Medusa Must Die! The Virgin and the Defiled in Greco-Roman Medusa and Andromeda Myths

Abstract

Andromeda and Medusa are two types within the same motif—that of the motif of “the woman and the dragon”. This article positions a mythical hero between these two women and contrasts their relationship with dragons, along with a further fresh investigation of women and dragons in ritual and cultural context. The complexity of this motif, in contrast to the dragon-slayer topos, is explored, shedding light on social views, desires, and fears toward women in the ancient Greco-Roman cultural context. These female figures are contrasted within one mythical sequence, elucidating their educational role for men. This investigation also confronts the “good” versus the “defiled” woman and clarifies why a “holy-defiled” woman, such as Medusa, cannot exist in patriarchal cultures, and therefore must be isolated, killed, or otherwise controlled by patriarchal society. Keywords: dragon, Andromeda, Medusa, Perseus, myth