oh my god i loved the analysis! this all so true and so infuriating. ovid did all that to fuel his poltical and anti-authoritarian views, and not just this story, arachne? from what i can remember, also Ovid.
Thank you so much, Nami. Yes, it’s not fun at all. And what’s even worse is that this wasn’t solely Ovid’s doing. I believe that by this point in history, in these regions, the wild feminine had already been hushed and forgotten. She simply could no longer be held by that culture, or rather, by a patriarchal worldview.
I’ve never heard of any of this… I feel like you breaking down the myth in the first part (and drawing attention to the women in it) developed my perception of the myth as I knew it, but this really changed it. The power she had being buried like that… there’s so many layers. I think it’s interesting how the story evolved so much and then stayed (seemingly) consistent afterward. Thank you for writing and sharing this!
Olivia, I’m so glad you received this in exactly the way I hoped. In the first part, I retold the myth the way we’ve usually heard it—but with the focus shifted toward the feminine perspective—only to begin dismantling it now and revealing what’s been hiding underneath.
And it’s not that the story hasn’t changed over time. Myth is always alive, always fluid. It reflects the consciousness of the people interpreting it. Medusa has been read in many different ways across different eras. But what’s interesting is that most of those interpretations, even the feminist ones, still begin with Ovid’s version. I might actually write about that. I feel like Medusa has more things to say!
This didn’t just reframe Medusa—it resurrected her. Not slain. Not tamed. Just patiently waiting to be remembered. I live for a cultural reframe that hits like this. Also—can we talk about that stunning cover image?? Where do you find/create magic like that?
Yes! Thank you for remembering her with me. Oh, and that cover image was just a blank sheet of paper ten days ago... Fast forward many hours, countless layers of charcoal and paint, and you get that result. When I am not reading or writing, or just living life, I also draw...
Thank you so much for helping to dispel the encrustations that have misrepresented her for so long. You almost made me forgive Ovid! Glad to know there are others helping bring back the truth of the Greek myths. It matters. And your artwork is stunning, that’s a really lovely piece!
Helena, this truly piece stunned me. It feels like a séance conducted through syntax, each paragraph more intense than the last. There’s something so mesmerising in the way you braid grief, gore, and glamour; the horror isn't just in the body-horror, but in the idea of surviving long after we should’ve stopped, and long after the world stops looking at us with anything but curiosity or disgust. The metaphor of the disembodied head as a woman’s emotional overexposure is genius. I just love how you tether visibility to vulnerability, and grotesquerie to performance.
I also loved how you stitch cultural references into the flesh of the piece without ever making it feel stitched, it's truly like they were always there, waiting to be noticed. The undercurrent of longing (for stillness, maybe even for death that sticks) gave the piece such depth. I’d honestly read a whole collection built around this thesis. Thank you so much for writing this.
Wow, thank you for reconstructing the OG story! Does all of this reinforce the idea that the Greeks were about intellect, and the Romans more about drama? I think what you have here is an introduction to a book, "Medusa: A Metabiography." Each culture, and each epoch, is rewriting the story in the image of itself. Agree?
I’ve never been especially drawn to mythology…until I read you! What you’ve done with Medusa, with language, with power… it grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading more. This isn’t just myth retelling. You didn’t just tell a story, you unburied something wild and ancient and compelled me to read it, over and over…to absorb it. I’ve read this piece and the one referenced in it more than once now, and I keep returning because of how you spoke of Medusa not as a victim, not as a monster, but as a sovereign force that was never meant to be tamed. You gently pulled back the layers of history and let something sacred emerge. I’ve learned something with each fresh read.
As someone who writes about very personal grief and memory, I was moved by how your voice made me feel like I’d always known these women. Suddenly they weren’t mythic, they were: Sisters, Mothers, Guardians. Thank you for giving these women their power. You made me care about mythology. Keep writing, I’ll keep reading and learning.
This is such an important piece of writing because people only ever see her as a victim anymore, so this is so special and so needed. I love your passion for talking about Medusa everything you write about her is stunning. 💜
oh my god i loved the analysis! this all so true and so infuriating. ovid did all that to fuel his poltical and anti-authoritarian views, and not just this story, arachne? from what i can remember, also Ovid.
