Backgroun d According

to Greek myth, ltredusa w,as one of three beautiful

sisters known as the Gorgons.The sisters were turned into monsters by
Athene, the goddess of wisdom, who was angry at the destruction of one of
her temples. Medusa was turned into a horrific creature with a goping
rnouth, hypnatic eyes, and hair made of vrrithing snakes. Anyone who looked
into Medusa's eyes was immediately turned ta stane.

,Medusa's
Head
Retold Olivia E. By Agha Shahid Ali

olivia E" coolidge(19a9-2006) was enjoying a perfectly normalchildhood

in Londctn with a perfectly normal dislike for Greek literature when she
twisied her qnkle. For three rnontks a cruel sprain kept her from going
autside ta play, so she read-and read. soon she was reading Greek poetry
t= and she- r'nade a shaeking discovery: she loved it! caotidge went on to write
l==
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t- nurneraus baoks of Greek myths for young adults.
i:
=

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Agha Shahad AL (1949*2001) was born in New Delhi, tndia, but he lived,
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studied, and taught in the IJnited states for more than twenty-five years. Ali
=a was a Kashmiri Muslim, but he identified himsetf as an American poet. Ali,s
j
poetry emhraces multiple keritages (Hindu, IvIus!im, and Western) ond
= crosses literary traditians. A joyful, brilliant poet, a tnan blessed with friends
= ond kanors, Ali died frorn a brain tumor at the age af 52.
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101
 1. @ you read lines 1-37, begin to collect and
As
cite text evidence.

' Circle what the oracle tells Acrisios.

" Summarize in the margin what Acrisios does to Danae.

- Underline the ways the gods help Danae.

' ln the margin, explain Danae's behavior in lines 28-37.

Medusa's Head
Greek Myth retold by OIivia E. Coolidge

Acrisiosof Argos was a hard, selfish man. He hated his

,i".'".int
'ubrother,
i Proitos, who later drove him from his kingdom and he
cared nothing for his daughter, Danae. His whole heart was set on
having a son who should succeed him, but since manyyears went by
and still he had only the one daughter, he sent a message to the oracle
of Apollo to askwhether he should have more children of his own.
The answer of the oracle was terrible. Acrisios should have no son, but
his daughter, Danae, would bear him a grandchild who should grow
up to kill him. At these words Acrisios was beside himself with fear
and rage. Swearing that Danae should never have a child to murder
him, he had a room built underground and lined all through with
brass. Thither he conducted Danae and shut her up, bidding her
spend the rest of her life alone.
It is possible to thwart the plans of mortal men, but never those of
the gods. Zeus himself looked with Pity at the unfortunate girl, and it
descend: is said he descended to her through the tiny hole that gave light and
air to her chamber, pouring himself down into her lap in the form of a
shower of gold.
When word came to the king from those who brought food and
drink to his daughter that the girl was with child, Acrisios was angry
and afraid. He would have liked best to murder both Danae and her
infant son, but he did not dare for fear of the gods'anger at so hideous
a crime. He made, therefore, a great chest of wood with bands of brass
about it. Shutting up the girl and her baby inside, he cast them into
the sea, thinking that they would either drown or starve.
 Again the gods came to the help of Danae, for they caused
the
planks of the chest to swell until they fitted tightly and let
no narer in.
The chest floated for some days and was cast up at rast on
an
island. There Dictys, a fisherman, found it and took Danae
to his
brothe[ Polydectes, who was king of the island. Danae was made
a
servant in the palace, yet before manyyears had passed,
both Dictys
and Polydectes had fallen in love with the silent, golden_haired
girl.
She in her heart preferred Dictys, yet since his brother
was king, she
did not dare to make her choice. Therefore she hung always
over
Perseus, pretending that mother love left her no room
for anyother,
and year after year a silent frown would cross polydectes,
face as he
saw her caress the child.
At last, Perseus became a young man, handsome and strong
beyond the common and a leader among the youths of the
island,
though he was but the son of a poor servant. Then it seemed
to
Polydectes that ifhe could once get rid ofperseus, he
could force
Danae to become his wife, whether she would or not.
Meanwhile,
in order to lull the young man's suspiciors,qhe pretended that
he
intended to marry a certain noble maiden and would
collect a
wedding gift for her. Now the custom was that this gift
of the

2. ( Reread lines'14-27.rn whatways are the gods similarto

humans? What superhuman powers do they have?
CitL textual
evidence in your response.

ip
:!
--a
3. @) As you read lines 3g-g1, continue to cite textual
evidence.

