Day 2 – Classics and Ancient History

Academic Exercise Answers

1. What have you learnt about variations in the stories of Greek Mythology?

This will depend upon your previous exposure to classics or Greek myths. One thing to take away is that Greece was not a single country but rather a collection of city-states, called poleis (plural – singular polis), who were often at war with each other but who shared a single language and traditions.

Each locality might have their own version of certain myths, and so there might be varying myths relating to the gorgon medusa in different regions. These were developing down from perhaps as early as 1000BC, maybe even earlier, and it was only later that so called ‘mythographers’ collected the stories together and tried to form a unified version of the stories. But variations were rife, and Greek drama on the 5th century BC for example often changed myths to suit the needs of the storyteller.

In a sense variation of common themes was common. A vague story might be familiar to all, but each tale was probably told in different way across different times and in different places. There were no set texts, which left the Greeks free to adapt and tell the stories their own way.

2. What is the oldest picture we have of Medusa and what shape has she?

This is the Boeotian relief pithos (storage jar) where the gorgon medusa has the body of a horse, like a centaur. It dates from about 660BC and was made on the Greek islands called the Cyclades.

Again, this shows something of how free the Greeks were to imagine things as they wished. Why not imagine her as a centaur, especially as in myth when she died the flying horse Pegasus was born from her corpse?

3. What is the form of the gorgons on the Eleusis amphora?

Here they have heads in the shape of cauldrons.

4. Why do YOU think they may have been represented this way?

There is no real answer here. What ideas do you have? Meat from sacrificed animals was cooked up in cauldrons – might that be related?

5. How do representations of the gorgons/Medusa change through time?

Look through all the slides and see what progressions or changes there are. Can you see a pattern emerging, or are they random? This is a good exercise in classics, in trying to look for patterns that might or might not be there. My own thought is that the gorgon Medusa’s head begins to be seen in a similar way during the Archaic period and Classical period – the staring eyes, tongue sticking out, snaked hair. Before that, not all of these elements are present, and sometimes none of them are. If you like, google Medusa Greek Vase or Gorgon Greek Vase and see what other images you can find. You will find that there are a lot, and these are just the most common.

6. What meaning might the story of Perseus and Medusa have held for the Ancient Greeks?

This one is difficult, as there is no literary criticism concerning this myth from ancient times. What might it have meant to you as a Greek? Would that have been different if you were a male or a female? In the myth Andromeda was a chained captive to be fed to a sea beast whom the hero rescues. Would this have been a meaningful myth to a girl?

Again, consider who the Greeks were and the numerous viewpoints there would have been, of women, men, slaves, rulers, soldiers, artists, children, priests, story tellers. When you try and answer this question, realise that you must consider numerous viewpoints.