Thank you so much, Nami. Yes, it’s not fun at all. And what’s even worse is that this wasn’t solely Ovid’s doing. I believe that by this point in history, in these regions, the wild feminine had already been hushed and forgotten. She simply could no longer be held by that culture, or rather, by a patriarchal worldview.
I’ve never heard of any of this… I feel like you breaking down the myth in the first part (and drawing attention to the women in it) developed my perception of the myth as I knew it, but this really changed it. The power she had being buried like that… there’s so many layers. I think it’s interesting how the story evolved so much and then stayed (seemingly) consistent afterward. Thank you for writing and sharing this!
Olivia, I’m so glad you received this in exactly the way I hoped. In the first part, I retold the myth the way we’ve usually heard it—but with the focus shifted toward the feminine perspective—only to begin dismantling it now and revealing what’s been hiding underneath.
And it’s not that the story hasn’t changed over time. Myth is always alive, always fluid. It reflects the consciousness of the people interpreting it. Medusa has been read in many different ways across different eras. But what’s interesting is that most of those interpretations, even the feminist ones, still begin with Ovid’s version. I might actually write about that. I feel like Medusa has more things to say!
This didn’t just reframe Medusa—it resurrected her. Not slain. Not tamed. Just patiently waiting to be remembered. I live for a cultural reframe that hits like this. Also—can we talk about that stunning cover image?? Where do you find/create magic like that?
Yes! Thank you for remembering her with me. Oh, and that cover image was just a blank sheet of paper ten days ago... Fast forward many hours, countless layers of charcoal and paint, and you get that result. When I am not reading or writing, or just living life, I also draw...
Wow, that's amazing...wish I have that kind of superpower
Ahh thank you! I honestly treasure this part of me so much.
Thank you so much for helping to dispel the encrustations that have misrepresented her for so long. You almost made me forgive Ovid! Glad to know there are others helping bring back the truth of the Greek myths. It matters. And your artwork is stunning, that’s a really lovely piece!
Helena, this truly piece stunned me. It feels like a séance conducted through syntax, each paragraph more intense than the last. There’s something so mesmerising in the way you braid grief, gore, and glamour; the horror isn't just in the body-horror, but in the idea of surviving long after we should’ve stopped, and long after the world stops looking at us with anything but curiosity or disgust. The metaphor of the disembodied head as a woman’s emotional overexposure is genius. I just love how you tether visibility to vulnerability, and grotesquerie to performance.
I also loved how you stitch cultural references into the flesh of the piece without ever making it feel stitched, it's truly like they were always there, waiting to be noticed. The undercurrent of longing (for stillness, maybe even for death that sticks) gave the piece such depth. I’d honestly read a whole collection built around this thesis. Thank you so much for writing this.
Wow, thank you for reconstructing the OG story! Does all of this reinforce the idea that the Greeks were about intellect, and the Romans more about drama? I think what you have here is an introduction to a book, "Medusa: A Metabiography." Each culture, and each epoch, is rewriting the story in the image of itself. Agree?
I’ve never been especially drawn to mythology…until I read you! What you’ve done with Medusa, with language, with power… it grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading more. This isn’t just myth retelling. You didn’t just tell a story, you unburied something wild and ancient and compelled me to read it, over and over…to absorb it. I’ve read this piece and the one referenced in it more than once now, and I keep returning because of how you spoke of Medusa not as a victim, not as a monster, but as a sovereign force that was never meant to be tamed. You gently pulled back the layers of history and let something sacred emerge. I’ve learned something with each fresh read.
As someone who writes about very personal grief and memory, I was moved by how your voice made me feel like I’d always known these women. Suddenly they weren’t mythic, they were: Sisters, Mothers, Guardians. Thank you for giving these women their power. You made me care about mythology. Keep writing, I’ll keep reading and learning.
This is such an important piece of writing because people only ever see her as a victim anymore, so this is so special and so needed. I love your passion for talking about Medusa everything you write about her is stunning. 💜