Medusa is both a witch and a monstrous gorgon. She has two older sisters, Stheno and Euryale. Medusa and her sisters first appeared in the e-book novel Let Gorgons Be Gorgons
History
Ancient Greece
In the days of ancient Greece, when the Greek gods ruled the world, Medusa and her sisters were up-and-coming witches. Medusa was the most powerful of the sisters by far, but she had a mortal lifespan. Stheno and Euryale were immortal, but weaker on their own.
When things finally got out of hand with the Greek gods, the Elders sent the sisters to Greece to check out what was happening. While they were checking on the Gods, Medusa fell in love with Poseidon, which was against the rules. However, her love soon turned to hatred after he raped her in Athena's temple. As powerful as Medusa was, she could not stop him.
Becoming Gorgon and Later Death
Enraged that her temple was defiled, Athena cursed Medusa into becoming a gorgon so that no one would ever want to look upon her. While Athena was motivated by rage, it served a greater purpose as well. It was her way of fighting back against the Elders; by taking out some of their servants, the witches; Athena had cursed Medusa’s sisters as well when they came after her in a quest to avenge/save their younger sister. It sent a message to Athena’s enemies not to mess with her, or else she’d turn them into something even more hideous.
Medusa still had magic as a Gorgon, but incredibly weaker. She could change her appearance, teleport herself and famously could turn people to stone. Contrary to popular belief and rumor, Medusa did not automatically turn others to stone if they looked into her eyes, that was a rumor started Athena who was still enraged that Medusa still possessed magic. In fact, Medusa could control the power to some degree, only petrifying those who upset her.
Not satisfied with the horrors she had already inflicted on Medusa, Athena sent Perseus after the gorgon to end her life. Perseus defeated Medusa by using her reflection against her, which turned her to stone. He then chopped off her head and put it on his shield, which he later gave to Athena to gain favor.
In the year 2002, Medusa was called upon by Phoebe Halliwell in a Petrification Spell. However, as she was powerless at the time, the spell did not work.[1]
Resurrection
Years later, in 2009, Medusa was resurrected by her two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, using the magic of The Charmed Ones; Stheno and Euryale petrified a well-known congressman and left him in a park for the sisters to find, Stheno then used her power to sense when they were casting a spell to reverse the petrification, her and Euryale then channeled the energy for a moment to resurrect their younger sister.
Once restored, her sisters caught her up on everything that had happened since her death; they flooded her mind with images from their own mind, things that they had seen. They then tried to get Medusa to join their plan of revenge. Medusa refused at first, she had no need for revenge; Athena, Perseus and Poseidon were all dead and could no longer harm her. She just wanted to life her life; a better life than the one she had before, one where she gets to experience the exciting times of the modern age. However, she, felt indebted to them and believed that they were her responsibility, agreed to help them.
Together, Medusa and her sisters were able to turn several people to stone. However, she quickly came to realize that her sisters were out of control, that they were not content with just punishing those who oppress others, they also wanted to sow fear. She was also horrified to learn that part of their plan included them revealing themselves to the world. Fortunately, the Charmed Ones were able to cover up all their attacks by switching the real statues with fake ones which lead people to believe that the whole thing was just a viral marketing campaign.
Not long after, the Charmed Ones tracked them down and stopped them from exposing their magic to a stadium full of people. During the confrontation, Paige tried to reason with them, but only Medusa was receptive; mainly because Medusa had secretly been trying to find a way to talk her sisters out of their plan. Things took a turn for the worst when Medusa sensed some of the residual magic that made Athena who she was on Paige. She instantly became enraged and tried to turn Paige to stone. However, Paige was able to orb the gorgon sisters away before orbing herself and her sisters to the Nexus of the All.
Medusa and her sisters then broke into the All by tapping into the Charmed Ones' magic once again and a huge battle between the sisters ensued. The sisters were all evenly match; Medusa and her sisters were able to match Prue and her sisters, power for power. However, Phoebe was able to bring the battle to an end by pulling images of the past from her own mind and sharing them with Medusa. She showed her some of her Paige's most heroic deeds and the work of the Charmed Ones as well. Phoebe filled her mind with images of some of their greatest battles, and all the innocents they'd protected—both during their time with Paige, and the early days with Prue. Then she pulled up her most recent images with all four sisters working together. She was able to convince Medusa that Paige was not to blame for Athena's actions.
Phoebe then informed Medusa that her sisters had secretly been working with a former Cupid who had used his own powers to force a woman to love him. And in the process had destroyed that woman's life. Enraged, Medusa turned her two sisters into stone.
Later that night, Phoebe informed Coop that Medusa was with the Elders and that they had agreed to look after her for a while. Phoebe also announced that she will be checking in with the Elders to make sure Medusa gets the help that she needs from them since they were responsible for what happened to her.
Powers and Abilities
- Basic Powers
- Spell Casting: The ability to cast spells and perform rituals.
- Potion Making: The ability to brew potions.
- Scrying: The ability to locate or person or object with the use of a scrying crystal, a map, and sometimes other tools.
- Mediumship: The ability to see and commune with spirits of the dead.
- Active Powers
- Petrification: The ability to turn living beings into stone.
- Electrokinesis: The ability to create and control lightening bolts.
- Glamouring: The ability to change one's appearance.
- Teleportation: The ability to instantly teleport from one location to another.
- Other Powers
- High Resistance: The ability to be highly resistant to lethal powers.
Notes and Trivia
Andrew Wike's tattoo.
- Medusa decided to keep her sisters as statues until she can help them, only then will she turn them back.
- The criminal Andrew Wike had a tattoo of Medusa on this arm, which Phoebe Halliwell saw in a premonition of a murder, revealing another man about to be convicted was innocent.[2]
- She was also mentioned in the novel Soul of the Bride.
- The Titan Meta has a similar name to Medusa and possessed the ability to turn others to stone with her eyes as well. She is presumably based on the character of Medusa.
- She is a character in Greek mythology. She was a monstrous Gorgon who, according to myths, could turn others to stone if they looked into her eyes.
Appearances
Medusa has appeared in a total of 1 e-book throughout the run of the franchise.
References
- ↑ As seen in "A Witch In Time"
- ↑ As seen in "Trial by Magic"