Medusa was not always a monster however, she was originally a ravishingly beautiful maiden, "the jealous aspiration of many suitors," priestess in Athena's temple, but when she was caught being raped by the "Lord of the Sea" Poseidon in Athena's temple, the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. According to legend Medusa's powers functioned even after her death as her decapitated head still had the power to turn a man to stone if not kept hidden from view inside a bag.