The archaic myth of the ideal hero Perseus tells us about the killing of the horrible Medusa with the help of his gods Pallas Athena and Zeus. Medea’s face was extremely frightful, so that every spectator was immediately petrified. Therefore Medusa is the leading emblem for artists (painters and sculptors) for the visual presentation of ugliness. Two different modes of presentation may be distinguished: The archaic way of Medusa’s aspect is the round face „en face” with a bizarre overrepresentation of eyes and mouth. The second view offers a complex program of consecutive aspects condensed in one illustration. Figurative elements of the emblem Medusa are still valid and active throughout the centuries and up to now.