#sthenno

it’s Medusa’s life before her death and its slice of life.

that’s it.

no big conflict pre-Perseus, no UwUifing & / or victimising Snake Lady, or demonising her family.

Just little dumb moments like Medusa, Euryalê & Sthennô cracking up at each other’s crude / evil jokes / being three terrifying Disney Villain-type sisters, spending some quality time with their parents who r very proud of their horrible monstrous girls, Medusa & her Monsterfucker bf Poseidon (not Ovid’s version) being freak4freak with each other, rolling around in that meadow and ruining the soil with their graphic canoodling/j, you get the idea.

Medusa then finding out she’s pregnant and her sisters teasing her about it profusely (“*loud hiss-cackling* weren’t too careful with that Sea God lover of yours were you?~” “*growl-groan* OH SHUT IT”).

and then her death…BUT-

it’s portrayed comedicish with her sisters walking in on her corpse at the sound of her head being sliced like: “sister don’t tell us you’ve started wetting the bed alre-

*babe Pegasus + Khrysaor on the floor next to Medusa’s body like

👁️👁️ 👁️👁️*

*Perseus with his back turned looking pants shittingly TERRIFIED*

“…wh- WHAT IN THE FUCKING—“

btw NO PERSEUS SLANDER WILL BE TOLERATED‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Pindar, Pythian Ode 12. 8 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.)

The art that long ago Pallas Athene invented [the flute], weaving in music's rich refrain the ghoulish dirge of the fierce-hearted Gorgones (Gorgons). This in their anguished struggle from those dread maiden's lips was heard streaming, and from those writhing serpent heads untouchable [...] when the goddess maid delivered from these labours the man she loved, then she contrived the manifold melodies of the flute, to make in music's notes an image of the shrill lamenting cries, strung from Euryale's ravening jaws. A goddess found, but finding, gave the strain to mortal men to hold, naming it the tune of many heads.

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 40. 227 ff :

"The double Berekyntian (Berecynthian) pipes in the mouth of Kleokhos (Cleochus) droned a gruesome Libyan lament, one which long ago both Sthenno and Euryale with one many-throated voice sounded hissing and weeping over Medousa (Medusa) newly gashed, while their snakes gave out voice from two hundred heads, and from the lamentations of their curling and hissing hairs they uttered the ‘manyheaded dirge of Medousa."