A Lair Guarded by Medusa Far From Greece Blurs Myth And History
A cave, a mask, and a different version of a monster we all know
Sometimes, there’s a fine line between myth and history. For instance, the city of Troy was once considered a legend because it was part of Homer’s epic, the Iliad, until the ruins of the city were discovered in the late 1800s by archeologists.
Greeks of the Archaic age, between 800 and 479 BC, had similar experiences of finding ruins of places long before their existence. Inevitably, they tried to explain them. But there was no archaeology or history, so they resorted to myth.
Archeologist Josho Brouwers at Ancient World Magazine explains that the Greek poet Hesiod created five ages of mortals in his Works and Days, around 700 BC. These consisted of a Gold Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Age of Heroes, and an Iron Age. Hesiod lived in this last period.
The previous Age of Heroes was the time of the gods Perseus and Herakles( Hercules), along with the events in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
It was also the time of Medusa. She might be one of the most iconic Greek mythical characters. Her feminine figure, hair made of snakes, and power to turn victims to stone with a glance capture our imagination.
But there’s more to Medusa than this. Recently, archeologists found a cave at the end of the Greek world with a unique representation of Medusa. This lair also sits within her mythical home — the Pillars of Hercules.
This archeological discovery dances around that mixture of myth and history. It all begins far from the Greek homeland, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.
A Myth Finds a Home in Geography
“The Pillars of Herakles were a major geographical landmark for mariners during the first millennium BCE…They were not just the markers of the end of the known world, they were also invested in symbolic significance, immersed in the world of myth for the Mediterranean civilizations of the time.”
— Finlayson C, Gutierrez Lopez JM, Reinoso del Rio MC, Saez Romero AM, Giles Guzman F, Finlayson G, et al. (2021) Where myth and archaeology meet: Discovering the Gorgon Medusa’s Lair. PLoS ONE 16(4): e0249606.
For the ancient Greeks, the cross-section between their familiar Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean was like the fine layer of space before you leave the Earth’s atmosphere. It was a threshold to the alien. What better setting for the Age of Heroes?
Identified as mountains on the sides of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Pillars of Hercules were a noticeable geographic boundary.
Professor Clive Finlayson, a paleoanthropologist from the University of Gibraltar, and his team note that the Pillars of Hercules became the launching ground for many tales of Greek mythology because of the scenic geology. The ancient Greek poet Pindar references them as a boundary that shouldn’t be crossed.
Moreover, its very name is bathed in myth.
The pillars got their name from the Tenth Labor of Hercules, where he stole Geryon's cattle from one of the most western islands of the known world. In some versions of the story, he celebrates his success by building a pillar on each end of the boundary — Europe and Africa.
Homer credits Hercules for making the strait by breaking apart a mountain that once resided there. Oddly, a land bridge once existed here millions of years ago, which dried up the Mediterranean Sea, then broke apart and re-flooded.
The northern pillar is thought to be the Rock of Gibraltar. This is a strategic peninsula in Spain, which juts out into the sea and is occupied by the British Military.
In 1907, British Captain Gorham found a cave accessible only by boat. About forty years later, military engineers found archeological deposits. Finlayson’s group says “Gorham’s Cave” was used “as a natural shrine, between the 8th and 2nd century BC” by mariners. Deep within the cave, twelve ceramic pieces — originally a depiction of a face — were discovered.
According to the researchers, this creation was a “Gorgoneion, a terracotta depicting the face of the Gorgon Medusa.” You’ll notice it looks nothing like the Medusa you’re familiar with. The Archaic Greeks had a different interpretation of her.
The Ancient Medusa
According to Kelly Macquire at the World History Encyclopedia, the term “Gorgon” comes from the Greek γοργός, which means fierce, grim, or terrible. While the name “Medusa” derives from the verb μέδω, which means to protect or guard.
The Greek poet Hesiod, in Theogony, says Medusa and her Gorgon sisters lived at the world’s edge. The hero Perseus was instructed and helped by the gods Hermes and Athena to kill Medusa — the only mortal Gorgon — and return with her head. A look from her could turn the viewer to stone.
Perseus uses the head against adversaries. After his adventure, he gives the head to Athena, who places it on her shield to terrify her enemies.
Macquire says Homer mentions Medusa’s head in his Iliad and Odyssey, initially Greek oral traditions before being written down by the eighth century BC. So, the idea of Medusa’s head and its power were part of ancient Greek culture.
According to Finlayson:
“In her essence Medusa is a head and she acquires her potency, which resides in the head, only after it has been severed from the body. She is in effect a mask with a body appended.”
The anthropologist says the story of Perseus is part of an oral tradition thought to have reached its “current form” by around the eighth or seventh century BC. Before this, the face of Medusa (or mask) was part of a “religion of terror” among Greeks to scare strangers away from sacred places.
Madeleine Glennon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art says Gorgoneia, or depictions of Medusa’s face, were often used as a “decorative motif.” They were a “symbol of power” found on metalworking and vases in Greece's Archaic period, particularly on temples.
The Gorgoneia didn’t depict the Medusa we all know. In Archaic Greece, she was only a monster, not a human that became a monster.
According to Glennon:
“During this time, Medusa is depicted as a monster; she has a round face, wide eyes, a beard, and a gaping mouth with an extended tongue and gnashing, sharp teeth. Medusa remains a popular image on later architectural components, but her form is more specifically human and female. She loses the frightful teeth and beard, but is still recognizable in Classical and Hellenistic examples with her wild hair and confrontational look.”
Also, despite the changes to Medusa, one thing remains consistent. While traditional Greek art depicts characters in profile, this Gorgon is only shown “to face directly out,” and stares right at the viewer. She’s there to scare you.
Finding a gorgoneion far from Greece within a secret cave in this area led Finlayson and colleagues to believe it was significant.
Medusa Guards a Special Area Of Meaning
The ceramic pieces of the gorgoneion were found deep within Gorham’s Cave in front of what Finlayson and colleagues describe as “a small opening that leads to a 35-meter-long unexcavated chamber which is only accessible by crawling through very tight spaces.” Medusa’s original face was huge. It was one foot wide and high and represented an intimidating guardian.
Finlayson says that all the gorgoneia ever found were in the immediate area of Greece (the mainland and local islands, Italy, or Turkey.) Moreover, none were discovered in caves.
Archeologists also found that Gorham’s Cave had been visited since Paleolithic times, and there’s evidence of votive offerings throughout history. Thus, it may have been a sacred place for many ages.
So, a holy cave at the end of their world is noticed by Greek travelers in an area where events from the Age of Heroes are believed to have happened. Further, it’s a region with treacherous waters many Greek poets warn about.
Finlayson observes:
“The inner chamber at Gorham’s Cave clearly had a special significance to the people who stopped there, one associated with mystery and sea travel, and protected by the image of Medusa in the form of a Gorgoneion that could have marked the dedicat’s safe journey to this western, dangerous landmark and conjured her protection.”
This mystical place could have even been the home to the Gorgons, at least in the mind of an ancient Greek. It’s another instance of a place where myth and history converge.
Majestic mountains on the side of a narrow, aggressive sea channel lead to an alien world beyond your homeland, marking the opening of a mysterious cave. It’s just too good. How could myths not grow out of the geology and history here?
One could imagine this entire area having an ethereal quality to someone from the ancient Greek world. It’s the ideal place to set up a special shrine. And if the temple is that important, you’d want to have your most formidable guardian watching it.
Who could be better than Medusa?
-Originally posted on Medium 2/19/24