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MARTIN MURPHY
Medusa
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Oil on wood panel
36 x 48 inches
The stories about Medusa in Greece are unique because they changed quite a bit over the years. When Ovid wrote her story in Metamopheses, he claimed that she was born beautiful before becoming a snake-haired creature and retained her looks over the years. Poseidon tempted her into having sexual intercourse with him in a temple to Athena. When she found them together, Athena transformed her into a woman with serpents in her hair and a cold stare. The Roman version of her story is the same but changes the location to Minerva’s temple and her partner to Neptune. When Minerva caught them in the act, she changed Medusa into a terrifying Gorgon.
