Medusa was one of the three Gorgon sisters and the only one who was mortal and apparently beautiful. Her hair was especially lovely. 

She was raped by Poseidon inside Athena's temple which naturally offended the goddess. Athena's way of dealing with this offense though was typical of Greek deities. She cursed Medusa and turned her beautiful hair into snakes.

So here was Medusa, raped by one god, cursed by another but she's not about to go John Wick all over town. Instead, Medusa is now back home, pregnant with twins. She's dealing, chilling with her sisters, living with the fam.

Enter our hero, Perseus, son of Zeues

Imagine her confusion, her anger, and terror when Perseus enters her house and lops her head off. Medusa was just a woman that the whole world walked all over. She was neither a vixen, nor a demon, nor a goddess.