E= ' ln lines 38-52,circre perseus's quarities that suggest he may be a hero.

;E
' ln the margin, exprain why porydectes feers"satisfaction,,(rine 66).
-0
' underline the items perseus wiil use on his journey. rn the margin,
summarize the steps perseus must take to slay the Gorgon.

103

I
 bridegroom to the bride was in part his own and in part put together
from the marriage presents of his friends and relatives. All the young
men, therefore, brought Polydectes a present, excepting Perseus, who
was his servant's son and possessed nothing to bring. Then Polydectes
said to the others, "This young man owes me more than any of you,
since I took him in and brought him up in my own house, and yet he
gives me nothing."
Perseus answered in anger at the injustice of the charge, "I have
nothing of my own, Polydectes, yet ask me what you will, and I will
fetch it, for I owe you my life."
At this Polydectes smiled, for it was what he had intended, and he
answered, "Fetch me, if this is your boast, the Gorgon's head."
Now the Gorgons, who lived far off on the shores of the ocean,
were three fearful sisters with hands of brass, wings of gold, and
scales like a serpent. Two of them had scaly heads and tusks like the
wild boar, but the third, Medusa, had the face of a beautiful woman
with hair of writhing serpents, and so terrible was her expression that
all who looked on it were immediately turned to stone. This much
Perseus knew of the Gorgons, but of how to find or kill them, he had
no idea. Nevertheless he had given his promise, and though he saw
now the satisfaction offing Polydectes, he was bound to keep his
word. In his perplexityffe prayed to the wise goddess, Athene, who
came to him in a vision and promised him her aid.
"First, you must go," she said, "to the sisters Phorcides, who wiil
tell you the way to the nymphs who guard the hat of darkness, the
winged sandals, and the knapsack which can hold the Gorgon's head.
Then I will give you a shield and mybrother, Hermes, a sword which
shall be made of adamant, the hardest rock. For nothing else can kill
the Gorgon, since so venomous is her blood that a mortal sword when
plunged in it is eaten away. But when you come to the Gorgons,
invisible in your hat of darkness, turn your eyes away from them and
look only on their reflection in your gleaming shield. Thus you may
kill the monster without yourself being turned to stone. Pass her
immortal, but smite off the head of Medusa
sisters by, for they are
with the hair of writhing snakes. Then put it in your knapsack and
return, and I will be with you."

104
 The vision ended, and with the aid of Athene, Perseus set out on
the long journey to seek the Phorcides. These live in a dim cavern in
the far north, where nights and days are one and where the whole
earth is overspread with perpetual twilight. There sat the three old
women mumbling to one another, crouched in a dim heap together,
for they had but one eye and one tooth between them which they
passed from hand to hand. Perseus came quietry behind them, and as
they fumbled for the eye, he put his strong, brown hand next to one of
'::'' the long, yellow ones, so that the old crone thought that it was her
sister's and put the eye
in it. There u/as a high scream of anger when
they discovered the theft, and much clawing and groping in the dim
recesses of the cavern. But they were helpless in their blindness and
Perseus could laugh at them. the ir eye they
At length for the price of
told him how to reach the nymphs, and perseus,laying the eye
quickly in the hand of the nearest sister, fled as fast as he could before
she could use it.
Again it was a far journey to the garden of the nymphs, where it is
always sunshine and the trees bear golden apples. But
the nymphs are

spirits of anger and despair. Therefore, they received perseus

with
rejoicing and put the hat of darkness on his head, while
on his feet
they bound the golden, winged sandals, which are
those Hermes
wears when he runs down the sranting sunbeams
or races arong the

4.mRereadlines53-68.Whatisheroicabouttheway
Perseus responds to the request polydectes
makes? Support your
answer with explicit textualev, Jence.

iJ
lc
IE
la
5. ffi
evidence.
As you read lines g2-1S4,continue
to cite textual

o
e . ln the rnargiry explain whythe phorcides and
the nymphs help
E Perseus.
=
q . Underline details that create concern for perseus.
ro ' circle the text that may be the crimax-the exciting point
in a story
o where a conflict is about to be resolved.

