Perseus was the son of the God Zeus, and the mortal woman, Danae, daughter of the king of Argos, who had been warned by the Oracle at Delphi that he would be murdered by his daughter’s son. In learning this he cast them into the seas in a wooden chest. They landed ashore on the island of Serifos where they were cared for by a fisherman who raised Perseus to manhood. Polydectus the king of the island had fallen in love with Perseus’s mother and in the island's tradition he demanded a great gift from Perseus. Not wanting to refuse Polydectus’s request, he was sent to bring to the king the head of the only mortal Gorgon, Medusa, who, when seen directly by humans would turn to stone. Using a highly polished shield, given to him by the goddess Athena, he saw the Gorgon’s reflection and using the Adamantine sword given to him by his father, Zeus, Perseus cut off the snake covered head of Medusa, and immediately put it into a sack so that all would be safe from her stony gaze. It was at the moment of his blade severing the head of Medusa that the Pegasus was immediately born from the severed wound. Pegasus was fathered by Poseidon in his role as “horse-god” and foaled by the Gorgon, Medusa.