Medusa Head

:This enemy is about the flying head enemy sometimes referred to as "Medusa". For the legendary Greek monster, see Medusa.
The Medusa Head is a recurring enemy in the Castlevania series. It is a monster created in great numbers from the head of Medusa.
==Origins==
The fact that the head of Medusa appears as an individual enemy, apart from Medusa herself, may stem from her legendary origin's story, where she was beheaded by the hero Perseus.
Since its ancient Greek origins to modern times, the head of Medusa has frequently appeared in art, superstition and even fashion. The gorgoneion was a special apotropaic amulet showing the Gorgon head, used most famously by the Olympian deities Athena and Zeus; both are said to have worn the gorgoneion as a protective pendant, and are often depicted wearing it. After receiving Medusa's head from Perseus, Athena placed it on her aegis (or her shield in other versions of the story) to imbue it with its power.
Gorgoneia appear frequently in Greek art at the turn of the eighth century BC. In the sixth century, gorgoneia of a canonical "lion mask type" were ubiquitous on Greek temples. Apart from temples, the Gorgon imagery is present on garments, dishes, weapons, and coins found across the Mediterranean region from Etruria to the Black Sea coast. On mosaic floors, the gorgoneion usually was depicted next to the threshold, as if guarding it from hostile intruders. On Attic kilns, the gorgoneion over the kiln door protected from mishaps.
The Gorgon imagery remained popular even in Christian times, especially in the Byzantine Empire, including Kievan Rus, and was revived in the West by the Italian Renaissance artists.
More recently, the gorgoneion was adopted by Gianni Versace as a logo for his fashion company.
==Description==
Spawned from the hair of Medusa, Medusa Heads fly through the air in an attempt to ram into the player. They usually appear in areas where there is a hazardous series of platforms. They may also appear in games where Medusa herself is not present.
The standard Medusa Head normally flies in a wave-like pattern, usually making them hard to dodge, but aside from that they don't do anything else.
In Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, another variant was introduced. The Medusa Heads from this game home directly at the player, similarly to how Ghosts attack in other games, instead of flying aimlessly in wave-like patterns. Interestingly, the Ghosts in Simon's Quest are the ones which fly in a wave-like pattern and determining the spot where they appear according to the player's position on the screen, making both of these enemies exchange their usual patterns to some extent. The homing behavior on Medusa Heads has not been used as often as the original kind, making their most prominent appearances in Castlevania (N64) and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.
Another time when the basic attack pattern of the Medusa Head has been altered was in Castlevania: Bloodlines. In the last stage, Medusa Heads will start appearing while the player is attempting to cross a crumbling bridge. They enter from either the top or the bottom of the screen, stop in midair, and shoot a fast traveling fireball at them.
In Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, a new gold-colored variant was introduced. Their behavior remained the same as the blue variant and had no impact on gameplay whatsoever, so they were just added for aesthetic reasons. However, since the release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, they were given the ability to petrify the player on contact. This could be extremely dangerous as petrification could lead to landing on spikes or in front of other enemies. While this variant is often simply called "Medusa Head", it has also been called "Gold Medusa" on occasion.
Yet another variant was introduced in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, called the Gorgon Head. These also have the ability of petrifying the player upon contact; however, they will only appear after five of the other two kinds combined have appeared. Killing a Gorgon Head has a 100% chance of leaving a Fidelis Medusa glyph.
==Summoning==
In some games, the player is able to summon a Medusa Head, either as a quick summon or as a familiar. A Medusa Head (of varying sizes) will appear and usually shoot beams from its eyes which will induce petrification to any enemies they come in contact with.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania/Vampire Killer===
Medusa Heads make their first appearance here as one of the most common enemies throughout the game. If Simon Belmont is in the center of the screen, Medusa Heads will fly right over him. If Simon is walking forward in a straight path, the Medusa Heads won't hit him on the way up. This is important knowledge to know when having to do tight platforming or fight other enemies in addition to the Medusa Heads.
In Vampire Killer, their pattern's wavy line oscillates slower but covers more distance, thus they are more annoying to deal with in this game.
===Castlevania II: Simon's Quest===
Medusa Heads in Simon's Quest behave a bit different than those present in most of the other games in the series. They simply home toward the player, not unlike the way Ghosts used to do in the original Castlevania. Interestingly enough, Ghosts are now the ones who travel in a wave-like pattern, just like Medusa Heads did in the first game.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
Gold Medusa Heads will not petrify Alucard if he has the Medusa Shield or the Mirror Cuirass equipped. Instead, they will act exactly like the blue variant.
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
Medusa Heads materialize out of thin air in front of the player in certain areas. They usually appear whenever they are attempting to make a difficult jump over a hazardous area (such as poisoned water, spikes or lava), trying to make contact with them in midair and send them down to their untimely demise with just one hit. They display electric bolts around them while spawning, although the reason for this is unknown as they don't deal any kind of elemental damage.
===Castlevania: Circle of the Moon===
Only the normal blue-colored type appears in this game. Despite of this, they have the ability to petrify the player upon contact, a feature only Gold Medusas may have in the rest of the games.
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
In addition to the standard and gold Medusa Heads, an exclusive gray variant appears in Order of Ecclesia, called the Gorgon Head. It appears in the Mechanical Tower and the Forsaken Cloister. This variant has the peculiarity that a single Gorgon Head will appear whenever five Medusa Heads have appeared in the aforementioned areas, regardless of type or if they were killed or not.
The Gorgon Head is more akin to the gold Medusa Head, as it causes petrification on contact. Another particularity is that the Gorgon Head has a 100% drop rate, and will always drop the Fidelis Medusa glyph when killed, which allows Shanoa to summon up to six Gorgon Heads (depending on the glyph's level) that rotate in a circling formation around her.
===Castlevania: The Arcade===
Medusa Heads will try to hinder the player's progress across narrow walkways in the Clock Tower.
==Other appearances==
*Warera Hobby's Famicom Seminar: A Medusa Head makes a cameo in Chapter 9 of this manga.
*Pixel Puzzle Collection: A Medusa Head appears as a nonogram puzzle in this game.
*Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: A Medusa Head makes a cameo in this crossover fighting party game.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*In Medusa's first appearance, in the 1987 game Castlevania, she actually appeared as a large floating severed head (reappearing in this form in Lament of Innocence). It wasn't until later installments when she was given a full body.
*Medusa Heads, Gorgon Heads and Medusa, are all ancient Greek female legendary creatures called Gorgons, despite the fact that in the Castlevania series the enemy called Gorgon is inspired by an ox-like mythological creature of Libyan origins.
*Medusa Heads are infamous for knocking players off of platforms. They are often considered to be one of the most annoying enemies in video game history.The ten most annoying flying enemies in videogames article on Destructoid (July 10, 2012).
*Even though they don't make a true appearance in the Lords of Shadow games, they make a cameo on the carousel wheel in the Toy Maker's Funfair area in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate.
*According to Greek mythology, the amphisbaena –a serpent with two heads, one on each end of its body– was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with it in his hand.
==See also==
*Medusa
*Medusa Familiar
*Medusa Shield
*Summon Medusa
==References==
==External links==
*Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Bestiary by Darth Nemesis at GameFAQs
*Castlevania Realm
*Medusa Heads at the Villains Wiki
pt-br:Cabeça de Medusa
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