Rise of the Gorgon Queen
Now part of the complete mythical retellings collection, We Are the Fall.
She lay broken upon the temple floor,
A vessel of pity, a token of shame.
“Grant me power,” she wept to the heavens,
“Grant me vengeance; grant me flame.
Let me sow a savage curse
Upon the race of men.”
Let all who see me
Shrink in fear.
Let those who mean to harm
Turn their hearts
To putrid stone —
And let the world fall calm.
Athena gazed down at the woman,
Broken beneath his shame,
And granted her the strength
To never feel that way again.
“Rise, my child,”
The goddess whispered.
“You shall be my prize —
My warrior, my Gorgon Queen,
With the reaper in her eyes.”
Author’s Note
In the most famous and widespread telling of the myth, Medusa was a beautiful maiden who was assaulted in Athena’s temple. Enraged by the desecration of her sacred space, Athena transformed Medusa into a monster, her hair a writhing mass of serpents, her gaze capable of turning men to stone. It is a story heavy with injustice, where the victim is punished and the gods remain distant.
This retelling reimagines the myth:
Here, Medusa does not become a monster out of spite but is empowered by Athena herself. No longer a victim cast aside, Medusa rises as a force of retribution — fierce, divine, and unbroken. Athena, rather than condemning her, becomes her ally, granting her the power to ensure she is never harmed again.
This poem is now part of the entire collection, We Are the Fall. Experience 26 mythical women’s stories retold in lyrical verse. Because even mythical women deserve to have their voice heard.
