Perseus is the hero who slew the Gorgon Medusa and rescued the maiden Andromeda from the sea-monster Cetus [S4][S5]. Son of Zeus and the Danaid Danaë, he was sent to fetch Medusa's head by the tyrant Polydectes; aided by Athena (who gave him a mirror-shield), Hermes (who gave him winged sandals and a sickle), and the Naiads, he beheaded Medusa — and from her blood sprang the winged horse Pegasus [S5]. He then rescued Andromeda, who was being offered to Cetus, and took her as his wife [S5]. Perseus is one of the canonical Greek heroes, and his story is a model of the divinely-aided hero.