Perseus

Perseus, one of the most famous legendary heroes of ancient times, was the son of Zeus and Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos.

An oracle had foretold to Acrisius that a son of Danae would be the cause of his death, so he imprisoned her in a bronze tower to keep her away from all men. But Zeus descended through the roof of the tower in the form of a shower of gold, and the lovely Danae became his bride.

For four years Acrisius remained ignorant of this union, but one evening as he happened to pass by the bronze chamber, he heard the cry of a young child coming from inside, which led to the discovery of his daughter's marriage with Zeus. Enraged at finding all his precautions useless, Acrisius ordered the mother and child to be placed in a chest and thrown into the sea.

But it was not the will of Zeus that they should perish. He directed Poseidon to calm the troubled waters and caused the chest to float safely to the island of Seriphus. Dictys, brother of Polydectes, king of the island, was fishing on the seashore when he saw the chest stranded on the beach; and pitying the helpless condition of its unhappy occupants, he took them to the palace of the king, where they were treated with the greatest kindness.

Polydectes eventually married Danae and gave Perseus an education befitting a hero. When he saw his stepson grow into a noble and manly youth, he encouraged him to desire to distinguish himself by achieving some great and heroic deed. After careful thought, it was decided that killing the Gorgon Medusa would bring him the greatest fame.

For the successful accomplishment of this task, he needed a pair of winged sandals, a magic wallet, and the helmet of Hades, which made the wearer invisible. All these were in the keeping of the Nymphs, whose dwelling place was known only to the Graeae. Perseus set out on his expedition and, guided by Hermes and Athena, arrived after a long journey in the far-off region on the borders of Oceanus, where the Graeae lived. He immediately asked them for the necessary information, and when they refused, he took away their single eye and tooth, which he only gave back when they gave him full directions for his route. He then went to the home of the Nymphs, from whom he obtained the objects he needed.

Equipped with the magic helmet and wallet, and armed with a sickle given by Hermes, he strapped on the winged sandals and flew to the home of the Gorgons, whom he found fast asleep. Since Perseus had been warned by his divine guides that anyone who looked at these weird sisters would turn to stone, he stood with his face turned away from the sleepers and caught their triple image on his bright metal shield. Then, guided by Athena, he cut off the head of Medusa and placed it in his wallet. As soon as he did so, from the headless trunk sprang the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaor, the father of the winged giant Geryon. He then hurried to escape the pursuit of the two surviving sisters, who, awakened from their sleep, rushed eagerly to avenge their sister's death.

His invisible helmet and winged sandals served him well, for the helmet hid him from the view of the Gorgons, while the sandals carried him swiftly over land and sea, far beyond their reach. As he passed over the burning plains of Libya, drops of blood from Medusa's head oozed through the wallet and fell on the hot sands, producing a brood of many-colored snakes that spread all over the country.

Perseus continued his flight until he reached the kingdom of Atlas, of whom he begged rest and shelter. But since this king owned a valuable orchard where every tree bore golden fruit, he feared that the slayer of Medusa might destroy the dragon that guarded it and then rob him of his treasures. He therefore refused to grant the hospitality the hero demanded. Enraged at this rude rejection, Perseus took the head of Medusa from his wallet and held it toward the king, turning him into a stony mountain. His beard and hair became forests; his shoulders, hands, and limbs became huge rocks; and his head grew into a craggy peak that reached into the clouds.

Perseus then continued his travels. His winged sandals carried him over deserts and mountains until he arrived in Ethiopia, the kingdom of King Cepheus. There he found the country flooded with disastrous waters, towns and villages destroyed, and everywhere signs of ruin. On a projecting cliff near the shore he saw a lovely maiden chained to a rock. This was Andromeda, the king's daughter. Her mother Cassiopeia had boasted that her beauty surpassed that of the Nereids, so the angry sea nymphs appealed to Poseidon to avenge their wrongs. The sea god then devastated the country with a terrible flood that brought a huge monster, which devoured everything in its path.

In their distress, the unfortunate Ethiopians consulted the oracle of Jupiter-Ammon in the Libyan desert and received the answer that only by sacrificing the king's daughter to the monster could the country and people be saved. Cepheus, who loved his child dearly, at first refused to listen to this dreadful proposal, but finally, overcome by the prayers of his unhappy subjects, the heartbroken father gave up his child for the welfare of his country. Andromeda was chained to a rock on the seashore to be prey for the monster, while her unhappy parents mourned her sad fate on the beach below.

On learning the meaning of this tragic scene, Perseus offered to slay the dragon on condition that the lovely victim become his bride. Overjoyed at the prospect of Andromeda's rescue, the king gladly agreed, and Perseus hurried to the rock to speak words of hope and comfort to the trembling maiden. Then, putting on the helmet of Hades again, he rose into the air and waited for the monster to approach.

Soon the sea opened, and the shark-like head of the gigantic beast rose above the waves. Lashing its tail furiously from side to side, it leaped forward to seize its victim.

But the brave hero, watching his chance, suddenly swooped down, drew the head of Medusa from his wallet, and held it before the eyes of the dragon. The monster's hideous body gradually turned into a huge black rock, which remained forever a silent witness of the miraculous rescue of Andromeda. Perseus then led the maiden to her now happy parents, who, eager to show their gratitude to her rescuer, ordered immediate preparations for the wedding feast. But the young hero was not to take his lovely bride without a fight. In the middle of the banquet, Phineus, the king's brother, to whom Andromeda had previously been betrothed, returned to claim his bride. Followed by a band of armed warriors, he forced his way into the hall, and a desperate fight took place between the rivals, which might have ended fatally for Perseus had he not suddenly thought of Medusa's head.

Calling to his friends to turn away their faces, he drew it from his wallet and held it before Phineus and his formidable bodyguard, whereupon they all stiffened into stone.

Perseus now took leave of the Ethiopian king and, accompanied by his beautiful bride, returned to Seriphus, where a joyful meeting took place between Danae and her son. He then sent a messenger to his grandfather, telling him that he intended to return to Argos. But Acrisius, fearing the fulfillment of the oracle's prediction, fled for protection to his friend Teutemias, king of Larissa. Wanting to persuade the old king to return, Perseus followed him there. But a strange fate occurred. While taking part in some funeral games held in honor of the king's father, Perseus, by an unlucky throw of the discus, accidentally struck his grandfather and thus caused his death.

After celebrating the funeral rites of Acrisius with due solemnity, Perseus returned to Argos. But feeling unwilling to occupy the throne of one whose death he had caused, he exchanged kingdoms with Megapenthes, king of Tiryns, and in time founded the cities of Mycenae and Midea. He gave the head of Medusa to his divine patroness Athena, who placed it in the center of her shield.

Many great heroes were descended from Perseus and Andromeda, foremost among them Heracles, whose mother, Alcmene, was their granddaughter. Heroic honors were paid to Perseus not only throughout Argos but also at Athens and on the island of Seriphus.