Medusa
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In Greek mythology, Medusa, also called Gorgo or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous t
Classical Greek gorgoneion featuring the head of Medusa; fourth century BC
Coins of the reign of Seleucus I Nicator of Syria (312–280 BC)
Medusa, depicted as a centaur, is beheaded by Perseus, Boeotian pithos, c. 660 BC.
Perseus decapitating Medusa while Athena looks on, from a preserved metope from the temple of Apollo in Selinus
Perseus
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In Greek mythology, Perseus is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He be
Medusa
…Euryale and Stheno were usually described as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto; of the three, only Medusa was mortal. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her…
Perseus with the head of Medusa, first century AD, Museo Ostiense
Perseus with the Head of Medusa, Benvenuto Cellini, Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence
Perseus rescuing Andromeda from Cetus, depicted on an amphora in the Altes Museum, Berlin
Perseus and Andromeda, 1st century AD fresco from the Casa della Saffo, Pompeii; he shows her the Medusa's head reflected in a pool.