medusa
2. one of the two forms in which a coelenterate exists. It has a jelly-like umbrella-shaped body, is free swimming, and produces gametes
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Medusa
In Greek mythology, the mortal one of the three Gorgons, who had snakes for hair and whose head was cut off by Perseus to present to Athena as an ornament for her shield.
Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Medusa
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)Medusa, asteroid 149 (the 149th asteroid to be discovered, on September 21, 1875), is approximately 26 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 3.2 years. Medusa was named after the famous Greek woman whose visage could turn men into stone. J. Lee Lehman associates this asteroid with “volcanic” temperaments, although she adds that in small doses, it may add spice to one’s character. Jacob Schwartz gives the astrological significance of Medusa as “the triumph of patriarchal forces over the matriarchal Gorgon Amazons of Lake Triton, or the slaying by Perseus, representing a naval triumph over the Gorgon rulers of the three main Azores islands, thus women of deadly abilities.”
Sources:
Kowal, Charles T. Asteroids: Their Nature and Utilization. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Ellis Horwood Limited, 1988.
Lehman, J. Lee. The Ultimate Asteroid Book. West Chester, PA: Whitford Press, 1988.
Room, Adrian. Dictionary of Astronomical Names. London: Routledge, 1988.
Schwartz, Jacob. Asteroid Name Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.
The Astrology Book, Second Edition © 2003 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.
medusa
[mə′düs·ə] McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Medusa
beheaded by Perseus. [Gk. Myth.: Hall, 206; Rom. Lit.: Metamorphoses]
Medusa
the only mortal Gorgon. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 161]
Medusa
her face was so hideous that any who saw it were turned to stone. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 596]
Medusa
creature with fangs, snake-hair, and protruding tongue. [Gk. Myth.: Hall, 206]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Medusa
in ancient Greek mythology, one of the three Gorgons, winged monsters whose glance turned living beings into stone. Perseus, the hero of the Argos tales, overcame Medusa with the aid of the gods and presented her severed head to Athena, who fastened it to her shield, the aegis.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
