Perseus and the running Gorgons were a popular subject matter for vase painters. One of the earliest examples is by the Nessos Painter on his name vase which shows the two Gorgon sisters running but with their beheaded sister slumped nearby (late 7th Century B.C.). As in the above skyphos, the Gorgons are depicted running above leaping dolphins suggesting flight over the sea. His successor in the early 6th Century B.C., the Gorgon Painter, also uses the same theme in his dinos name vase. Here, Medusa is shown beheaded and her two sisters run in pursuit after Perseus.

Athena is the protectress of Perseus and guided him on his expedition against the Gorgons. As Perseus could not look into the face of Medusa, it was Athena who guided his hand to strike the fateful blow with his harpe or sickle which Hermes had given him