In Greek mythology, the Gorgons were a trio of monster sisters — Stheno, Euryale and Medusa — with golden wings and snakes for hair whose hideous visages could turn humans to stone. Medusa was once a beautiful maiden, but Athena turned her lovely hair into snakes as punishment after Medusa had a sexual tryst with Poseidon in Athena’s temple. The three sisters lived together on an island and spent their days doing whatever it is that Gorgons do until Perseus showed up and decapitated Medusa. He used her severed head to kill King Polydectes, who had fallen in love with Perseus’s mother, Danae.

(As an aside, the 1981 film The Clash of the Titans (and the 2010 remake) depicts Perseus’s battle with Medusa, but in this tale, he uses her severed head to turn the Kraken to stone, saving the kingdom of Argos from destruction. The Kraken’s origins are apparently in Norse — not Greek — mythology, but it’s still a great tale. Perseus then flings the head into the sea, which serves as the basis for the ancient Roman belief that red coral is the hardened blood of Medusa.)

Anyway, back to the business at hand…

And so we learn that the visage of the Gorgon, or Gorgoneion, was applied to coins, artwork and buildings in the ancient world as an apotropaic motif. Earlier depictions of the Gorgon’s countenance were quite hideous, typically featuring a tongue protruding from a fanged grimace. But over time Medusa acquired more classically attractive features and a somewhat tragic expression. (See, for example, the cameos below.) Today, Medusa is a feminist symbol of women’s power. The gorgoneion is worn as a protective pendant and has been immortalized in the logo of Italian fashion house Versace.