Brooch with Cameo Representing Medusa

In the Middle Ages, ancient objects such as this Roman cameo were treasured, mounted into pieces of precious jewelry and worn for personal adornment.  In Greek mythology, the snake-haired Medusa, in the center of this brooch, was once a very attractive woman with beautiful long hair.  She boasted that she was more beautiful than the goddess Athena, who retaliated by turning Medusa into a Gorgon (female monster) with hissing serpents for hair.  The two-tone color of the cameo is due to the different layers of color present in the single agate stone.