Medusa & Athena | Athena & Poseidon | Greek Mythology for Kids | Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses

Summary

The script tells the tale of Medusa, a beautiful maiden in Athens who was cursed by Athena for her vanity, transforming her into a monster with snakes for hair. It also recounts a contest between Athena and Poseidon over a coastal village, where Athena's gift of an olive tree won the villagers' favor, leading to the city being named Athens.

Takeaways

• 🧝‍♀️ The story begins with Medusa, a maiden renowned for her beauty in Athens, Greece.
• 🦄 Medusa's vanity was her downfall; she was so proud of her beauty that she constantly boasted about it.
• 🪞 Medusa's obsession with her reflection led to her neglecting her duties, such as fetching water for her father's horses.
• 🏛 During a visit to the Parthenon, Medusa's pride led her to compare herself unfavorably to Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
• 🗣️ Medusa's arrogance angered Athena, who punished her by transforming her into a hideous monster with snakes for hair.
• 🔮 Athena's curse also included a reflection that would turn anyone who saw Medusa's face into stone.
• 🐍 Medusa was then sent to live with the Gorgon sisters, away from the sight of innocent people.
• 🌊 The narrative shifts to discuss the gods of Ancient Greece, highlighting the power and influence of Poseidon, the lord of the sea.
• 🏞️ A new coastal village becomes the subject of a contest between Athena and Poseidon, as both claim it as their own.
• 🎁 The contest involved the gods providing gifts to the village; Poseidon gave a stream, but it was saltwater, while Athena gave an olive tree, which was very beneficial to the villagers.
• 🏆 Athena won the contest due to the usefulness of her gift, and the village was named Athens in her honor.

Q & A

Who was Medusa and where did she live?

Medusa was a beautiful maiden who lived in the city of Athens, in the country of Greece.

What was Medusa's attitude towards her own beauty?

Medusa was very proud of her beauty, often boasting about it and admiring herself in mirrors and reflections.

What significant event happened when Medusa visited the Parthenon?

Medusa made comments comparing her beauty to Athena's, which angered the goddess and resulted in Athena turning Medusa into a hideous monster with snakes for hair.

What was the consequence of Athena's curse on Medusa?

Medusa was turned into a monster and was sent to live with the Gorgons at the ends of the earth, so that her reflection would not accidentally turn others to stone.

What was the relationship between Athena and Poseidon in the context of the new coastal village?

Both Athena and Poseidon claimed the new coastal village as their own, leading to a contest where each would give a gift to the village to determine which god would be the guardian.

What gifts did Athena and Poseidon give to the coastal village during their contest?

Poseidon gave a stream, which turned out to be of salt water, and Athena gave an olive tree, which provided multiple benefits to the villagers.

Why did the villagers not want to choose between Athena and Poseidon?

The villagers feared the consequences of angering either god and did not want to risk the wrath of the Lord of the Sea, Poseidon.

What was the outcome of the contest between Athena and Poseidon?

Poseidon conceded the contest to Athena, acknowledging that her gift was more useful to the villagers, and Athena became the guardian of the village.

What was the significance of the olive tree gift from Athena?

The olive tree was significant as it provided the villagers with wood for building, branches for kindling, and olives for food and oil, contributing to their livelihood.

How did the village honor Athena after she became their guardian?

In honor of Athena becoming their guardian, the villagers named their village Athens.

Outlines

00:00

🧝‍♀️ The Pride of Medusa

This paragraph tells the tale of Medusa, a maiden renowned for her beauty in Athens, Greece. Medusa's vanity and constant self-admiration led her to boast of her looks, even comparing herself to the goddess Athena at the Parthenon. Her pride angered Athena, who punished Medusa by transforming her into a monstrous creature with snakes for hair. Athena's curse ensured that anyone who gazed upon Medusa would be turned to stone, and she was banished to live with the Gorgon sisters, serving as a cautionary tale about the dangers of excessive pride.

05:41

🏛 The Contest for Athens

In ancient Greece, the gods often watched over towns, with Poseidon favoring coastal settlements due to his domain over the sea. A dispute arose when both Athena and Poseidon claimed a new coastal village. To resolve the issue, Athena proposed a contest where each god would offer a gift to the villagers. Poseidon created a stream, but it turned out to be saltwater, making it useless. Athena, on the other hand, brought forth an olive tree, which provided multiple benefits to the villagers. Despite the clear advantage of Athena's gift, the villagers feared angering Poseidon. However, Poseidon's reaction to the contest's outcome led him to concede the village to Athena, who became the guardian of what would later be known as Athens.

Highlights

Once upon a time, a beautiful maiden named Medusa lived in Athens, Greece.

Medusa was considered the most lovely in the city, but was very proud of her beauty.

Medusa boasted about her beauty and admired herself in mirrors and reflections.

Medusa's first visit to the Parthenon led to her downfall.

At the Parthenon, Medusa claimed she would make a better subject for sculptures than Athena.

Medusa thought the temple's beauty was wasted on Athena and suggested a temple for her own beauty.

Athena appeared in Medusa's reflection and punished her for her vanity.

Athena turned Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair as a lesson in humility.

Medusa was sent to live with the Gorgon sisters at the ends of the earth.

In Ancient Greece, towns rarely had more than one God to watch over them.

