What is terrible about Medusa's gaze?
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it turns any onlooker to stone
Whoever looks Medusa in the eyes instantly turns to stone.
💡 Did you know? Instead of hair she wears a wreath of living snakes on her head.
All questions with answers
To which beings does Medusa belong?
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to the Gorgons
Medusa is one of the three Gorgon sisters: alone among them she was mortal.
💡 Did you know? Legend says she was once a beautiful woman before Athena transformed her.
Which hero beheaded Medusa?
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Perseus
Perseus looked only at her reflection in his shield and so beheaded her without danger.
💡 Did you know? From her blood sprang the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor.
Where did Medusa's head end up?
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on Athena's shield
Perseus gave the head to the goddess Athena, who set it on her shield, the aegis.
💡 Did you know? As a protective emblem (Gorgoneion), Medusa's face was meant to ward off enemies and harm.
Who turned Medusa into a monster?
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the goddess Athena
According to Ovid, Medusa was once beautiful before Athena turned her into a monster as punishment; in Hesiod she is a Gorgon from birth.
💡 Did you know? Her gaze remained petrifying even after death: so her head was used as a weapon.
What sprang from Medusa's blood?
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Pegasus and Chrysaor
When Perseus beheaded Medusa, the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor sprang from her neck.
💡 Did you know? Both were children of Poseidon, with whom Medusa was linked.
What were Medusa's immortal sisters called?
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Stheno and Euryale
Of the three Gorgons only Medusa was mortal.
💡 Did you know? Only for that reason could Perseus kill her at all.
How did Perseus avoid the deadly gaze?
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with a mirror-polished shield
Athena's polished shield served him as a mirror.
💡 Did you know? The Cap of Hades made him invisible as well.
Which fashion house bears Medusa's head as its logo?
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Versace
Gianni Versace chose the head in 1978.
💡 Did you know? Beauty that transfixes: so his reading.
What was the terror-image of Medusa's head on shields and temples called?
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the gorgoneion
An apotropaic charm against all evil.
💡 Did you know? Agamemnon's shield bears it already in the Iliad.
Which painter captured Medusa's scream on a round shield?
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Caravaggio
The 1597 painting hangs in the Uffizi.
💡 Did you know? His own face allegedly served as the model.
According to Ovid, what formed when Medusa's head lay on sea plants?
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coral
The fronds petrified beneath the head's gaze.
💡 Did you know? So tell Ovid's Metamorphoses.
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