There is a God in You: The Story of Perseus and Medusa 封神: 珀爾修斯與美黛雅の故事 神格化: ペルセウスとメデューサ

In Greek mythology, Perseus is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles.

King Acrisius of Argos had only one child, a daughter named Danaë. Disappointed by not having a male heir, Acrisius consulted the Oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his own grandson. To keep Danaë childless, Acrisius imprisoned her in a room atop a bronze tower in the courtyard of his palace. This mytheme is also connected to Ares, Oenopion, Eurystheus, and others. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and fathered her child. Soon after, their child, a son, was born; Perseus-"Perseus Eurymedon, for his mother gave him this name as well".

Fearful for his future, but unwilling to provoke the wrath of the gods and the Erinyes by killing the offspring of Zeus and his daughter, Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest. Danaë's fearful prayer, made while afloat in the darkness, has been expressed by the poet Simonides of Ceos. Mother and child washed ashore on the island of Seriphos, where they were taken in by the fisherman Dictys, who raised the boy to manhood. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes ("he who receives/welcomes many"), the king of the island. When Perseus was growing up on the island of Seriphus, Polydectes came to lust for the beautiful Danaë. Perseus believed Polydectes was less than honorable, and protected his mother from him; then Polydectes plotted to send Perseus away in disgrace. He held a large banquet where each guest was expected to bring a gift. Polydectes requested that the guests bring horses, under the pretense that he was collecting contributions for the hand of Hippodamia, daughter of Oinomaos. Perseus had no horse to give, so he asked Polydectes to name the gift; he would not refuse it. Polydectes held Perseus to his rash promise and demanded the snake-haired Medusa's head.

Medusa and her two immortal older sisters, Stheno and Euryale, were Gorgons, monsters with snakes for hair, sharp fangs and claws, wings of gold, and gazes that turned people to stone.

Before setting out on his quest, Perseus prayed to the gods and Zeus answered by sending two of his other children – Hermes and Athena – to bless their half-brother with the weapons needed to defeat Medusa. Hermes gave Perseus his own pair of winged sandals to fly with and lent him his harpe sword to slay Medusa with, and Hades's helm of darkness to become invisible with. Athena lent Perseus her polished shield for him to view Medusa's reflection without becoming petrified, and gave him a kibisis, a knapsack to safely contain the Gorgon's head which the goddess warned could still petrify even in death. Lastly, Athena instructed Perseus to seek out the Graeae, the Gorgons' sisters, for the snake-haired women's whereabouts (in other versions, it was the Hesperides nymphs who gave Perseus the weapons after he sought out the Graeae).

Following Athena's guidance, Perseus found the Graeae, who were three old swan-shaped witches sharing a single eye and a single tooth. As the witches passed their eye from one to another, Perseus snatched it from them, holding it for ransom in return for the Gorgons' location. The Graeae informed Perseus that the Gorgons lived on the Island of Sarpedon. Perseus then gave the Graeae their eye back and proceeded to the island.

On the Island of Sarpedon, Perseus came across a cave where Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa lay sleeping. Using Athena's reflective shield, Perseus overcame the looking taboo by looking at her reflection on the shield to guide himself. He then walked into the cave backwards, safely observing and approaching the sleeping Gorgons. With Athena guiding the sword, Perseus beheaded Medusa. From Medusa's neck sprang her two children with Poseidon: the winged horse Pegasus ("he who sprang") and the giant Chrysaor ("sword of gold"). To avenge their sister's death, Stheno and Euryale flew after Perseus, but he escaped them by wearing Hades's invisibility helm. From here he proceeded to visit King Atlas who had refused him hospitality; in revenge Perseus petrified him with Medusa's head and King Atlas became the Atlas mountains.

On the way back to Seriphos, Perseus stopped in the kingdom of Aethiopia. This mythical Ethiopia was ruled by King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia, having boasted that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, drew the vengeance of Poseidon, who sent an inundation on the land and a sea serpent, Cetus, which destroyed man and beast. The oracle of Ammon announced that no relief would be found until the king sacrificed his daughter, Andromeda, to the monster, and so she was fastened naked to a rock on the shore. Wearing the winged sandals given to him by Hermes, Perseus reached Andromeda and used the harpe to behead the monster (in other versions, Perseus used Medusa's head to petrify Cetus). By rescuing Andromeda, Perseus claimed her in marriage.