105
 Their faces were neither
snake nor woman, but
partboth...
pathways of the wind. Ngxt, Perseus put on his back the silver sack
with the gleaming tassels of gold and flung across his shoulder the
black-sheathed sword that was the gift of Hermes. On his left arm he
fitted the shield that Athene gave, a gleaming silver shield like a
mirror, plain without any marking. Then he sprang into the air and
3:* ran, invisible like the rushing wind, far out over the white-capped sea,
across the yellow sands of the eastern desert, over strange streams and
towering mountains, until at last he came to the shores of the distant
ocean which flowed round all the world.
There was a grey gorge of stone by the ocean's edge, where lay
Medusa and her sisters sleeping in the dim depths of the rock. All up
and down the cleft the stones took fantastic shapes of trees, beasts,
birds, or serpents. Here and there a man who had looked on the
terrible Medusa stood forever with horror on his face. Far over the
hover: twilit gorge Perseus hovered invisible, while he loosened the pale,
strange sword from its black sheath. Then with his face turned away
and eyes on the silver shield he dropped, slow and silent as a falling
leaf, down through the rocky cleft, twisting and turning past
countless strange grey shapes, down from the bright sunlight into a
chill, dim shadow echoing and re-echoing with the dashing of waves
on the tumbled rocks beneath. There on the heaped stones lay the
Gorgons sleeping together in the dimness, and even as he looked on
them in the shieldlerseus felt stiff with horror at the sight.
Two of the Gorgons lay sprawled together, shaped like women yet
scaled from head to foot as serpents are. Instead ofhands they had
gleaming claws like eagles, and their feet were dragons'feet. Skinny
metallic wings like bats'wings hung from their shoulders. Their faces
were neither snake nor woman, but part both, like faces in a
nightmare. These two lay arm in arm and never stirred. Only the blue
snakes still hissed and writhed round the pale, set face of Medusa, as
106
 though even in sleep she were troubled by an evil dream. She lay by
herself, arms outstretched, face upr ards, more beautiful and terrible
than living man maybear. All the crimes and madnesses of the world
rushed into Perseus'mind as he gazed at her image in the shield.
Horror stiffened his arm as he hovered over her with his sword
,
'. uplifted. Then he shut his eyes to the vision and in the darkness
struck.
There was a great cry and a hissing. Perseus groped for the head
and seized it by the limp and snaky hair. Somehow he put it in his
knapsack and was up and off for at the dreadful scream the sister
Gorgons had awakened. Now they were after him, their sharp claws
grating against his silver shield. Perseus strained forward on the
pathway of the wind like a runner, and behind him the two sisters
came, smelling out the prey they could not see. Snakes darted from
their girdles,l foam flew from their tusks, and the great wings beat the
: air. Yet the winged sandals were even swifter than they and Perseus
fled like the hunted deer with the speed of desperation. Presentty the
horrible noise grew faint behind him, the hissing of snakes and the
sound of the bat wings died away. At last the Gorgons could smell
him no longer and returned home unavenged.
Igirdles: belts.

5. (fl$[[ Reread lines 128-154.The resolution of a conflict may

suggest a work's theme. What theme might be suggested by
Perseust triumph?

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t07
 from
By now Perse:. the L1'bian desert' and as the blood
-".'-ls Lrver

the horrible hea,t it-'iched the sand'

it changed to serpents' from
which the snakes of -{frica are descended'
against Perseus in clouds of
The storms of the Lr-bian desert blew
sandals could hold him on his
eddying sand, until not even the divine
course.Farouttoseahergasblown'andthennorth'Finally'whirled
mist, he arighted in the distant
around the hea'ens rike a cloud of
from
west where the giant, Atlas'held up on his shoulders the heavens

