![perseus with the head of medusa perseus with the head of medusa](https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3642/3547163118_5a9939e82f_b.jpg)
Perseus and Medusa in art? Perseus and Medusa have been a popular subject in art. This was the purpose of Perseus as he discovered that Polydectes had abused his mother. When Perseus returned to King Polydectes, he showed him the head of Medusa, which still retained its power, which turned Polydectes into stone. Perseus used a shiny shield that he got from Athena to avoid looking at Medusa directly and succeeded to cut off her head. Medusa had a horrific facial expression that could turn people (or according to some, only men) who looked at her into stone.
![perseus with the head of medusa perseus with the head of medusa](https://blogygold.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/maxresdefault-MEDUSA.jpg)
However, after Poseidon (the god of the sea) made love to her in Athena’s temple, Athena (the goddess of wisdom and war) changed her beautiful locks into living, venomous snakes (in other mythological stories the three sisters were already born with snakes on their heads). According to the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa was a beautiful young woman. Both Stheno and Euryale were immortal, but Medusa was not. Medusa was one of three sisters (Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa) who were often referred to as Gorgons. Polydectes, the King of Seriphos, ordered Perseus to provide him with the head of Medusa as a wedding gift for him. The story of Perseus and Medusa: In Greek mythology, Perseus is the son of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek), who was the king of the gods, and Danaë. They took a cast from the version in the Vatican Museums and added a newly carved marble sword to the statue. When the second version of this statue first arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the sword was missing. When the Apollo Belvedere returned to Rome, they kept the statue of Canova as it was such a great piece of work. The first version of the statue of Perseus and Medusa was acquired by Pope Pius VII to replace the Apollo Belvedere which Napoleon Bonaparte had confiscated and shipped to the Louvre in Paris. The rest of the statue has been heavily inspired by the Apollo Belvedere, a famous statue from antiquity, which is also in the Octagonal Court of the Vatican Museums. The head of Medusa in this statue has been inspired by the Medusa Rondanini, a marble sculpture that is in the Glyptothek in Munich. A replica by Canova is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first version is on display in the Vatican Museumsand is also known as Perseus Triumphant. Backstory: Antonio Canova made this statue twice. In this way, Canova creates the sense that Perseus is moving forward. Notice that his left foot is standing in the front, while the heel of his right foot is lifted. The sword was owned by Zeus, the father of Perseus. In his right hand, Perseus is holding a harpe sword, which is a sword with a sickle-like extension on one side of the blade. Perseus also wears the cap of Hades, which could make him invisible. These sandals were made of gold by the god Vulcan (Hephaestus in Greek). Perseus is wearing the sandals of the Roman messenger god Mercury (Hermes in Greek) which allowed Perseus to fly. Interestingly, Perseus is looking at her face, even though that should turn him into stone according to the myth (but the irony may be that this actually happened in this statue). However, you can also still see the beauty of her face. The face of Medusa expresses horror as it has just been cut off. He holds the head of Medusa in his left hand by grabbing the venomous snakes on her head. Perseus is standing in a triumphant pose as he has just beheaded Medusa. What do you see? This marble statue shows the Greek demigod Perseus holding the head of Medusa.