Narrative's victimization of the Priestess of Athens

How many times must you repeat a lie until it becomes your reality?

For Anat, whose entire world was upended by the master of the seas, a lie is all that remains of her legacy.

Better known to the world as Medusa, the menace of greek mythology, Anat is the embodiment of terror; the manifestation of fright. Her gaze had the power to turn one to stone - cast forever into a statue that immortalizes the fear of the grotesque sorceress.

In truth, Medusa was a priestess who was raped by the Sea god, the powerful Poseidon in Athena's temple.Her fellow priestesses, bound by their faith and devotion to the pantheon and once believing that the divine could do no wrong remained faithful to the God. He was drawn to her by the allure of her tresses and for that the patroness of Athens whipped her hide. Her hair was replaced by hissing snakes and her person exiled to the end of the world. She was slain by the applauded Perseus and her head went on to turn his mortal enemy to stone thereby making him triumphant. It is true that history is written by victors. What does this make her? Powerful and petrifying or beautiful and betrayed?

Medusa's story shows society a mirror of it's age old perception of resilient women.

She was punished for standing behind the truth.

But her character is far more than a protagonist of a tragedy or an antihero in folklore. Licensing the dissemination of this despotic mirage betrays a hint of society's proclivities to chauvinism. In doing so, we have condoned the employment of whatever means necessary to veil one's own bestiality; no matter the cost. Her tale, among countless others poses a question that should perturb the conscience. It exposes cracks within society's facade of morality. The Latin adage of "Audi alteram partem" which is a bulwark of modern law speaks to this discrepancy. However, this by no means implies that eons of brainwashing can be undone in a few centuries. The portrayal of Medusa as a villain rather than a victim reflects the power of narrative

In a world where elections are won by moulding narrative and ideologies are legitimized by turning it on it's head, taking control of our stories and shielding the Narrative from falsehoods and perversions is of paramount importance.

Medusa's legacy demands deliberation. She seeks exoneration from the annals of history. She seeks justice and justice she shall receive. She asks and we must answer, "How many times must you repeat a lie until it becomes your reality?"