#phorcys

this was fun ask, i had a blast with these <3 minus Eurybia, didnt get idea for her at all. Little too vague figure.

(In GOtv) Nereus and Doris were first driven from the Golden Palace when domains were divided between the Olympians. Later, after Amfi married Poseidon, they returned to the Palace with all of their children. Thaumas lives at the Palace too with his wife. Ceto and Phorcys chill somewhere deep in the vast sea - both have sea floor tied creatures as inspiration.

I also think the interpretation of Medusas curse in Ovid, and how it can be seen as a metaphor for isolation, can be combined with the older version of Medusa. Even before her pursuit of fame, she may have already felt isolated simply for being a monster, separated from both gods and humans. As a child, Medusa might have asked her parents, Phorcys and Ceto, why she couldnt live freely like others. They would have explained that its because they are different and hated for being monsters. They would especially warn her to be careful, since she is mortal and could be harmed, which made her somewhat isolated from society and shaped by her parents overprotectiveness.

When Medusa achieves her fame, something changes. Her parents become afraid of her. They know that monstrous behavior is normal for creatures like them, but Medusa is so successful, so extreme, that even they are frightened. They still try to support her and love her, because she is their daughter, the youngest one, but the situation becomes awkward. Medusa is shocked and devastated when she realizes her parents fear her, she knows she is a feared monster, but she thought she was simply doing what a monster is supposed to do, being the best, most feared, most “perfectly” cruel monster. But if even her parents are afraid, then something must be wrong.

I think Medusa always wanted to make her parents happy and earn their approval. She always wanted to prove herself to them. Maybe she felt like a burden because she was mortal, so she wanted to show them that she could also be strong,that she could destroy anyone who tried to harm her, so they wouldnt have to worry about her all the time, and that she could be a monster just like them. She believed that becoming a “true monster” would make them proud. But now that her parents see her as a monster in a negative way, it starts to affect her. The opinions of others begin to hurt her too, since it reminds her of what her parents (probably, whether yes or no) think of her.

“[…] on his shield was engraved the Gorgon's head; for that cruel goddess derived her birth and beginning from Calpe. Phorcys pressed forward, proud of his ancient race and descent from Medusa, the monster who turned men to stone.”- Silius Italicus, Punica (1st century, Roman epic poem)

I find it fascinating that here Medusa, despite being mortal, is described as a goddess. The exact word is ‘deae’ (line 175), genitive singular form of the word dea (of the goddess).

"Medusa and Poseidon are set to wed each other before the season’s end, but nothing is going right."

HUH?!

I know that Amphitrite wasn't a very popular character, but that doesn't mean retellings can just keep pretending she doesn't exist!

"Mia is still learning to live with the curse that once belonged to Medusa—the power to reveal truth so merciless it can turn the world to stone."

"A story you could point at to keep men's appetites and women's ambitions contained."

"For centuries, I used one girl's pain as a warning label on other people's daughters. I turned an innocent into a monster in the public record and then used that monster to keep order."

Athena what are you talking about?....

"She turns the world into stone when the world refuses to witness what was done to her."

So that's a rip-off of Medusa from Reboot Charmed

"It forces whoever looks into it to see themselves as they are, without the stories they've wrapped themselves in for protection."

That sounds dumb, not profound

"This book is best for anyone who needs correct historical information on great women."

This will be terrible

WTF is Margaret Thatcher doing here!?

I had to search for the meme, it was perfect for this occasion

"Medusa, the goddess of Greek mythology, has been and continues to be a symbol of feminine power and radiance."

Medusa's story in general encourages women to get closer to "her sexuality, to her womanly character, allowing her access to her natural strength."

That's... not true

"Medusa the only mortal of the trio, unwisely got seduced by Poseidon and had sex with him in Athena’s temple, this enraged Athena, she cursed Medusa then had her killed..."

That's a little different I guess

Phorcys and Ceto are aliens because reasons

Stheno visited Jerusalem under the name Lucinda, talked with Jesus and then the christian God said she and her sister are now protectors of the innocent (?)

This has 724 pages

"Through rich mythological storytelling and powerful guided meditations, this book helps you reclaim Medusa’s gifts for yourself."

I don't want her "gifts"

She's described as wearing white clothes because fml

The temple also works as a women's shelter

In two occasions Medusa says "Athena I'm yours", and I just rolled my eyes

I'm supposed to believe that during a greek festival, men would dress in white chitons

Her mother and father are normal mortals here. Her sisters were mentioned twice in the sample

She's treated as having the gift of prophecy or something like that when it was just alerting about sea currents 😑

"Athena's girls are not chosen only for plainness."

It was the total opposite...

They were pretty, rich girls looking for a husband

"To serve Athena was to serve wisdom itself, to dwell in the heart of the city's strength, to give one's life to something far greater than oneself."

