The male Medusa: Gorgon's Head

It is the Green Man, it is the Medusa. This sculpted head from ancient Bath is simultaneously a powerful image from Greek and Roman myth and a touchstone of British folklore. Created in the first century AD, probably by artists from Gaul, for the great Roman baths that are a wonder of the west country, it depicts the snake-headed monster killed by Perseus. But it also has a Celtic quality and resembles the face of a wild man of the woods that is often seen in British medieval art. This is a dreamlike hybrid from our misty past Illustration: Bath & North East Somerset Council