Customer Reviews

Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon

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Stephen Wilk has written one of the great detective stories of our time. He has taken a mystery-where did the Medusa come from-and, through careful examination of history, astronomy, and mythology, he has solved a mystery that has been around for centuries.
And he is entertaining to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed the book from cover to cover.
What could have been a deadly, dull story, is instead an exciting ride through the centuries with stops along the way in various areas such as science fiction and modern feminism.
Medusa is well worth the read not only for scholars and historians but also for anyone interested in good mystery.

The description on the jacket of this book reads, "Wilk offers startling new interpretations of the myth and meaning of the Medusa." This sounds like typical marketing speak, but Wilk makes good on that claim. His book presents very original ideas on the origin of the Perseus/Medusa myth and its legacy, taking into account optics, physiology, classical literature and culture, astronomy, comic books, cinema, and parallels from myths around the world. Yet Wilk presents his ideas as a (frequently humorous) conversation, not as a dry dissertation. You don't have to be a classics scholar to read and enjoy this book, though you'll feel like one when you put it down. The only problem is that Wilk may be too much of a polymath-his digressions, for all their charm, really pile up. Still, very clever and well worth it. For additional reading, I'd recommend a beautiful book called The Perseus Series, on Burne-Jones' paintings of the Perseus myth, published by the Southampton City Art Gallery.

I had great fun reading this book. Wilk explains many of the features of the Greek myths associated with the Gorgons and shows why they appear worldwide. I appreciate his very broad coverage of all aspects of the myth. Even more, I appreciate his simple and practical answers which ring true. Wilk does not present his explanations as having been "proven", but this is refreshing and realistic since there will now never be sufficient data from the ancient past to prove anything. Certainly, his answers are better supported than all of the previous claims, some of which used to make me chuckle even though I knew of nothing to replace them. Wilk avoids the seductive trap of trying to explain all the details with some grand "Theory of Everything", instead pulling his persuasive and original ideas from astronomy, ornithology, architecture, and forensic medicine. His work provides a detailed case study of how myths evolve and are reinvented to suit new purposes. I strongly recommend this new book to anyone interested in the topic of myths.

I will start of saying that I am writing this review from the perspective of a feminist witch. I address this review mainly to other witches.Why is this book flawed? Wilk explains every aspect of Medusa's myth using "cultural materialism" as his strategy. this theory states that "people's actions and belief systems are determinded by the physical realities of their existence rather than the other way around" sure this sounds logical--but it leaves out the possiblity of spiritual mystery.Wilk explains away every aspect of the Gorgon Medusa with out any regard for spirituality or religion. So why do I think this is an important book? Because as hard as he tries, the author does not take away the Mystery of Medusa for me.I a word were there are precious few books on Medusa and the Gorgons, this book provides many things to think about. He aquates the Perseus myth with varibal stars and their positions in the constilations. He shares information on Medusa in the movies and in Feminist writings. There is just a lot of wonderful stuff in here despite the attitude of the author that dismisses a spiritual reason for the Gorgons.Wilks chapter on the real origin of the Gorgoneon is a big shocker, and I won't ruin the surprise for you hear. But I just want to say one thing "Oh yeah? what about the fangs?"So while this is not a book taylored for the feminst witch, I still think it is important to read. Get a used copy if you can because i don't think I would have liked it as much if i paid full price.