Perseus and the Gorgon (detail)

Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danaë, Princess of Argos, was entrusted with the mission of slaying Medusa, one of the three Gorgon sisters—wild creatures with a tangle of snakes for hair and a look that turned people to stone. To help him accomplish this perilous task, the gods gave him winged sandals and a shield, sword, and helmet of invisibility. Perseus went to the island where the Gorgon lived, surprised her in her sleep, and cut off her head.

The sculptor, Laurent Marquestre, chose to illustrate the moment before Medusa’s death. Grim faced, the hero holds her firmly to the ground to stop her turning round, thereby avoiding her fatal gaze. In a vain attempt to retaliate, she howls with rage and terror. The twisting of her body goes right up into her hair of snakes, one of which has coiled itself around Perseus’ wrist.