L. M. Spann on “Medusa and Herophile”

This story was inspired by the mythological Greek character, Medusa. To me, snakes for hair is ancient historical code for locs. So, an African Medusa did not feel like a stretch. Upon finding that her story was most widespread by the 8th century BC, I did some research on Greece and the Mediterranean during the time period. Because Northern Africa also borders the Mediterranean, I knew where to situate my Medusa on the continent.

My existing fascination with world history before western European global colonization made finding additional reference material for this short story fun. The Sybils (The First Prophetess’ of Mami Wata) The Theft of African Prophecy by the Catholic Church by Vivian Hunter-Hundrew M. Ed, The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Dead Djinn Universe) by P. Djeli Clark, and a few deep dives on the Oxford English Dictionary served as reference for my writing.