Detail of an Amphora with Medusa in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Storage Jar with Medusa
Greek, made in Athens, 530-520 BC
Terracotta
Black-figured neck amphora attributed to the Class of Neck Amphorae with Shoulder Pictures as painter

Inventory # 86.AE.77

The Gorgon Medusa-- her tongue protruding from her fangs-- appears at the center of two large, staring eyes on the shoulder of this vessel. Her petrifying image as well as the eyes were believed to ward off evil. Here Medusa is shown with her knees bent, a convention used by Greek artists to convey the idea of rapid movement.

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.