Stone Blind

Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of immortal Gorgons, the only sister who feels pain and grows older. When Poseidon assaults her in the temple of Athena, the goddess takes her revenge not on the god but on his victim, giving Medusa serpents for hair and a gaze that turns any living creature to stone. Haynes tells the story through a shifting chorus of gods, mortals, and objects, following Medusa's ruin alongside the young hero Perseus who is sent to claim her head. A classicist and broadcaster, Haynes reframes one of the oldest stories of a woman blamed for the violence done to her, threading dry wit through the tragedy.