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
Antonio Canova "Perseus Triumphant", sometimes called "Perseus with the Head of Medusa", was a statue commissioned by tribune Onorato Duveyriez. It depicts the Greek hero Perseus after his victory over the Gorgon Medusa. The statue was based freely to the Apollo Belvedere and the Medusa Rondanini. Napoleon, after his 1796 Italian Campaign, took the Apollo Belvedere to Paris. In the statue's absence, Pope Pius VII acquired Canova's "Perseus Triumphant" and placed the work upon the "Apollo"'s pedestal. The statue was so successful that when the "Apollo" was returned, "Perseus" remained as a companion piece. One replica of the statue was purchased from