Was Medusa a Priestess of Athena?

Abstract

Abstract In Book 4 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses , the famous backstory of the Gorgon Medusa is related by her slayer Perseus: Neptune raped her in the temple of Minerva, and the goddess turned her hair into snakes out of divine vengeance for the desecration of her sanctuary. With few exceptions, most Ovid scholars are hesitant to posit any explanation for Medusa’s appearance at the temple, which does not appear to be justified in Ovid’s poem as it stands. In this article, the possibilities will be further explored: was Medusa (1) a priestess, (2) a suppliant or (3) simply a young woman of otherwise unspecified status? On further examination of the Book 4 passage, it will be argued that Ovid presents the metamorphosis myth of Medusa as an allusion, and that earlier sources were more likely to be forthcoming in their identification of the character.