Medusa

In Greek mythology, Medusa was the only mortal of the three Gorgons, daughters of the sea god Phorcys and his sister-wife Ceto. Originally very beautiful women, they were transformed into ugly monsters, with serpents for hair, claws of bronze, and staring eyes capable of turning anyone who looked at them into stone. The hero Perseus killed Medusa by cutting off her head, and the winged horse Pegasus sprang from the blood that spurted from her neck. Perseus used Medusa's head to petrify Atlas (hence the Atlas mountains) and a few personal enemies, but he later gave the head to Athena, who put it in the center of her shield.