Jack Liang Li, Period 7, 12/11/23

 Jack Liang Li, Period 7, 12/11/2023

Modern Mythology 2024

    “Stone Blind” by Natalie Haynes was one of many readings that we’ve done in class, yet it was the one that stood out to me the most. Stone Blind talks about the story of Medusa, but not in the way others may think, instead in this story, Medusa is portrayed as the victim. It may come as a shock for people who’ve read so much mythology about the Greek monster Medusa, a gorgon that turns anyone who dares look into her eyes into stone, a monster so fierce that the brave hero Perseus was sent to slay and retrieve Medusa’s head. However, as you read “Stone Blind” by Natalie Haynes, you will realize that Medusa was no monster but a victim, one that suffered from the actions of a god and the punishment of a goddess.

    Before reading “Stone Blind” by Natalie Haynes, my knowledge of the story of medusa was like many others who’s read or heard the story of Medusa, where she was said to be seduced by Poseidon at a temple of Athena. This led Athena to punish Medusa by turning her into a gorgon with the ability to turn anyone who looks at her into stone. “Stone Blind” by Natalie Haynes tells a different version of the story that really changed my perception of Medusa as a character. She was a poor girl that got her life ruined because of a god and goddess although she did nothing wrong. Medusa was in the temple of Athena when Poseidon appeared blocking the entrance of the temple, Medusa can’t outrun the god nor can she fight back against him. To make it worse, Poseidon threatened Medusa with the rape and death of a mortal girl if she doesn’t submit to him, as a result Medusa let Poseidon have his way with her to protect the mortal girls. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it, Athena who was enraged at Poseidon for raping someone in her temple, decided to take out her anger on Medusa since she couldn’t do anything to Poseidon when he’s in his domain.

    The poor Medusa who gave up her body for the lives of some mortal girl, had to suffer the punishment for something she couldn’t control, in my perceptive Medusa was a true hero who was willing to sacrifice herself for the lives of others that may not acknowledge it. It made me disgusted with the actions of the gods and goddesses, they were petty and unjust, punishing the mortals caught in the conflict between the gods. It made me think about situations in the modern world that might’ve mirrored this story, take child abuse for example, because of an unresponsible adult’s actions the child may suffer the abuse of the other parent. It made me think that these myths were just so relatable to the modern world and that perhaps this was the reason why Greek myths were able to survive to this very day, there are so many aspects to it that can be related to modern world experiences. Another aspect from “Stone Blind” that could be related is the concept of heroes and monsters. I perceived it as the modern concept of an outcast and someone popular. Outcast is someone perceived as different from others based on societal norms such as a person’s looks or actions, because someone may be disabled, have a disorder, or even a different skin color. Someone popular on the other hand may be someone rich, famous, or just looks and acts like everyone else, they don’t have a disability or disorder that makes them look or act different from the average person.

    It’s horrible that individuals may be judged and discriminated against based on their looks and actions but that's something that happens often in the modern world. Relating Medusa’s story from “Stone Blind” to the modern world experiences showed me how greek mythology can be perceived in many different ways and every one of them can teach a valuable lesson. Medusa’s story in “Stone Blind” taught me to not just be kind and be there for others, but also to find the truth behind a story because when a lie is repeated enough, it’ll eventually becomes the truth, just like the story of Medusa to many people.