Athena's Child (The Grecian Women Trilogy)

by Hannah M. Lynn

Men didn’t need gods, Medusa mused, they just needed somebody, anybody, to guide them in their lives.

‘Why is it that women are viewed as unstable? Women hold knives more often in the day than men ever do, yet it is not women who stab their husbands to death when they fear adultery. Women gather in clusters with friendships stronger than steel, yet it is not women who beat their husbands to the ground in gangs when a hint of wrong-doing echoes in the air. It is not women who require lover after lover, then make promises of love which they recant when darker hair and deeper eyes are cast in our direction. Time and time again, we are called out as the emotional ones, the irrational ones. Women don’t get drunk like men and hurl insults at strangers or throw rocks in protests. Women use words and reason where men use fists and force. So why are we always second? Why is that my goddess? Why are we always second?’

When faced with a monster, who ever looked to see beyond the teeth and talons?

‘You wish me to question those who never questioned me. Or you. Trust does not require answers, Perseus. Trust requires acceptance.’

‘Gods do not pay the price for their wrongdoings, Perseus. Mortals do. The gods, like the rich of the world, push their agendas onto those whose voices are not loud enough to speak for themselves. The women. The weak. The unwanted. And no one shouts for those who need it the most. Why would they? To shout for another is to risk losing something yourself. And man cannot see beyond the depth of his own reflection.’

So, Perseus stayed silent. That night and every night that followed. Years passed, and Perseus went on to become one of Greece’s greatest heroes, held in such high esteem for his feats. Meanwhile, Medusa’s truth was lost, and all that remained was the story of monsters and heroes, though the world would never truly know which was which.