What is the historical origin of Medusa? I read a short paragraph on Medusa's wikipedia page about the myth representing a historical event. > A number of early classics scholars interpreted the myth of the Medusa as a quasi-historical - "based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style, etc., in the past", or "sublimated" memory of an actual invasion. As I understood it, a Joseph Campbell suggests a temple with priestesses wearing gorgon masks, essentially, was invaded by King Perseus' Hellenes around 13th century BC, which would have been Mycenaean Greece I guess. Is there any more info of this? Is anything known about these ancient snake priestesses/godesses/religions? How far back could this go? Proto-Indo-European, even? Or was she just based on a very early greek goddess/cult that was discarded?

The Gorgoneion is a likely origin for the priestess masks. The practice of these amulets as aspects of the Mother Goddess dates back to the Neolithic Age. The oldest Gorgon mask is from Greek Sesklo culture before 6000 BC, but they have been excavated in many places from Etruskia to the Black sea coast.