Medusa she is one of the three Gorgons, daughters of the marine divinities Forco and Ceto. According to the myth, the Gorgons had the power to petrify anyone who met their gaze and, of the three, Medusa was the only one who was not immortal; in most of the versions she is beheaded by Perseus.
The myth tells that Perseus, having received the order to deliver the head of Medusa to Polydette, lord of the island of Serifos, first went to the Graie, sisters of the Gorgons, forcing them to show him the way to reach the Nymphs. From these he received winged sandals, a saddlebag and a helmet that he made invisible: gifts to which were added a mirror from Athena and a sickle from Hermes.
Thus armed, Perseus flew against the Gorgons and, while they were asleep, looking at their image in Athena's divine mirror to avoid being petrified, he cut off Medusa's head and immediately closed it in the Graie bag. From the decapitated trunk of Medusa came, together with the gushes of blood, the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaore, father of Geryon. Coral was formed from the same blood, the work of which is renowned in some areas of Sicily including Sciacca and Trapani.
Places indicated in the IWB register of the Sicily Region (Places of Identity and Memory) - Sector "Places of metamorphosis"
- Banks Corallifero (Prov. Trapani)
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