To protect his mother, Danae, the mythical Greek hero Perseus accepted the task assigned him by a king named Polydictes of slaying the monster Medusa, whose hair was snakes and whose eyes turned all to stone who gazed at them. In this 1914 illustration Perseus, prepares to slay Medusa. Helping him find Medusa was his guide, the messenger god Hermes (Mercury to the Romans), and Athena. With them he had found the three daughters of Porcus and Ceto (who was a sister to the Gorgons). They were named Enyo, Pephredo, and Deino and were old from birth. They shared one eye and one tooth, as seen here, which they took turns using. Perseus took the eye and tooth until the sisters gave him the magic knapsack, winged sandals, and helmet that rendered him invisible-all of which are seen here and helped him get to Medusa and kill her. Elihu Vedder (1836-1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet, born in New York City. He is best known for his fifty-five illustrations for Edward FitzGeralds translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.