Perseus married Andromeda in spite of Phineus, to whom she had been previously engaged. At the wedding, a quarrel took place between the rivals, and Phineus was petrified by the sight of Medusa's head. Andromeda ("queen of men") followed her husband to Tiryns in Argos, and became the ancestress of the family of the Perseidae who ruled at Tiryns through her son with Perseus, Perses. After her death she was placed by Athena among the constellations in the northern sky, near Perseus and Cassiopeia. Sophocles and Euripides (and in more modern times Pierre Corneille) made the episode of Perseus and Andromeda the subject of tragedies, and its incidents were represented in many ancient works of art.

As Perseus was flying in his return above the sands of Libya, according to Apollonius of Rhodes, the falling drops of Medusa's blood created a race of toxic serpents, one of whom was to kill the Argonaut Mopsus. Upon returning to Seriphos and discovering that his mother had to take refuge from the violent advances of Polydectes, Perseus killed him with Medusa's head, and made Dictys the new king of Seriphos. Perseus then returned his magical loans and gave Medusa's head as a votive gift to Athena, who set it on her aegis (which Zeus gave her) as the Gorgoneion.

In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of three monstrous sisters known as the Gorgons. Cursed by Athena, she was the only mortal among them, with venomous snakes for hair and a horrifying visage. Anyone who dared to look directly at her would be instantly turned to stone. Medusa and her Gorgon sisters Euryale and Stheno were usually described as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto.

According to the most widely known version of the myth, it was Athena who transformed Medusa into a monster. This account comes from Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, written in the 1st century CE. In this version, Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden and a priestess in Athena’s temple. She caught the eye of Poseidon, who pursued and ultimately assaulted her in Athena’s temple. Athena chose to punish Medusa rather than Poseidon, turning her into a snake-haired Gorgon whose gaze petrified onlookers.

However, it’s important to note that this version of the myth is a later development. In earlier Greek myths, such as those found in Hesiod‘s Theogony from around 700 BCE, Medusa was typically portrayed as a monster from birth, one of three Gorgon sisters.

According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Libya, where Herodotus had said the Berbers originated her myth as part of their religion.

Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity, the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion.

In classical Greek art, the depiction of Medusa shifted from hideous beast to an attractive young woman, both aggressor and victim, a tragic figure in her death.

Medusa is a complex and multifaceted figure. She is often seen as a symbol of female rage and the destructive power of feminine sexuality. Her gaze, which turns men to stone, can be seen as a metaphor for the fear and objectification of female power. However, she can also be viewed as a victim of circumstance, punished for the actions of others.

Medusa’s head, even in death, retains its power. It symbolizes the enduring nature of fear and the potential for transformation. It also becomes a protective symbol when placed on Athena’s shield. Interestingly, Athena gave some of Medusa’s blood to Asclepius, the god of medicine. This blood had the power to revive the dead, highlighting the duality of Medusa’s power, connected to both death and healing.

I have long been a big fan of images of Medusa. In Venice, I have many souvenir jewelry pieces of Medusa. I am very thrilled this year that Emy has agreed to play the role of Medusa and Gabriele to play the role of Perseus. Her crown of snakes is all self made and self designed and weighs a hefty 6kg. So far, this is the best interpretation of Medusa. This is one of the most epic photo shoots I have at the Venice Carnevale this year. I really enjoy working with Emy and Gabriele every year. Their photo shoots are always so much fun and they always have so much energy and enthusiasm for photography. This one is really like a movie set - Clash of the Titans...

The photo series focus on the battle scenes of Perseus and Medusa, something a little different from our usual street portraits. The series is actually part of a bigger photo project called Apotheosis, with inspiration from the Chinese movie and novel Investiture of the Gods - still in the making, because there needs to be 6 to 9 other photo series with a similar theme to form this project....

The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians prefer historical costumes or painted faces. During Carnevale, the whole Venice becomes a real life theatrical stage, and many of these historical costumes carry deep perspectives...

And as usual, the portraits are just done on the busy streets of Venice and using natural lighting only...It is not an indoor photo studio, there is no artificial lighting, flash or reflectors...With my costumed friends, we just take our street portraiture to an all new level....