Perseus (constellation) may be derived from the Babylonian Old Man (MUL.SHU.GI) constellation, then associated with East in the MUL.APINan astronomical compilation dating to around 1000 BCE. In Greek mythology, Perseus was the son of Danaë, who was sent by King Polydectes to bring the head of Medusa the Gorgon — whose visage caused all who gazed upon her to turn to stone. Perseus slew Medusa in her sleep, and Pegasus and Chrysaor appeared from her body. Perseus continued to the realm of Cepheus whose daughter Andromeda was to be sacrificed to Cetus the sea monster. Perseus rescued Andromeda from the monster by
Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons BC) in Pompeii. In some cruder representations, the blood flowing under the head can be mistaken for a beard. By the Renaissance, artists depicted Medusa's head held aloft to represent the realistic human form of the triumphant hero Perseus (such as in the 1554 bronze statue "Perseus with the Head of Medusa" by Benvenuto Cellini). Medusa's head was also depicted to evoke horror by making the detached head the main subject (as demonstrated by the 1597 painting "Medusa" by Baroque originator Caravaggio). After the French Revolution, Medusa was used as a popular emblem of Jacobinism and was often displayed as