"An essential figure in mythology, Medusa has exercised her power of fascination on many artists who have contributed, generation after generation, to the creation of a repertoire of images of incredible richness.Recognizable by the swarming of snakes that form her hair and by the fixity of her wide eyes, Medusa is a figure as ambiguous as it is paradoxical: an instrument of death petrifying those who meet her gaze, she simultaneously possesses the power to avert bad luck and even to resuscitate the dead.Over the centuries, the readings of the myth have evolved, subjecting Medusa to multiple metamorphoses. Reflecting fears and fantasies running through Western societies, it has become one of the most powerful metaphors of art and its gripping effect on the viewer."--