theearth.Therethewearygiant'crushedundertheloadofcenturies'
head' Perseus uncovered for
begged Perseus to show him Medusa's
changed to the mighty
him the dreadful thing, and Atlas was
the sky near the gateway to
mountain whose rocks rear up to reach
eastwards and still battling
the Atlantic. Perseus himseif, returning
withthewind,wasdrivensouthtothelandofEthiopia,whereking
Cepheus reigned with his wife' Cassiopeia'
Perseus came wheeling in like a
gull from the ocean' he saw a
As
was troubled' seething and
strange sight. Far out to sea the water
moving in its depths' Huge'
boiling as though stirred by a great force
and washing inland over sunken
sulien waves were starting far out
of land were under water' and
trees and flooded houses' Many miles
the muddy sea lapping around the
foot
as he sped over them, he saw
a ledge above the water's edge
of a black, upstanding rock' Here on
lips parted' eyes open and
stood a young girl chained by the arms'
She might have been a statue'
staring, face white as her linen garment'
sostillshestood,whilethelightbreezeflutteredherdressandstirred
herloosenedhair'AsPerseuslookedatherandlookedatthesea,the
water began to boil again, and miles
out a long' grey scaly back of vast

iengthliftedltselfabovetheflood.Atthattherewasashriekfroma
the forms of people' but the
distant knoll where he could dimly see

?.$[[)Asyoureadlinesl55-186'continuetocitetextevidence'
of something found in nature'
' Circle the explanation of the origin
shows Medusa'i head to Atlas'
,, Underline what happens when Perseus
.Circletheauthor,sdescriptionoftheyounggirlinlineslT0-186.

108
 girl shrank a little and said nothing. Then perseus, taking off the hat
of darkness, alighted near the maiden to talk to her and she, though
nearly mad with terror, found words at last to tell him her tale.
Her name was Andromeda, and she was the only child of the king
and of his wife, Cassiopeia. Queen Cassiopeia was exceedingly
beautiful, so that all people marveled at her. she herself was proud of
o her dark eyes, her white, slender fingers, and her long blackhair, so
proud that she had been heard to boast that she was fairer eyen than
the sea nymphs who are daughters of Nereus. At this Nereus in wrath wrath:
stirred up Poseidon,2 who came flooding in over the land, covering it
far and wide. Not content with this he sent a vast monster from the
dark depths of the bottomless sea to ravage the whole coast of
Ethiopia. When the unfortunate king and queen had sought the
advice ofthe oracle on how to appease the god, theyhad been ordered
to sacrifice their only daughter to the sea monster poseidon had sent.
Not daring for their people's sake to disobey, they had chained her to
l this rock, where she now awaited the beast who should.devour her.
Perseus comforted Andromeda as he stood by her on the roclg
and she shrank closer against him while the great, grey back writhed
its half-mile length slowly towards the land. Then bidding
Andromeda hide her face, Perseus sprang once more into the air

;P"."id.* ; Creet mytnotogy the god of the seas.

s. (f[s@ Reread lines 158-169. Why does Atlas beg perseus to

show him Medusa's head? Cite explicit textual evidence in your
response.

:o
=E

-o
1L
9. $@) As you read lines 187-212, continue to cite text evidence.
. Circle what Queen Cassiopeia does to make Nereus so angry.
== . ln the margin, summarize what has happened to Andromeda in lines
== "t87-200.
. Underline what happens when Perseus shows Medusat head to the
eo sea monster.

109
 unveiling the &eadfirl head of dead Medusa to the monster which
reared its dripping jaws yards high into the air. The mighty tail
stiffened all of a sudden, the boiling of the water ceased, and only the
gentle waves of the receding ocean lapped around a long, grey ridge of
stone. Then Perseus freed Andromeda and restored her to her father
and beautiful mother. Thereafter with their consent he married her
amid scenes of tremendous rejoicing, and with his bride set sail at last
for tlre kingdom of Polydectes.
Polydectes had lost no time on the departure of perseus. First he
had begged Danae to become his wife, and then he had threatened
her. undoubtedly he would have got his way by force if Danae had not
fled in terror to Dictys. The two took refuge at the altar of a temple
whence Polydectes did not dare drag them away. So matters stood
when Perseus returned. Polydectes was enraged to see him, for he had
hoped at least that Danaet most powerful protector would never
return. But now, seeing him famous and with a king's daughter to
wife, he could not contain himself. openlyhe laughed at the tale of
Perseus, saytng that the hero had never killed the Gorgon, only
pretended to, and that now he was claiming an honor he did not

, o. (!lff[E! Reread lines 201-2 r 2. What is heroic about perseus,s

rescue of Andromeda?

