The Aegis was a magical shield that officially belonged to Zeus, but he usually allowed his favorite child, Athena, to carry it. The shield was fringed and covered with scales and often adorned with a medusa head. It may have been the shield Perseus used to reflect the Medusa's image, thereby avoiding her gaze. Some myths depict the Aegis as a cloak, or a shield that could convert to a cloak. Like much of the armament of the Olympians, it was forged by Hephaestus.