"Medusa" COPPER Round

I have heard stories about how the deity of the Judaic people first created a wife for their Adam figure who was named Lilith. She refused to submit to Adam, but wished, instead, to be his equal. Subsequently, another wife was created for Adam named Eve, and she submitted. Lilith left the scene at that point.

Then, we fast-forward to another strong female figure, that of Medusa in the lore of ancient Greece.

Even the head of Medusa is depicted as a writing mass of live, poisonous snakes instead of hair. It seems to be a common and sad theme in history that strong, independent women are denigrated and branded as either evil, or monsters, by the patriarchy. Although I am not a trained historian, I strongly suspect that is the very reason why the Gorgon named Medusa who, along with her sisters Stheno and Euryale, was described as monsters whose gaze could turn men to stone.

Seriously, is that what some men think of strong women, that gazing at us will turn them to stone? I would think that would only be true for the weakest of men, those who are so insecure in their own masculinity that they feel threatened by independent women.

So, as other women before me have embraced the symbolism of Medusa, taking her back from the patriarchy, I chose this copper round and proudly added it to my collection in honor of all women and the power we possess. And, I think she is beautiful.

The reverse of the round features an owl, a symbol of the goddess Athena, who appears emblematic in the Medusa story (which I will leave to the reader to pursue at the link) clutching three arrows in its talons. Below and to the right are the words: "1 OUNCE AVDP .999 COPPER" (copper is measured in avoirdupois ounces, rather than Troy ounces).

One thing that made me chuckle while reading about Medusa is this:

According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on an island named Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. ^[2]

And when I diverted to the article on Cisthene, I learned that it was a town in ancient history known for its copper mines and here we have some fine Medusan copper! 😁