Medusa comes from the ancient female priesthood which came from the legendary amazonian women who didn’t allow men to live with them, were horse riders and bow hunters, users of arrow poisons. would drag the arrow through snake venom salve they had smeared in their hair, chasing men and shooting them and freezing them with their venom from their hair, after which she could do what she wanted. ending in scalping him. ultimately after 3 scalps she was by rule old enough to have offspring… which would be obtained in the same way… that arrow poison was viagra. caused satyriasis / priapism…
So, therefore, Medusa was a myth about one monster, written about and referring to the older culture of many...
Venom use started in midwivery to stem bleeding and help dilation, as antidotes for poisonous bites, and applied to combat and sacred visionary rites
See also: Venom Use in Mysteries and Medicine
The baccants / maenids were also depicted with snakes in their hair. See also Baccants