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
Polydectes did slay the Gorgon Medusa, and as proof, he revealed her severed head. When Polydectes and his nobles gazed upon the prize, they were then turned to solid stone. In a version recorded by Hyginus, Polydectes attempted to treacherously kill Perseus in fear of his courage, but Perseus was just in time to expose the Gorgon's head before him. Perseus then handed the kingdom of Seriphos over to Dictys. In an alternate version followed by Hyginus, Polydectes married Danae as she was brought to him by Dictys, and had Perseus brought up in a temple of Athena. He did not