Medusathena

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Medusathena
Art by @pipertism on Twitter
GENERAL
Camp Half-Blood Chronicles
Stray Gods
Character	Medusa
Character	Athena
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Enemies (generally)
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Femslash
Also Known As	Athedusa, Meduthena, Methena

2

Medusathena is the femslash ship between Medusa and Athena that is present in multiple fandoms, including Camp Half-Blood Chronicles.

Canon

Mythology

In early Greek mythology, Medusa was born a gorgon with no connection to Athena. Though later versions of the story instead have Medusa start out as a human until Athena transforms her into a gorgon. This version of the Medusa's origin comes from the Roman poet Ovid in Metamorphoses. In Ovid's telling, Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden. She caught the eye of Neptune (the Roman equivalent of Poseidon), who raped her in the temple of Minerva (the Roman equivalent of Athena). Minerva transformed Medusa's hair into hideous snakes. Modern sources assume that Medusa was a priestess of Athena since the event happened in Athena's temple, adding another layer of tragedy to Medusa's backstory.

Perseus gives Medusa's head to Athena.

Athena played a major role in Medusa's death by assisting Perseus, a Greek hero tasked to obtain Medusa's head. Athena gave Perseus a reflective shield so that he could look at Medusa without being petrified. When Perseus found the Gorgon sisters, Athena guided his hand so that his blade cut off Medusa's head cleanly. According to Apollodorus, Medusa was beheaded because she compared her beauty to Athena's. Perseus gave Medusa's head to Athena, and she placed it in the center of her shield.

Camp Half-Blood Chronicles

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (TV series)

“Athena was everything to me.”

— Medusa, Episode 3

Before her transformation, Medusa dedicated her life to worshiping Athena. The goddess never answered, yet Medusa was content to worship in silence for the rest of her life. Until one day, Poseidon had come and told Medusa that he loved her, making her feel seen in a way Athena never had. Athena declared that Medusa had embarrassed her and deserved to be punished — so, she cursed Medusa to never be seen by anyone who would live to tell the tale.

Years later, Medusa encountered Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon, and Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena. Medusa compares herself to Annabeth, who is dedicated to Athena as much as Medusa once was. She tells them her story, hoping to show Annabeth that her mother is not as righteous as she believes her to be. Annabeth disagrees with Medusa's assertion on her mother, disappointing Medusa. At the end of their conflict, Percy cuts Medusa's head off and mails it to Olympus. Athena was embarrassed to receive Medusa's head and angry that her daughter was impertinent enough to allow such a thing, so she did not give the group protection when they entered her temple.

Fanon

Most discussions about Medusa and Athena's relationship pertain to Ovid's telling of Medusa's origins, particularly about female solidarity. As Athena punished Medusa for the rape, rather than her perpetrator Poseidon, Athena is often perceived as a victim-blamer. A potential explanation that people bring up is that Athena didn't punish Poseidon because she cannot punish a fellow Olympian god. There is also a popular interpretation that Athena was trying to protect Medusa by making it so no man could ever hurt her again. Through this interpretation, some have found Medusa and Athena to be an appealing ship, though it is a rarepair.

In the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles fandom, Medusathena is also bit of a rarepair. It gained popularity after the third episode of the TV series, which expanded on Medusa's feelings on Athena more than the books did. Because Medusa used to be so dedicated to Athena, even saying that she loved her, many interpreted her feelings to have been romantic love.

It is a rival ship of Athenike and Pallas Athena, two ships which clearly portray Athena having strong female friendships with potential homoerotic subtext, contrary to Minerva's rather ambiguous relationship with Medusa,

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Athena/Medusa tag on AO3

Athena & Medusa tag on AO3

Athena/Medusa (Stray Gods) tag on AO3

Athena & Medusa (Stray Gods) tag on AO3

TUMBLR

Medusathena tag on Tumblr