"And yet, in the years since, Medusa had come to see that the temple was more than even devotion. It was power. [...] It was the the sacred feminine in its purest form—unyielding, unwavering, radiant with authority that no man could diminish."

I can't take it seriously

"Some days she trained novices. She taught them the difference between obedience and devotion. One can be compelled; the other must be chosen with the whole of the heart."

So I was looking through Phorcys Topostext page to learn more about him, which proved to be difficult since he’s mixed up with Phorcys son of Phaenops, that’s just inconvenient, but then I found the Latin poem Punica, which is based on the Second Punic War (Hannibal fanfiction basically) the Wikipedia page mixed up Phorcys and Proteus which is also annoying but then we meet this new Phorcys who isn’t Medusa’s father but… descendant???? And he’s proud to be her descendant??? And not only that but in the two translations I’ve come across she’s referred to as a goddess???

So we have oc daughter of Medusa getting involved with a male gorgon who's probably a oc son of Stheno or Euryale

The title is Medusa's Monks & Maidens - Canto One

This has 437 pages..... 💀

The start already sounds obnoxious but it get's worse.

"To be held within your gaze is not a curse, but a release, from all the feeting, mortal pangs, a moment of sweet peace."

Holy sh*t. The writer Sean is really claiming that dying is a sweet release from pain....

In this story she's a priestess, she wasn't a victim of SA but she's transformed into a gorgon as a form of freedom?

Don't think Pegasus was described as a white horse and kinda hate how this is being used to force some idea of Medusa's purity

Dusa Gordon was the best you could think of?

"Beautiful is the word I'm called more than my name. My sisters hate it—hate me for it."

What's with the mini trope of making her sisters be bad to her?

"How my goddess would punish me if she discovered my attraction to the god of the sea. She tries to hide her feelings for Poseidon, but I know the truth. I know she seeks his favor,"

.....

I hate that

And the 3 gorgon sisters work as priestesses 😑

"Those who lie become stone, those who accept the truth remain alive—and changed forever."

That's not how that worked

Translation:

You wouldn't believe on how stupid this Alexander is

Poseidon having white hair feels wrong

Athena cursing someone for insulting her weight is accurate I guess

Read these two pages and be aware: this Alex is in the Underworld and minutes prior he stole the boat of Charon. And still, somehow, this guy refused to believe that a woman who appeared out of nowhere behind him, has grey eyes, holding a spear and helmet, who calls herself Athena Parthenos could be an actual goddess!?

He called Athena a "psychotic bitch" and "sick little monkey" while he was imprisoned at her mercy. Really difficult to feel sorry for him

Somehow he doesn't know the myth of Prometheus

"This is completely unfair! You'd torture me because I didn't know who you were?"

She said her name. Twice. You were too arrogant to take her alert seriously

In the book he’s an abusive father hellbent on getting his daughters into a beneficial marriage, but here’s the thing: aside from Echidna… not a single daughter of Phorcys is married, and he has lots of daughters! The sirens, the Hesperides, the graiai, Scylla, Thoosa and of course the Gorgons. Not. A . Single. One. I mean hell, a lot of them live with their sisters and most of them don’t even have affairs. So how does a writer look at this and think “oh this random obscure figure who has very few written sources talking about his relationship with his daughters was DEFINITELY an abuser bc all men back then were evil and bad” I’ve talked before about Phorcys resurrecting Scylla but there’s also a rationalization by Palaephatus, On Unbelievable Things (bc he’s always at the scene of the crime lol) where Phorcys is a mortal king and he leaves his kingdom to his 3 unmarried daughters, does that sound like an abusive misogynistic father?

Looks like putting Medusa with gargoyles has some public appeal

Weirdly enough, I like that the dynamic is treated as lust in the start instead of pretending it was love. But why they're falling in love right after sex?

What the fuck you done to Ceto?

She barely has presence in myth but somehow you decided she needed to have the tragic backstory of a woman being abused by a family member?

Ceto has some kind of slave collar to alert when Phorcys is calling for her

The first few pages is of Lamia and Ceto being attacked by mermaid hunters

Aaand we discover that Ceto is also being tormented by Aphros, who's an actual sea deity

There's also this ridiculous prophecy that a mermaid princess would be the sex object(I refuse to say concubine) to the Sea Dragons. These things are Shifters who live in the Atlantic Ocean and vowed to rip apart any mermaid who entered their territory

The gargoyles who rescue her are named Steven, Clark, Max and Arthur. These are the whitest male names ever

JUST LET CERBERUS REMAIN A DOG!!

So not only Cerberus has a human form but also is a woman who's also the daughter of Hades?!

@sarafangirlart sexualized Cerberus again, different gender