11. ffHm As you read lines 213-2l2,continue to cite textual

evidence.
. circle the resolution of the conflict between perseus and polydectes.
. Underline Perseust action in lines 228-235 that shows his gratitude to
the gods.
. ln the margin, explain how the earlier prophecy of Apollo is fulfilled in
lines 242-252.
110
 You asked me for
the Gorgot'l's head.
Behold it!

deserve.At this Perseus, enraged by the insult and by reports of his

mother's persecution, said to him, "You asked me for the Gorgon's
head. Behold it!" And with that he lifted it high, and polydectes
became stone.
Then Perseus left Dictys to be king of that island, but he himself
went back to the Grecian mainland to seek out his grandfather,
Acrisios, who was once again king of Argos. First, however, he gave
back to the gods the gifts they had given him. Hermes took back the
golden sandals and the hat of darkness, for both are his. But Athene
took Medusa's head, and,she hung it on a fleece around her neck as
part of her battle equipment, where it may be seen in statues and
portraits of the warlike goddess.
Perseus took ship for Greece, but his fame had gone before him,
and king Acrisios fled secretly from Argos in terror, since he
remembered the prophecy and feared that perseus had come to
avenge the wrongs of Danae. The trembling old Acrisios took refuge
in Larissa, where it happened the king was holding a great athletic
contest in honor of his dead father.
Heroes from all over Greece, among whom was perseus, came to
the games. As Perseus was competing at the discus throwing, he
tr
a
threw high into the air and far beyond the rest. A strong wind caught
C J
the discus as it spun so that it left the course marked out for it and
a
was carried into the stands. People scrambled away to right and left.

=
c

ttt
 CLOSE READ
Notes

Only Acrisios rr'as not nimble enough. The hearl'weight fell full on
his foot and crushed his toes, and at that the feeble old man, already
weakened br his terrors, died from the shock. Thus the prophecy of
Apollo was fultilled at last; Acrisios was killed by his grandson. Then
Perseus came into his kingdom, where he reigned with Andromeda
long and happilu

12. < REREAD AND DISCUSS Reread lines 228-252.|n a smallgroup,

discuss what is ironic, or unexpected, about Acrisios's death. Cite
explicit textual evidence in your discussion.

SHORT RESPONSE
What theme, or central idea about life, is expressed in this
myth? consider the way conflicts are resolved and the way characters behave.
Review your reading notes and cite text evidence in your response.

112
 l. @$fl Asyou read lines t-36ofthe poem,collect
and cite text evidence.
. Circle the questions Medusa asks.

" In lines '15-27, underline what Medusa threatens to do. ln

the margin, make an inference about her character.
. ln the margin, summarize what happens in the last stanza.

Medusa
Poem by Agha Shahid Ali

"I must be beautiful.

Or whywould men be speechless
at my sight? I have populated the countryside
with animals of stone
and put nations painlessly to sleep.
I too was human,I who nowlive here
at the end of the world
with two aging sisters, spinsters
massaging poisons into our scalps
10 and sunning our ruffled snakes,

and dreading the night, when

under the warm stars
we recall men we have loved,
their gestures now forever refusing us.

Then whylet anything remain

when whatever we loved
turned instantly to stone?
I am waiting for the Mediterranean
2=
]O
to see me: It will petrify.
And as caravans from Africa begin to cross it,
ac lwillfreeze their cargo of slaves.
:9
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.2
=9
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113
 Soon. soon, :i. s,<r- rvill have eyes:
I rr-ill :i-,ss-.rr. ris dome into cracked blue,
I rr-hci am about to come
into God's iuli r-ieu'
from the \\'rong side of the mirror
into nhich He gazes."

And so she dreams

till the sun-crimsoned shield
blinds her into nightmare;
her locks, failing from their roots,
crawl into rocks to die.
Perseus holds the sword above her neck.
Restless in her sleep, she,
E
for the iast time, brushes back
the hissing curls from her forehead.
E
2,
W With a smallgroup, discuss the way
Medusa is presented in the poem. rn what way does learning her
thoughts and feelings affect your view of her? cite text evidence in
your discussion.

SHORT ffiHSPOhISr
citeTextEvidence How do "Medusab Head"and "Medusa,,differ in their
presentation of Medusa? Review your reading notes, and be
sure to cite
evidence from the text in your response.

114