al-Ṣūfī’s Perseus
On this illustration of Perseus from al-Ṣūfī’s Book of the Fixed Stars the head of Medusa has become that of a man with a beard. Arabic astronomers knew Perseus both as Barshāūsh (an attempt to transliterate the name Perseus into Arabic), and Ḥāmil ra’s al-ghūl, ‘bearer of the demon’s head’. For a zoomable version of the original click here or on the picture.
(Bodleian Library, Oxford, manuscript Marsh 144)
