Aeschylus: The fifth-century BCE tragedian Aeschylus evoked the uniquely terrifying Gorgons in several of his plays, including the Libation Bearers (1048ff), the Eumenides (46ff) and Prometheus Bound (788ff). He also wrote a tragedy, now lost, called Phorcides in which he described Perseus’ quest to hunt down and kill Medusa.

Burton’s Medusa is a young woman trapped in her own body. Her body transformed into the monster by Athena that is now her prison. She is unbearably lonely, horrified by what she has become. Indelibly she is slowly dying inside. The moral point from The Moon Is Down is that some people who work for the Nazi government should be sympathized with as you follow the seven invading lives. You will realize that some of these guys are victims. Also, they miss their girlfriends. They’re not sure they are totally on board with the team they signed up with. Exiled to a far-flung island at the whims of Gods, Medusa has little company except the snakes she has for hair—until a beautiful and charming boy, Perseus arrives on the island and Medusa’s alone no longer. Disrupting her loneliness with the force of a supernova, unleashing desire,love and betrayal....The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

Many later versions of the myth claimed that she was once a beautiful maiden loved by Poseidon. But the young Medusa offended Athena and was therefore cursed to be a terrible monster, forever hunted by men. Medusa and her sisters were called the Gorgons. They lived together in a remote part of the world. According to the seventh-century BCE poet Hesiod, they could be found “beyond glorious Ocean in the frontier land towards Night.” [2] Later sources, however, usually placed them in Libya. [3] Other authors have proposed still more remote dwelling places, including the obscure Gorgonean Plains near Cisthene in Asia Minor [4] and the island of Sarpedon. [5] Appearance They are journeying to uncover the secrets behind Medusa’s curse and explore the possibility of breaking it. In this adventure, they face many challenges and enemies, from ancient gods to bloodthirsty monsters. Amid this adventure, Medusa and Alexander’s bond grows stronger, and they begin to realize that their connection is more than a fleeting attraction. Medusa was said to have once been a lover of Poseidon. According to Ovid, this is what first got her into trouble: when Medusa slept with Poseidon in a temple of Athena, Athena turned her hair into snakes as a punishment. From then on, all who looked upon her were turned to stone. [15] In another version of the myth, Medusa became the enemy of Athena because she claimed that she could rival the goddess in beauty. [16] Perseus When the blood dripped from Medusa’s head onto the plains of Libya, each drop of blood transformed into venomous serpents. The power of Medusa’s head is seen again when Perseus encountered the Titan Atlas. When Perseus asked Atlas for a place to rest for a short while, his request was refused. Knowing that he would not be able to defeat the Titan with brute force alone, he took out Medusa’s head and Atlas was turned into a mountain.In the synopsis it is stated that Burton's aim with was to "reclaim Medusa's story" and that is exactly what she did! None who read this can relate to owning sentient hair but many can relate to being punished by society, paying for the mistakes of powerful others, being subjected to the whims of those in authority, and being viewed as one of few accepted binaries. Burton allows us to see and to believe that we contain multitudes, and that we can be the hero of our own story. The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene's temple, the goddess is enraged. With this novel Burton tells the story of Medusa and Perseus from Medusa’s perspective. Giving her a very human side. Zeus feels a need to help the kid out. I mean, Perseus may be a bastard, but hey, in Greek mythology, that would put him in the majority. Am I right? Still, he is Zeus’s bastard, so Pop does what he can to help him out, sending along two gods to coach and aid the lad as needed. Hermes and Athena snark all over Perseus, pointing out his many weaknesses and flaws, while providing some very real assistance. They may not hold the kid in high regard, but neither can they piss off the boss. Very high school gym, and totally hilarious.

I have a great deal of respect for what this set out to do, in terms of reinstating another the female figure of myth who has been (effectively) demonised for literally millennia now. Sadly, it just did not deliver.

This book is absolutely stunning. A beautiful modern re-telling of a very old tale. It was refreshing to see the point of view of a young Medusa. Not the scary gorgon that she is most commonly known as.

If you could bottle confidence Medusa recalls “when I was little, my sisters never asked me to be anything other than who I was. Myself. That’s a great gift…. But in the end, it was taken from me”

Harvard Bookstore - Natalie Haynes discusses “Stone Blind” - video 1:03:55 - - This is amazing! So much info. You will learn a lot here. One of these Angel's was known as Satal, Satal is Atlas but I'm sure Satal isn't a Mountain more like He's imprisoned within an Mountain so where Near God's Country as in Divine Being mentioned in The Holy Bible.