The legend of Medusa has changed over the centuries, but all accounts agree that her looks were killer—literally.

Born of Greek mythology, Medusa was chief among the Gorgons, three monstrous and terrifying sisters. While the other two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, were immortals, their sister Medusa was mortal and thus vulnerable despite her powers.

In one version of the myth, Medusa was originally a fair maiden with a beautiful head of hair. The goddess Athena caught Medusa with Poseidon, and punished the maiden by transforming her into an ugly monster and replacing her hair with writhing snakes. Medusa became so hideous that anyone who looked directly at her was turned to stone.

The hero Perseus, looking only at her reflection in a shield given to him by Athena, killed Medusa by cutting off her head. Perseus took Medusa’s still-lethal head along with him on several other heroic adventures, brandishing it against foes until finally returning the prize to Athena, who affixed it to her shield. The blood from her head also had magical powers, and was said to be the seed from which Pegasus sprang, as well as being the origin of poisonous snakes in Africa.

Like Doughface Jack in the fantastic adventure The Tramp, by L. Ron Hubbard, Medusa had looks that could stop you in your tracks.