which I am chiefly concerned with telling.

Phorcys and Ceto were brother and sister. Both were primordial sea deities in their time. As was more common back then, when they came of age, they wed. What they became most known for, really, is the host of ‘monstrous’ children Ceto bore by Phorcys, in the caverns below Mount Olympus.

Among her offspring were three beautiful daughters: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. All three were humanoid, but only Stheno, the eldest, and Euryale, the middle daughter, were possessed of the immortality their parents had. Medusa, the fairest and the youngest, had no such gift. Of course, immortality was a tricky thing, and perhaps a misnomer. Even an immortal may die, though the circumstances vary.

All three girls, early on, decided to take a life of celibacy and worship. They began training at a grand temple to the goddess, Athena, daughter of Zeus, to become priestesses. For a long time, all was well and peaceful.

Stheno, being the eldest, grew into maidenhood first. She was known for her passionate manner and fiery, red hair. She was very protective of her younger sisters, and had a hand in raising them.

The sea god, Poseidon, brother of Zeus, found Stheno, the eldest, to be eye catching, and began to woo her. Again and again, he tempted and enticed her, trying to persuade the young woman to break her vows of chastity and service, to give in to his advances. Each time, for years, Stheno reluctantly turned him away, though her heart was, in truth, won over by his courting. Little did she know, Poseidon was a violent and boorish lout; he had deceitfully hid his true nature from her.

When, last of the three, Medusa became a young woman, she was renowned far and wide for her comely looks. Of singular note was her hair. It was said to shine as spun gold when hit by the light, to be as soft as silk. Many men and women tried to coax Medusa to part with her virtue, but she was stalwart in her refusals of all advances.

Meanwhile, Poseidon, over the years, had grown to find his unsuccessful romancing of Stheno both an irritant and shameful. However, he was accustomed to getting what he wanted at all times, without exception.

One fateful day, he made his way to Athena’s Temple, determined to triumph in his pursuit of Stheno’s maidenhead at any cost. However, instead of finding Stheno, he came upon Medusa, for the first time since her womanhood had blossomed.

An amoral predator and fiend, he decided that the time had come to get what he wanted, one way or another. So he could not lure the fair Stheno into his arms? Very well. He would take her sister, fairer still, by force.

And there, in front of the altar to Athena, he seized Medusa by her shimmering hair, and did exactly that.

Now, were that there were justice in that world of yore, Medusa would surely have been healed and avenged. Poseidon would have lost his immortality and been sent for eternal punishment at the hands of his brother, Hades. But the world then was different from the world nowadays. Cruel gods not only held sway, but also often saw fit to intervene in the affairs of others.

The goddess Athena, at that time, was known above all for her wisdom. However, she was raised in a world of patriarchal, brutal rule. Though her judgment was considered the fairest of any in her day, by modern standards, she was really no less a contemptible creature than her uncle, Poseidon. Let me tell you just one reason why that was so.

Notes

Please note that I am only following the myth of Medusa, and have not included her tragedy as as shock value. I've tried to be sensitive. It's an essential part of the story, and the remainder will not be filled with such deeds.

Please let me know what you think! This is a story I began writing to celebrate reaching 300 followers on tumblr. Yay! :D

Comments

Loved it

YAY New chapter! I love their rising tension... :)

Merelan Merelan
5/3/19

@SmuttyPariah
You deserve sweetness, a lot of it. You deserve all the love of the world!!!!

@Underworld's Heiress

Aww, you are so sweet to me! <3

SmuttyPariah SmuttyPariah
1/30/19

This is fox gif is sooo cuteeeee!!! Have I told you that I love your writing? Can I say it again? I will say it again. I LOVE YOUR WRITING!!!!!!!!