Complex map

• Hall
• Towers and Wall
• Upper Floor: Lounges
• Ground Floor: Patios
• The Gardens of the Alcazar

• About us |
• Accessibility |
• Video of the museum |
• Points of sale and prices

• Spanish |
• English

Medusa (1 of 1) Audiodescription.

• Complex map >
• Upper Floor: Lounges >
• Hall of Mosaics >
• Medusa (1 of 1)

This Roman period mosaic presents the head of Medusa, one of the three daughters of the marine goddess Phorcys as a central motif. Medusa was born a dazzling beauty and was seduced by Poseidon in the Athena temple. Irritated, Athena punished her, turning her into a horrible woman. Furthermore, she cursed her, making everyone who saw her ugliness turn to stone.

The round, childlike face of Medusa is depicted with multicoloured vitreous paste tessarea of great strength. However, the tessarea that framed the image of Medusa have not survived. The central emblem is enclosed by a black double circle with a border and appears on a light octagonal background. The rest of the pavement is decorated with geometric designs, made up of rectangles on a black background and Salomon's knot squares on light backing tones. It is framed by two black-framed rectangles. The sides are lined with ivy leaves.
The figure of Medusa was inspired by the Hellenistic artistic trends. It was also often used as a decorative motif in mural paintings, mosaics and sculptures in the Roman Empire.