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Medusa

sunflowers and snakes

By Rashelle DorceyPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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This is not your average story of Medusa, in fact this is not her story at all, more like our stories alike and what she stands for in my life. It starts off as a little girl where I loved Greek mythology. I loved it so much I was practically studying it. I learned of a character named Medusa. How Poseidon, Lord of the Ocean, fell "in love" with her and "kissed" her in the temple of Athena. The angry goddess punished her priestess, Medusa turning her into a monster with snakes in her hair and the ability to turn people to stone by looking at them. Why would Athena make such a being ever exist? Only did I later discover that this Poseidon, his "kisses" were "deadly". She did not want them, they were poison to her and it left her grief stricken and considered as an infidel by the virgin goddess Athena. But in a different version, Athena felt bad for Medusa, but could not go with out punishing her, (because Greek myths). So this once beautiful priestess, Medusa, was gifted with the ability to turn intruders (particularly men) into stone, because she just wanted to be left alone to grieve out the rest of her days.

An artist by the name of Luciano Garbati, created a statue of Medusa in the early 2000's (2008 to be exact), the statue of Medusa that went viral afterwards. She, in statue form is holding Perseus' head and a sword which she supposedly decapitated him with. In mythology, which I learned can be very misogynistic, it was Perseus who actually decapitated Medusa, aided by the gods. He was in a question to save his lady.

What does this have to do with the tattoo on my arm? I view Medusa as a protectress against the broken and wounded females and children, who have suffered from rape, abuse, and ostracization. It has applied to me and many, many other females. She is beautiful and a freak of nature, perfect and imperfect, a queen of her own.

Although she is a queen of many there is more to the tattoo. The triangle behind her is an equilateral triangle representing the gender spectrum (in my opinion of course). The spectrum is female, male, and non binary, of course there are sublets in between and across i.e. transgender, but again this is all my opinion. The triangle is me, I feel in between and across, some days I feel female, some days I feel male. A Queen of perfection and imperfection, a righteousness that made her from fury of the "norm".

The last part is the sunflower on top of Medusa's head. It is her crown, her glory, she salutes only the sun in the morning, evening and in the night even when it is not standing she still honors it. Medusa's strength and resilience is what I admire about her too. On another note the sunflower has a bit of a religious connotation too. The Virgin Mary wore a golden crown atop her head. She was spurned, ostracized from society because of her unborn son, she sought protection from the people, from the evils and terrors of the world just like Medusa.

I am not religious but I asked for the sunflower there because I personally love sunflowers and it is a reminder that I was not always helped, I was not always listened by the one who was supposed to have been there for me, my own mother (ironically she is extremely religious). She did her best but it always seemed to be my fault. I feel ugly and disgusting trying to always tell myself, stay strong for others. Be the monster they have made you to be- the monster who protects herself and others.

humanity
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About the Creator

Rashelle Dorcey

Just a writer and an artist in LA

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