The catalogue features a selection of art depicting Medusa, Skylla, griffins, sphinxes, sirens, centaurs, Pegasus, and other hybrid and real beasts.
The title of the show invites fright, but it does not take long to realize that there is nothing to fear when looking at images of Greek and Roman monsters that were responsible for so much folkloric terror. Medusa, for example, one of three powerful winged daemons known as a gorgon, with her round head with curling serpents in lieu of hairlocks and staring eyes that turn you into stone with a glance, is the most obvious example of a dangerous beauty. Her beautified post-Neoclassical adaptation was famously used as a decorative element in the fashion design of Versace. The exhibition features a stunning Hellenistic Greek chalcedony cameo of Medusa from the 2nd – 1st century B.C.. The carving is of the highest quality in Greek gems.
