Friday's release of "Clash of the Titans," Hollywood's latest take on the tale of Perseus and that vile, snake-haired Medusa, might just make the Greek gods cool again. And if that happens, Baltimoreans won't have to stray very far to immerse themselves in the mythic.

The Walters Art Museum contains scores of pieces relating to Greek mythology, many of them dating to the days when the myths themselves were new. True, they might not be as garish and in-your-face spectacular as the Hollywood versions of Perseus, Zeus, Andromeda, Medusa, Aphrodite, Hades and the Nymphs. But these are the gods as the Greeks envisioned them, divine beings (and their occasional human associates, like the heroic Perseus) who held humanity's fate in their hands. These were not deities to be toyed with, and as the objects displayed at the Walters suggest, the ancient Greeks took their gods and goddesses seriously.

"This was part of their myths, part of their religion," says Regine Schulz, the Walters' curator of ancient arts, "something that was regularly depicted by the Greek artists."

For millennia, Perseus has been one of the West's favorite heroes. The son of Zeus and the human princess Danae (the crafty Zeus impregnated her disguised as a shower of gold), the rash Perseus was more or less tricked into slaying the Gorgon Medusa - a task made extraordinarily difficult by Medusa's ability to turn men who caught her gaze into stone. But with the help of the gods themselves, who armed him with a special shield and sword, as well as a handy helmet of invisibility, Perseus succeeded.

"Clash of the Titans" is the second big-screen dramatization of the Perseus myth to use that name; the 1981 version featured beasts created by pioneering stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, including an absolutely horrid Medusa, a gigantic, lumbering Kracken and a cooing metallic owl (clearly modeled after R2-D2 from "Star Wars"). Harry Hamlin, who would later go on to small-screen fame as a lawyer on "L.A. Law" and a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars," got to play Perseus.

Visitors to the Walters might be disappointed to find that its representations of Perseus look nothing like Hamlin - or Sam Worthington, who stars in the new version, which will play in 3D in select theaters. But the objects, ranging in size from a half-dollar-size brooch to an elaborate sarcophagus, possess an unmistakable beauty and majesty, well beyond anything Hollywood's special-effects artists could conjure up.

Here is a sampling of what the Walters has to offer, as chosen by Schulz to illustrate both the Perseus myth and mortal and immortal characters who are key to it. Most can be found in the galleries devoted to Greek and Roman art, although pieces are scattered throughout the museum.

Athena
This 6-inch cast-bronze sculpture, dating from the 5th century B.C., shows the goddess who helped Perseus by presenting him with her highly polished shield. The ingenious Perseus would use the shield to capture Medusa's reflection, enabling him to see her without actually having to look at her. A technicality, perhaps, but it kept Perseus from turning to stone.

Gorgon's head: a triumph over death
A giant Gorgon head -- possibly that of Medusa, although she did have two sisters -- stares out from this royal Roman sarcophagus, dating from circa A.D. 210. The scene is meant to celebrate the victory of life over death. Among the ancient Greeks, depictions of Medusa and other vile creatures were common, as a means of protection against evil. "If you have it in your hand, it protects you," says Schulz, "not only from that demon, but from other dangers."

A god and his chariot
Zeus battles a pair of Titans, elder deities whom Zeus and his Olympians had displaced, on this 18th-century brooch. Zeus might have been supreme, but he didn't always have an easy time. "He had problems himself, with the Titans," says the Walters' Regine Schulz. "They were his enemies, they were fighting. Before he got to his throne, he had to work very hard."

Perseus in victory
Dating from the Italian Renaissance, this 14-inch tall pitcher shows one of the most famous images of the Perseus myth, as the proud warrior displays the head of Medusa that he has just severed from her body. Not surprisingly, many of the Walters' pieces depict Medusa; what artist could resist a woman with snakes for hair? "It's a little against the myth, because he doesn't have the shield in his hand," says Schulz. "But it doesn't matter. This is a wonderful piece."

Aphrodite
This Roman sculpture, from the late second or early third century B.C., is actually a copy of an earlier Greek piece. Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, a deity so beautiful that Zeus feared she would cause strife among male gods seeking her favor. The earliest Greeks would never have depicted one of their goddesses nude, Schulz says, as that would suggest a level of familiarity with which they would have been uncomfortable. "To show her naked, with her hand covering herself, makes it very clear that you are very close with this goddess," she says. Aphrodite might have little directly to do with the Perseus myth, but Ursula Andress still got to play her in the 1981 movie.