{"product_id":"medusa-rug","title":"Medusa (Stone Gaze) Rug","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eEach rug is handcrafted to order. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis \u003cstrong\u003e27.5 x 29.5 acrylic \u003c\/strong\u003erug is handcrafted and inspired by Medusa, one of the most misunderstood beings from ancient history all the way to pop culture. While most of us just remember her as a woman with snakes for hair, her story was deeper than that. Her story was about transformation by tragedy. Medusa is a reminder that sometimes the monsters in our stories were once people whose stories were never fully able to be told. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShort Story\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo most of us, we imagine a monster with snakes for hair that will turn you into stone when the name Medusa is mentioned. In the oldest Greek myths, Medusa was born with three Gorgon sisters, but unlike her sisters, she was a mortal. As time passed, another version of Medusa’s story formed. In this one, Medusa was once a beautiful priestess in servitude to the goddess Athena until the day Poseidon desired her and violated her in Athena’s Temple. Athena’s temple was a sacred place meant for virgins only. When Athena found out what had happened, she was either unable or unwilling to punish Poseidon and instead turned Medusa into a gorgon and sent her to the island, Hesperides. Her hair became snakes and her face became so terrifying that anyone who looked at her would turn into stone. She later died at the hands of Perseus with the help of Athena.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInspiration\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMedusa became a monster because of something done to her. An ancient depiction of society creating something that it claims to fear. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e  The snakes are important; throughout the ancient world, they often represented wisdom, rebirth, transformation, and hidden knowledge. A snake sheds its skin and becomes something new. In that sense, Medusa represents a person who is changed forever by an experience never able to go back to what they once were.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cb id=\"docs-internal-guid-896cccd5-7fff-6636-051a-2868c3bec663\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Current Ancestors ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41158257770568,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0577\/6546\/2088\/files\/Medusa.png?v=1783460077","url":"https:\/\/currentancestors.com\/products\/medusa-rug","provider":"Current Ancestors ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}