Medusa, a tall, beautiful creature with long golden hair and golden wings, had secret meetings with Poseidon in a temple of Athene's. When Athene discovered this, enraged, she cast a spell upon Medusa, turning her into a monster with yellow fangs, brass claws and wings, and each of her golden strands of hair into a live, hissing snake. After Athene's transformation of Medusa, all those that were unfortunate to look upon Medusa's face were turned to stone.

   As Perseus set out on his quest, he met one of his brothers, Hermes, who gave Perseus a pair of Talaria, silver-winged sandals made by their sister Athene. Hermes instructed his brother to go south and find the Gray Sisters, from which Perseus was to compel them to tell him where he could find the Nymphs of the West for they had in their possesion the three items he needed to obtain the head of Medusa.

   Perseus took flight, delighting in the magic of his new sandals. He saw three figures, crouched together. Downward he swooped and landed in the middle of the huddled three. Older than old, long and lean, with gray hair that trailed behind them, of gray, naked skin, wrinkled and tough as a crocodile with leather-like claws, they were quarrelling about the one eye and the single tooth they had to share among one another to see and to bite with. Perseus snatched them from their withered claws. He used them as bargaining chips to extract the information he needed to find the Nymphs.

   By their instruction, Perseus flew west until he saw the Titan, Atlas, holding up the sky. As he flew down close to the earth, he saw the three nymphs, daughters of Atlas, dancing in the grove, the same grove in which Hera's tree of golden apples stood. Aware of their suductive powers, he hovered above them. The nymphs wanted him to return to tell his tales of adventure, especially regarding Medusa, so they grabbed him by his ankles, not to seduce, but to touch and whisper the secret he sought, for it was by touch they were able to relay the information he needed. The three pulled him to a huge tree of twisted roots grown above the ground. It was there among the roots they searched for the three items he needed to make good on his promise. A bronze shield, polished to serve as a reflective mirror for he was never to look directly upon the face of Medusa; a sickle-shaped sword of dazzling shine; and a Cap of Darkness were the items he was given. The Cap of Darkness was to enable Perseus to slip into the presence of his enemy without being seen. In exchange for the three gifts, he had to give each of the nymphs a kiss.

   He rose from the grove, invisible, with shield and sword in hand. Perseus headed for the Land Beyond, the Land of the Hyperboreans and the dwelling place of the three Gorgons, a dreary place of a dreadfully, rotten stench. When he landed there, he fought foul smelling, relentless weeds, until he came to a grove of statues belonging to all those that had looked upon the face of Medusa. Perseus made himself ready as he forged ahead, through the statues of stone, until he heard a snoring sound. When he spotted the brass wings and claws, he used the reflectability of his shield as his guide, for he knew not to look at the horrible creature he was about to embark upon.

   As he crept forward, going backwards, the three sleeping Gorgons became visible in the face of his shield. Two were sleeping with their heads tucked under their wing, but the third's head was exposed. The slithering, hissing snakes became aware of the presence of Perseus, but could not see him. In their tumultuous state, the snakes bit one another, spewing forth their putrid smelling blood, painting Medusa's face as it trickled across it. He concentrated all of his assets into his one driven focus and gave a mighty strike with his sword. His timing impeccable, the blade cut through snakes, flesh, bone and gristle as the head of Medusa was severed from her Gorgon body.

   As he grabbed the head by the snakes, limp and lifeless, Perseus stood motionless, amazed, for where Medusa's blood had dripped, two creatures sprang up from. One was a warrior holding a golden sword named Chrysaor and the other was a magnificent creature of strength and beauty, a white horse with a golden mane and golden hooves. The wonderful creature exhibited a glimmering, shimmering, golden pair of wings grown from a majestic, muscle-laden shoulder, extensions of an exquisite model of equine anatomy. Just the sight of such magnificence, would suck the breath from any being, steal the speech from any lips and freeze the gaze of any looker, for the sighting of such, exqusite beauty left none other than a profound and lasting impression. The name of this amazing wonder was Pegasus. Although the offspring of Poseidon had grown fully within Medusa, she had been unable to bear them in her monstrous state.