How does Medusa turn men to stone?
Keywords:
Mythology, Biology, Medusa, Ossification, Clay, CryogenicsAbstract
Medusa is a notorious character from Greek Mythology. Her story involves turning onlookers to stone and this paper explores the possible methods Medusa may have used. Most of the content considers the phrase as a metaphor and does not consider supernatural techniques to accomplish her task. Freezing, sculpting and heterotopic ossification is considered in this paper with sculpting being the most plausible. [Content warning: mentions of sexual assault]
References
Apollodorus (1921) The Library, Volume I: Books 1-3.9. Translated by James G. Frazer. Loeb Classical Library 121. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.
Atsma, A.J. (2017) MEDUSA & GORGONS (Medousa & Gorgones) - Snake-Haired Monsters of Greek Mythology. [online] Theoi.com. Available at: https://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Gorgones.html [Accessed 10th March 2023].
Encyclopedia.com (2018) Greek Mythology: Myths and legends of the World [online] Encyclopedia.com. Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/classical-literature-mythology-and-folklore/folklore-and-mythology/greek-mythology [Accessed 10th March 2023].
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2018) Medusa | Greek mythology. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Medusa-Greek-mythology [Accessed 10th March 2023].
Watson, S. (2005) How Cryonics Works. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/cryonics2.htm [Accessed 10th March 2023].
Biga, L.M., Dawson, S., Harwell, A., Hopkins, R., Kaufmann, J., LeMaster, M., Matern, P., Morrison-Graham, K., Quick, D. & Runyeon, J. (2019) 6.4 Bone Formation and Development. In: Anatomy & Physiology. [online] Oregon State University. Available at: https://open.oregonstate.education/aandp/chapter/6-4-bone-formation-and-development/ [Accessed 10th March 2023].
Breeland, G., Sinkler, M.A. & Menezes, R.G. (2022) Embryology, Bone Ossification. In: StatPearls [Internet] [online] PubMed. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539718/ [Accessed 10th March 2023].
Shimono, K., Uchibe, K., Kuboki, T. & Iwamoto, M. (2014) The pathophysiology of heterotopic ossification: Current treatment considerations in dentistry. Japanese Dental Science Review, 50(1), pp.1–8. DOI: 10.1016/j.jdsr.2013.07.003
Luckasavitch, E. (2022) From the Ground Up. ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub. [online] Available at: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/housesandhouseholdsancientgreece/chapter/from-the-ground-up [Accessed 17th March 2023].
Hemingway, C. & Hemingway, S. (2003). The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. [online] The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grbr/hd_grbr.htm [Accessed 17th March 2023].
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0).