Poseidon and Athena both claimed a new coastal village and challenged each other in a contest.

Poseidon created a stream, but it was salty and not useful.

Athena created an olive tree, providing multiple benefits to the villagers.

The villagers did not have to choose between Athena and Poseidon as Poseidon conceded.

Athena became the guardian of the village, which was named Athens in her honor.

Transcripts

once upon a time a long time ago there  lived a beautiful maiden named Medusa

Medusa lived in the city of Athens in a country named Greece

and although there were many pretty girls in the city

Medusa was considered the most lovely

unfortunately, Medusa was very proud of  her beauty and thought or spoke of little else

each day she boasted of how pretty she was  and each day her boasts became more outrageous

Madusa would gaze lovingly at her reflection in the mirror

she admired herself in her hand mirror  for an hour each morning and evening

she even stopped to admire herself in the well

each afternoon as she drew water for her father's horses

often forgetting to fetch the water in her distraction

on and on Medusa went about her beauty

to anyone and everyone who stopped long enough to hear her

until one day when she made her first  visit to the Parthenon with her friends

the Parthenon was the largest temple  to the goddess Athena in all the land

it was decorated with amazing sculptures and paintings

everyone who entered was awed by the beauty of the place and couldn't help but think of how grateful they were to Athena

goddess of wisdom for inspiring them and watching over their city of Athens

everyone that is except Medusa

when Medusa saw the sculptures she whispered that she would have made a much better subject for the sculpture than Athena

when Medusa saw the artwork she commented  that the artist had done a fine job

but imagine how much more wonderful the painting would be if it was of Medusa

when Medusa reached the altar she sighed happily and said

my, this is a beautiful temple

it is a shame it was wasted on Athena for I am so much prettier than she is

perhaps someday people will build an even grander temple to my beauty

Medusa's friends grew pale whispers ran through all the people in the temple

who quickly began to leave for everyone knew that Athena enjoyed watching over the people of Athens

and feared what might happen if the goddess had overheard

before long the temple was empty of everyone  except Medusa who was so busy gazing

proudly at her reflection in the large bronze doors  that she hadn't noticed the swift departure of everyone else

the image was gazing at wavered  and suddenly instead of her own features

it was the face of Athena that Medusa saw reflected back at her

vain and foolish girl Athena said angrily you  think you are prettier than I am I doubt it to be true

but even if it were there is more to life  than beauty alone while others work and play

and learn you do little but boast and admire yourself

Medusa tried to point out that her beauty was an inspiration to those around her

and that she made their lives better by simply looking so lovely

but Athena silenced her with a frustrated wave

nonsense Athena retorted

beauty fades swiftly in all mortals

it does not comfort the sick teach  the unskilled or feed the hungry

and by my power, your loveliness shall be stripped away completely

your fate shall serve as a reminder to others to control their pride

and with those words Medusa's  face changed to that of a hideous monster

her hair twisted and thickened into horrible snakes  that hissed and fought each other atop her head

even you Medusa should you seek your reflection  she'll turn to rock the instant you see your face

and with that Athena sent Medusa with her hair of snakes

to live with the blind monsters the Gorgon  sisters at the ends of the earth

so that no innocence would be accidentally  turned to stone at the sight of her

this story goes town in Ancient Greece hoped  would choose to look after the townspeople

towns rarely had more than one God to  keep an eye on their best interests  

because most gods did not share well

at this time in history, not every village had a God

things were just getting started in Ancient Greece

Poseidon loved watching over towns he usually picked coastal towns since he was the lord of the sea

Poseidon was a very powerful God, he was a moody fellow too

he liked having people build temples  in his honor and bring him gifts

they were not very useful gifts for a god of  the sea but he enjoyed getting them anyway

as Greece grew and developed  new towns sprang up all the time  

Poseidon was always on the outlook for new coastal towns

he was not the only God who loved to be in charge  

Athena along with other gods enjoyed that role as well

one day on the same day both Athena and Poseidon noticed a new coastal village

they both claimed the village as their own

most of the time humans were grateful when they  were selected to be under the care of the God

but two gods that was one too many Poseidon wanted  the townspeople to choose which God they wanted  

himself or his niece Athena but the people did not  want to choose they could only see trouble ahead if they did

Athena goddess of wisdom daughter  of Zeus understood their worry

she challenged her uncle Poseidon to a contest both gods would give the town a gift the townspeople could decide

which gift was the more useful

Poseidon laughed in his mighty laugh and accepted her challenge

he slapped his spector against  the side of the mountain

a stream appeared the people were excited  a source of fresh water was so important

but when they tried to drink the water they discovered it was not fresh at all it was salt water

Athena waved her arm and an olive tree appeared

the people nibbled at the olives they  were delicious the people were excited

the olive tree would provide wood for building homes

branches would provide kindling  for kitchen stoves and fireplaces

the olives could be used for food the fruit could  be pressed to release cooking oil it was wonderful

but there's was a coastal village the people  could not risk angering the Lord of the sea

the mighty Poseidon as it turned out they did not  have to choose Poseidon chose for them his laughs

sent waves crashing against the shoreline  Poseidon proclaimed his niece the winner

that's how a small village gained a most powerful  and wise Guardian the goddess Athena a guardian  

who helped them rise to fame in her  honor they named their village Athens