HILARY FIERCE : A SHORT ODYSSEY

Medusa once had Charms; to gain her Love

A rival Crowd of envious Lovers strove.

They, who have seen her, own, they ne'er did trace

More moving Features in a sweeter Face.

Yet above all, her Length of Hair, they own,

In golden Ringlets wav'd, and graceful shone.

Her Neptune saw, and with such Beauties fir'd,

Resolv'd to compass, what his Soul desir'd.

In chaste Minerva's Fane, he, lustful, stay'd,

And seiz'd, and rifled the young, blushing Maid.

The bashful Goddess turn'd her Eyes away,

Nor durst such bold Impurity survey;

But on the ravish'd Virgin Vengeance takes,

Her shining Hair is chang'd to hissing Snakes.

These in her Aegis Pallas joys to bear,

The hissing Snakes her Foes more sure ensnare,

Than they did Lovers once, when shining Hair.

-Ovid, Metamorphoses, 800 CE

Thousands of years have passed since Medusa`s myth was brought to life. Crossing a myriad of stormy seas and desolate deserts, there is not a single corner of the world her story has not touched. Described as one of the most treacherous and venomous creatures in Greek mythology, her countenance gradually became the paragon of female maleficence, repulsion and seduction as time took its course. It was not until 1978 that Medusa`s mystical beauty and golden ringlets were restored. Inspired by the ancient legends and ruins of his homeland, Gianni Versace not only chose her as the face of his brand, but also sent her conquering the world with a new message: Epitomising strength, magnificence, power and splendour today, she may not be turning men into stone anymore, but enchants those who cross her path and dare to meet her glance.

I had merely heard, yet never witnessed Medusa`s irresistibility with my own eyes; not until I fell victim to her charm this past August. Returning from an archaeological expedition that had taken place in the South of Italy, I was mindlessly sauntering the empty halls of Venice airport and reminiscing about the weeks I had spent excavating in the unforgiving heat of the Sirocco, when I noticed someone staring at me. Confused and hesitant, I turned around, only to find myself gasping at the sight of her golden radiance that contrasted Versace`s dimmed lights and darkened interior. Gracefully adorning the front of a coal-black backpack, she did not say a word - of course - as I stepped closer to admire her, but I could sense what she would have asked of me had she been able to speak. Enchanted by her elegance and allure, I decided to release Medusa from her luxurious, crystalline prison. Grateful for her reclaimed freedom, she became my trusted travel companion as I continued my journey. Enthused by what the Greeks had described long before our time, we set off on our own little Odyssey and voyaged from Italy to England, from England to Switzerland and from Switzerland to Italy anew...until we reached the glistening, salty shores of Southern France.