They say that Medousa turned to stone those who gazed at her, and that when Perseus cut off her head a horse with wings came out. But it actually happened like this. She was a beautiful courtesan and any man who caught sight of her was transfixed as if he had been turned to stone. It’s just like we say, upon catching sight of her, he was turned to stone.
When Perseus encountered her, she fell in love with him. She squandered her own wealth and utterly wasted the prime years of her life. When she had lost her youth and her wealth, she was left a lecherous old woman, the kind we call a horse
. For the head is the bloom of youth, and that is what Perseus took from her.