Medusa received help. He received a mirrored shield from Athena, gold, winged sandals from Hermes, a sword from Hephaestus and Hades's helm of invisibility. Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon. When Perseus beheaded her, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden sword, sprang from her body. Jane Ellen Harrison argues that "her potency only begins when her head is severed, and that potency
Andromeda (play) just defeated the Gorgon Medusa. Upon appearing, Perseus believes Andromeda is a statue and remarks "Hold—what promontory do I see here, lapped by sea foam, and what maiden's likeness, a statue carved by an expert hand to her very form in stone?" When Perseus asks Andromeda if she will show his gratitude if he saves her, she responds "Take me, stranger, whether for servant, wife, or slave." During their dialogue, Perseus apparently moved from being struck by Andromeda's beauty to feeling pity for her to falling in love with her. This may have been the first depiction of a man