400-300BC Ancient Greek Lead Gorgoneion Medusa Head Aegis of Protection i49314

Item: i49314

Authentic

Ancient Greek Lead Gorgoneion Medusa Head Aegis of
Protection circa 400-300 B.C.
4.4 x 3.2 centimeters (50.31 grams)

This head of a gorgoneion is a “scary” face that was used to
ward off evil. The most famous example being the head of Medusa which Athena
placed on her shield to turn her enemies into a stone, making it also known as
an aegis. The head of the gorgon, or gorgoneion has been used as symbol of
protection through Roman times. You can notice the head of a gorgoneion in the
famous mosaic of from Pompeii with Alexander the Great being on his chest. You
can also see this symbol on many military vests of the Roman emperors. This head
may have been mounted at the center of a shield, or perhaps another place that
it could have been used as an amulet of protection or aegis.

Provenance: From private collection in the United States of America.
Ownership History: From private collection in the United States, bought in
private sale in the United States of America.

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The
aegis or aigis,
as stated in the Iliad
, is carried by
Athena
and

Zeus, but its nature is uncertain. It had been interpreted as an
animal skin or a shield
, sometimes bearing the head of a
Gorgon
. There may be a connection with a deity
named
Aex
or Aix, a daughter of
Helios
and a nurse of Zeus or alternatively a
mistress of Zeus (Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 13). The aegis of Athena is
referred to in several places in the Iliad. It produced a sound as from a myriad
roaring dragons (Iliad, 4.17) and was borne by Athena in battle “… and among
them went bright-eyed Athene, holding the precious aegis which is ageless and
immortal: a hundred tassels of pure gold hang fluttering from it, tight-woven
each of them, and each the worth of a hundred oxen.”

Medusa, the gorgon, was beheaded by the hero
Perseus
, who thereafter used her head, which
retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to
the goddess Athena
to place on her
shield
. In
classical antiquity
the image of the head of
Medusa appeared in the
evil-averting device
known as the
Gorgoneion
. Gorgons were a popular image in
Greek mythology, appearing in the earliest of written records of
Ancient Greek religious beliefs
such as those
of Homer
, which may date to as early as 1194–1184
BC. Because of their legendary and powerful gaze that could turn one to stone,
images of the Gorgons were put upon objects and buildings for protection.

The modern concept of doing something “under someone’s aegis” means
doing something under the protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent
source. The word aegis is identified with protection by a strong force
with its roots in
Greek mythology
and adopted by the Romans;
there are parallels in
Norse mythology
and in
Egyptian mythology
as well, where the Greek
word aegis is applied by extension.