Образът на Горгона в средновековнитепаметници от България
The Image of the Gorgon Medusa in Bulgarian Lands During the Early Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: The author examines five artefacts found on the territory of present-day Bulgaria. They date from the 10th-12th centuries, and using various materials and different styles they all represent the image of the Gorgon Medusa. Heretofore unknown facts are included regarding the popularization of this personage from Ancient Greek mythology through the Slavic translation of the Chronicle of Ioan Marala, which was written in Bulgaria at the beginning of the 10th century. In the search for evidence of the image’s apotropaic significance, attention is focused on two ritual breads from the 19th century there were very unusual in terms of their decoration. It is the suggested that the stamped text IC XC NI KA arranged in a circle with an usual cross around it is similar to the lead amulets with the head of the Gorgon, whose hair is of snakes. The Mesoamerican region is also noted as another example of a region where masks of a human face with the tongue sticking out are widespread. The preservation of this gesture through the centuries up until modern times reminds us of the gesture of sticking out one’s tongue, the best known contemporary example of which is the popular photograph of Albert Einstein.

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