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
Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons name is particularly apt, for the Combatant's face is permanently marked with scars and destroyed flesh, terrifying men. When Tom Raines defeats her at the Capitol Summit in "Insignia", it can also be considered a reference to the way Perseus slew Medusa using a mirrored shield. In Kendra Preston Leonard's poem, "Professor Medusa," Medusa teaches Greek Language and Literature at a college, where she tries to protect her students. In Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel Gone With the Wind, the character of Ashley Wilkes wears a lapel pin with the head of Medusa in it. The mythological creature is thought to