Leo Lin, Period 1, 12/1/2023

Leo Lin

Period 1

12/1/2023


In class, we’ve been reading Stone Blind for our Greek Mythology unit. This book is a retelling of Medusa’s story from a different perspective. In actual Greek mythology, Medusa was barely mentioned, yet at the same time, we can get this whole story about Perseus slaying Medusa. But is what we know about this myth accurate? I think that’s one of the questions Natalie Haynes was trying to answer. Recently in class, we were shown an interview with Natalie Haynes where she described the process she went through writing “Stone Blind”. She found out that there’s some sort of duality in Gorgons. On one hand, they are symbols of fear of the natural world, but at the same time, these gorgons were used as symbols of protection in temples. So how does the duality of the Gorgons apply to Medusa?


Since I was a kid, I’ve known Medusa as a monster. She was a hideous being terrorizing mankind. One glance from her could turn you into stone, she had poisonous blood, snakes for hair, and the tusks of a wild boar. She was a mixture of everything that could pose a threat to humans. So when Perseus killed her, I thought of him as a hero, standing up to a “stronger” being. However, after reading Stone Blind my perspective changed. Medusa was portrayed as a victim: she was sexually assaulted and then turned into a monster as punishment for not being able to stand up to Poseidon. She was considering living life in darkness to not turn her sisters into stone.


On the other hand, Perseus was depicted as a whiny brat. Despite being “overgeared” with a helmet that turned him invisible, a sword with a maxed-out attack stat, an overpowered shield, and sandals that allowed him to fly, he was still scared about killing Medusa in her sleep. He seemed like a spoiled brat, nowhere near as glorious as I used to perceive him. Natalie Haynes also mentioned that Medusa has never intentionally killed someone or abused her power. It was Perseus who abused her power. The duality of Perseus kind of reminded me of Oppenheimer, as the father of the atomic bomb, some might think of him as a hero for ending the war, and some might see him less favorably


In the interview, Natalie Haynes also brought up the story of where Odysseus met Achilles in the underworld. Odysseus envied the glory Achilles had achieved but Achilles envied Odysseus for being alive. Achilles was revered as a hero at the cost of an early life. The moral here is to value your life. There’s much more to life than let’s say a test grade or getting into a prestigious university. Always look on the bright side. So don’t worry about getting rejected from Harvard, there’s always Kingsborough Community College.