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Perseus
A Fairy Tale Hero
Perseus’ Birth
Danae’s father locked her in an underground tomb to keep her from
having children, since a prophecy had said his grandson would kill him.
But Zeus entered in a shower of gold and impregnated her. She kept
Perseus’ birth a secret until the sound of his playing gave them away.
Her father locked them in
a box and set them afloat.
They were found by a
fisherman, Dictys (“Net”)
on the island of Seriphos.
The king, Polydectes, fell
in love with Danae when
Perseus was a young man.
The Quest
Polydectes wanted to get Perseus out of the way. Once he invited
Perseus to a feast, the price for admission was to bring the king a
horse. Perseus said he could just as easily bring him the Gorgon’s
head (meaning he was way too poor). Polydectes said “Do it, then,”
and sent him on the quest.
Both Hermes and Athena took
pity on Perseus. They told him
how to proceed, bringing him
to the Graeae, old women who
shared only one eye and one
tooth among them. Perseus
maneuvered them into helping
him. They gave him a cap of
invisibility, winged sandals, and
a magic bag.
The Gorgons
Three Gorgons lived on an island
way out in the ocean. There are
different versions of their nature:
•They were beautiful maidens
•They were hideous figures with
snakes for hair
But sources agree that
•The Gorgons were dangerous,
flying women
•Medusa was loved by Poseidon
Perseus received a scimitar
from Hermes, and Athena
advised him to polish up his
shield.
•Medusa was the only one who
was vulnerable
•One look at Medusa would turn
the looker into stone
The Quest
All of Perseus’ gifts came in
handy.
•he flew there and away
with the winged sandals
•he looked in the polished
shield so as not to be
turned into stone while he
cut off the Gorgon’s head
with the scimitar
•he popped the head right
into the magic bag
•and he got away with it
because he was invisible.
Pegasus
As Medusa died, her two sons by Poseidon sprang out:
•Chrysaor (golden-sword), later father of Geryon, and
•Pegasus, the winged horse
From the drops of the gorgon’s blood as Perseus flew across
Libya came all the poisonous snakes of the world.
Andromeda
On his way back, Persus
stopped to save the maiden
Andromeda, who was tied to
a rock, waiting to be eaten
by a sea serpent.
He killed the monster and
rescued the maiden, who
became his wife.
When he returned home, he
found that Polydectes was
trying to force himself on
Danae. He revealed the
Gorgon’s head, turning the
evil king and his supporters
to stone.
Acrisius
Acrisius, as is always the case, could
not escape fate. He attended an
athletic competition where Perseus
was throwing the discus. The discus
flew into the crowd and killed him
Good riddance.
Persus and Andromeda were,
however, tainted with miasma. So
they left their newly inherited
kingdom of Argos and exchanged
kingdoms with the king of Tiryns.
In Tiryns in historical times, young
(7-9 year old) boys underwent an
age-group initiation in which the
Perseus story figured.
Perseus and Folktale
The Perseus story reads more like a
folktale than most heroic sagas
with such elements as:
•Danae and Perseus floating in a
box, miraculously rescued
•The vengeful king and quest
meant to kill Perseus
•The scary Gorgons
•help by Hermes, Athena and the
Graeae – through magic talismans
•Rescuing the princess
•Revenge on the evil king
finis