Medusa was once a very beautiful woman, (an exception in her family as she was a gorgon), as well as a priestess of Athena. Poseidon fell in love with her, and they had an affair in Athenas temple. Athena, a virgin goddess, took great offense to this, and decided to curse Medusa to be a hideous creature, with pig tusks and her iconic snake hair. Unlike most gorgons, Medusa's curse meant she was so ugly that anyone who looked at her would instantly be turned to stone by her gaze. It wasn't long before the presence of such a monster became known, and the king of Seriphos, Polydectes, sent the hero Perseus on a quest he believed doomed in an attempt to get rid of Perseus. He was ordered to fetch the king the head of Medusa. With aid from Athena and Hermes, Perseus stole the eye and tooth of the Graiae sisters and forcing them to trade him winged sandals (for flight), the cap of Hades (for invisibility), a curved sword, and a bag, to take and hide the head of Medusa with. Due to Medusa's ability to turn all who looked at her to stone, Perseus had to navigate by the reflection in his shield, which was a gift from the goddess Athena, and beheaded the gorgon in her sleep. This marked the tragic end of Medusa, and Perseus brought back her severed head to the king, but instead of giving it to him, he turned the king to stone using it, and rescued his mother.