| Medousa | Μεδουσα |
Medousa (Medusa) was mortal when she was born aside from her sisters Stheno and Euryale. King Polydektes of Seriphos once commanded the heroPerseus to fetch her head. He accomplished this with the help of the gods who equipped him with a reflective shield, a curved sword, winged boots and helm of invisibility. When he fell upon Medousa and decapitated her, two creatures sprang forth from the wound--the winged horse Pegasos (Pegasus) and the giant Khrysaor (Chrysaor). Perseus fled with the monster's head in a sack and her two angry sisters chasing close on his heels.
According to late classical poets, Medousa was once a beautiful woman who was transformed into a monster by Athena as punishment for lying with Poseidon in her shrine. Earlier Greek writers and artists, however, simply portray her as a monster born into a large family of monsters.
