The Birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor

From Medusa's decapitated body the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus, her son by Poseidon, sprang forth. 

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), The Birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor, c. 1876-1885

Perseus Delivers the Head of Medusa

Edward Burne Jones depicts Perseus showing Andromeda the head of the slain Medusa.  According to mythology, even looking at the dead Medusa would turn you to stone and she could only be viewed safely through her reflection.

Notice while Andromeda is looking at Medusa, Perseus is gazing steadily at Andromeda.

The Death of Medusa

     Now she pulled her cowl down again. Her hair writhed with the serpentine undulations. The golden snakes separated from her locks and hissed softly. Perseus stood still, both enthralled and terrified. From her forelock, one strand of hair turned darkest black, red eyes glowing like coals.

     “Do you know who this is, Perseus?”

     “Venpay” he breathed.

     She nodded. “You have seen his children’s work. Venpay has the purest venom in the world. When his fangs sink, my death will be certain, and none can reverse it. He tells me because of my close proximity to him for many months, I will not be spared an instant death. My time will take perhaps a few minutes, and it will be a death of asphyxiation and fear. He advises that it would be a kindness to sever my head." She pointed to the adamant sword. “Using that, it would be instant and painless.”

     He looked away. “I cannot kill the woman I love.”

     She spoke. “I understand the prophesy. Only the man who truly loves me can do this. A strike to me will be a strike to Poseidon himself, and on my behalf.”

     She saw him waver. She walked to him and kissed him gently, softly, then reached and caressed his face, smiling, at peace. “This is the time.”

     She reached back and took the sole black lock from her scalp. She kissed Venpay and stroked his head. She whispered to him, then smiled and spoke to Perseus. “I am thanking him for his gift of his venom. It is a singular honor never before bestowed upon a mortal.”

     She gently took Venpay’s head and held it to her wrist. “Strike at my command, Perseus. Our sons, Cassup, and all within can be saved."

     The ancient serpent god wrapped around her wrist, and then gently sank its fangs into her skin. Even as he watched, stunned, she began to pale and slow.

     “Strike, if you have strength!" The voice was Stheno's.

     “Strike, if you have courage!" The voice was Euryale’s.

     “Strike, if you love me." The voice was Medusa’s, and weakening fast.

     Nearly blinded by tears, he brought the adamant blade in a perfect arc toward her neck. The last mortal words she heard were his cry for forgiveness.

***

     Her lids closed as she awaited the sword’s blessed release. She had planned for her last moments to be in prayer for the delivery of her children, but as her eyes shut, she found herself detached from her body and back in that of the dream horse. Instead of paralysis, the coursing venom seemed to impart immense strength and vitality.

     She ran with all her strength, boldly and without hesitation toward the cliff. Her front hoofs found the edge and she leapt with joy, reaching for the stars themselves breaking through the evening skies. All fear was banished, replaced by elation.

     In the moment when she was perfectly balanced between the strength of the leap and the pull of gravity, a rippling came from her shoulders. Instinctively she pushed down, then up. Huge wings had unfurled, bedecked in white feathers each longer than a man’s arm. She pulled herself up into the air, striving for the beckoning stars, hoofs catching on the air as if it were turf. She cried out in a shout of delight, the sound swirling the cosmos.

     Stars shattered and scattered and realigned. 

Excerpt - S.D. Hine's Medusa

The Finding of Medusa

Perseus sought out Medusa's lair, surrounded as it was by the petrified remains of previous visitors, and he found the Gorgon sleeping.

The Calling of Perseus

 

At the beginning of his quest for the head of Medusa, Perseus receives help from the goddess Athena, although at first he spurns her words of advice. She gives him a sword and a mirror to protect him from the Gorgon, whose glance turns men to stone. He next proceeds to the three Graiae, who collectively share a single tooth and a single eye, which Perseus snatches from them in order to gain information about where he can find the sea nymphs. After he discovers the cave of the nymphs, they bestow on him the winged sandals of Hermes, the helmet of invisibility and a bag in which to carry Medusa's head.

More Perseus and the Hesperides

The Arming of Perseus -  Edward Burne-Jones 

Athena instructed Perseus to find the Hesperides, who were entrusted with weapons needed to defeat the Gorgon. Following Athena's guidance, Perseus sought out the Graeae, sisters of the Gorgons, to demand the whereabouts of the Hesperides, the nymphs tending Hera's orchard. The Graeae were three perpetually old women, who had to share a single eye. As the women passed the eye from one to another, Perseus snatched it from them, holding it for ransom in return for the location of the nymphs. When the sisters led him to the Hesperides, he returned what he had taken.

Athena wearing her aegis, with its snake-fringe and gorgon head Toledo 1963.26, Attic black figure calyx krater, c. 520-515 B.C. 

From the Hesperides he received a knapsack (kibisis) to safely contain Medusa's head. Zeus gave him an adamantine sword and Hades' helm of darkness to hide. Hermes lent Perseus winged sandals to fly, while Athena gave him a polished shield. Perseus then proceeded to the Gorgons' cave. 

Perseus and the Graiae

At the beginning of his quest for the head of Medusa, Perseus receives help from the goddess Athena, although at first he spurns her words of advice. She gives him a sword and a mirror to protect him from the Gorgon, whose glance turns men to stone. He next proceeds to the three Graiae, who collectively share a single tooth and a single eye, which Perseus snatches from them in order to gain information about where he can find the sea nymphs. 

After he discovers the cave of the nymphs, they bestow on him the winged sandals of Hermes, the helmet of invisibility and a bag in which to carry Medusa's head.

Edward Burne-Jones - Perseus and the Graiae