Who Am I

Who Am I?1

Being a gorgon woman of sovereign wisdom and antiquity, I must keep my  face hidden from all those who would look upon me, for I behold the unblinking eyes of wisdom that can turn a man to stone. I am all knowing and all seeing, penetrating through the abyss of  truth. I am known as the mistress of the beasts and mediator between the realms of heaven, earth, and the underworld. 2

Birds perch on my head from the sky above regenerating my energy as snakes coil around my arms and legs. They entwine in my hair and whisper in my ears as immortality perpetually shed my skin during life and after death. Upon my back rest wings of freedom and my feet are defensive claws of justification. 3

I originated from Lybia and was later accepted into Greece, where my complexity was defiled during the 6th century, until one day I was beheaded by Perseus to silence all female wisdom and expression, my body broken and enslaved, my spirit and mind diminished as male order had taken control, taken over the cycle of life and nature with the birth of Apollo who represents contemporary male interests, forcing women to conform to male-serving roles. 4

Women of this era and the woman of generations that followed, were forced to conform to mans singular dimensional perspective of life which diminished the female morale forces and the dynamic values of ancient cultures that pre-dated the Olympian gods.5