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Medusa
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Marble sculpture of Medusa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, showing a woman's anguished face framed by intricately carved snakes for hair, displayed in the Capitoline Museums, Rome. Large stone Medusa head positioned sideways as a column base, partially submerged in water inside the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey. Painting by Caravaggio showing the severed head of Medusa with a shocked expression, snakes for hair, and blood dripping from the neck, mounted on a round wooden shield. Benvenuto Cellini: Perseus
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Marble sculpture of Medusa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, showing a woman's anguished face framed by intricately carved snakes for hair, displayed in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.
Medusa Medusa, marble sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1630; in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

Medusa

Greek mythology
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Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures called Gorgons, known for her petrifying effect on beholders—those looking at her face were instantly turned to stone. Medusa was the only Gorgon who was mortal; hence her slayer, Perseus, was able to kill her by cutting off her head. She is usually represented as a winged female creature, with a head of hair consisting of snakes. Unlike the other Gorgons, she is sometimes...

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