The
Legend of
Perseus
MAIN
CHARACTERS
Who is...
PERSEUS
Perseus is the son of Danae, a human, and Zeus, a mighty god. He is famous for killing
the only mortal Gorgon, Medusa, with the guidance and assistance of Hermes and
Athena.
Who is...
DANAE
Danae is the mother of Perseus, whose father, Acrisius, regretted having a girl, and
when visiting a priestess that foretold her son killing the king, he decided to lock her
in a stone tower where she would eventually waste away. However, Zeus took pity
on her, and took the form of showering gold coins and impregnated her with the boy
who would become Perseus.
Who is...
KING ACRISIUS OF ARGOS
King Acrisius was afraid to kill his daughter, Danae, because he
had heard of the harsh punishment the gods gave when one
shed the blood of fellow kin, especially their children.
However, when he traveled to Delphi the priestess had
explained that her son would kill him. So he locked her in a
stone tower, where he hoped she would be out of his way.
When she did have a child, he locked them both in a brass chest
in hopes that they would sink to the bottom of the ocean and
forever be out of his way.
Who is...
DICTYS
Dictys, a local fisherman, found the brass bound chest that Danae and her son Perseus
were trapped in. He broke it open and took the two souls to his home, where he
nourished them for many years with his caring wife. Dictys brother is Polydectes.
Who is...
MEDUSA
One of the three Gorgans who lived on Terrible Sisters Island, and
the only one that was mortal and could be slain. It is said that the
gaze of Medusa would instantly turn any man into stone. The
Gorgons were known for deadly power and the snakes in their hair.
Perseus offered to claim Medusa’s head as a wedding gift (hmm…)
between his mother and Polydectes.
Who is...
HERMES
The guide and the giver of good, who wears a winged hat, winged sandals,
and carries a winged gold wand. Hermes was Perseus’s guide to find the
Fates, and lead him to the land of the Northern Nyphs that would help to
properly equip him to kill Medusa. He presented Perseus with a sword
that could cut through the Gorgon’s extremely tough scales.
Who is...
ATHENA
Athena supplied Perseus with the mirror
shield that enabled him to see Medusa,
and accurately kill the horrid Gorgon.
She is the patron goddess of Athens and
of crafts and domestic arts and also those
of war.
Who are...
THE FATES
The Fates (or Gray Women) are three witches that dwell in a country of shrouded
darkness where no ray of light, whether moon or sun, ever enters. The are gray
themselves, as from extreme age, and the three share one eye which they take turns
with, placing it on their foreheads to see. These three hags were the only ones who
knew how to reach the Nyphs of the North.
Who is...
POLYDECTES
Polydectes was Dictys’s brother. And when he
discovered the mother and son that Dictys and his wife
were watching over, he instantly fell in love with Danae.
Being the king, Polydectes wished to marry Danae, but
did not want Perseus. So when time of the wedding
came, he knew that Perseus would not be able to afford
a nice wedding gift, and suggested he bring back
Medusa’s head, sure of himself that Persues would take
the bait, and be slaughtered by the three Gorgons.
The Story
that won’t put you to sleep…or else…
King Acrisius of Argos had only one child, a daughter. Her name
was Danae, and she was the most beautiful girl in the land…but to
him, that was hardly a comfort. He journeyed to Delphi to consult a
priestess as to if there was any chance he would be the father of a
boy. She said that he would not have a son, but something far worse
would happen. Danae’s future son, would grow up and come to kill
him. The easiest way for the king to escape his fate would be to kill
his daughter, however he knew that the gods had horrible punishment
for those that killed their kin. Instead, Acrisius locked his daughter
in a stone tower, where all she had to look out of was a glass window
to the sky. Zeus soon came to visit her in the form of showering gold
coins, where he impregnated her, and she eventually had her son,
Perseus.
The king was terrified when he heard of Danae’s son.
So he then built a brass chest which he locked Danae and her son young
son into, and then tossed it into the ocean in hope that they would sink
within the oceans depths. Quite the opposite happened, because it floated,
maybe Zeus was looking over his child, or some other god may have taken
pity, maybe it was just the way of fate, but the chest made it to shore
where a local fisherman named Dictys broke it open, and took the two poor
individuals to his home where his wife took care of them for many years.
The husband and wife nourished the two, and watched over young
Perseus, teaching him the traits of the fisherman. Danae believed her son
was out of harms way, as it turns out, she was wrong. Polydectes was
the brother of Dictys, and ruler of the small island. He fell in love with
Danae, and wanted to marry her, but didn’t want Perseus as “extra
baggage”.
Polydectes had heard of some fearsome monsters called Gorgons, which he
had evidently talked to Perseus quite a bit about. When time for the wedding
came, Perseus had no great gift to offer, so he proclaimed that he would
bring back Medusa’s head! This is exactly what Polydectes had predicted
and wished to happen. For he knew that no man in his right mind would
dare to go after one of the most fearsome monsters of all time. Especially
one that could turn any man into stone just by one piercing glare. Perseus’s
adventure to seek out and kill Medusa had begun.
No man, by himself, could ever dream of killing Medusa. However,
two powerful gods were watching over him, Hermes and Athena.
Perseus first traveled to Delphi to consult with the priestess as to where
he should travel to reach Terrible Sister’s Island. All the priestess
told him was “seek the land where men eat not Demeter’s golden grain,
but only acorns.” So he traveled to Dodona, the land of the talking
oaks, which they only told him “you are under the protection of the
gods”, but did not know where the gorgons lived. Perseus heart began
to fill with despair, when suddenly a being so lovely and so beautiful
appeared wearing a winged hat, winged sandals, and carried a golden
winged wand, that it had to be no other than Hermes. His hope was
rejuvenated, and with a new energy, and Hermes as a guide, and went
in search for the Nymphs of the North to gain some precious equipment
to kill Medusa. First however, he needed to know where to find them.
Hermes suggested going to the Fates, or the three Grey Women who all
shared one eye. A master plan was being formulated…
Hermes thought day and night, and came up with a brilliant plan.
When the witches would pass the eye, Perseus should run up and grab
it, then demand that they tell him how to find the Nymphs of the
North. It was flawless. Perseus waited for the opportune moment,
then ran up and grabbed the slimy eye. The witches of course told him
how to find the secret path, because they couldn’t live without their
sacred pupil. “Neither by ship nor yet by land shall one find the
wondrous road to the gathering place of the Hyperborean,” however,
Perseus finally reached them, and received three gifts: winged sandals,
in which he could fly; a magic wallet, which would automatically
become any size for whatever was to be carried; and the most significant
gift, a magical cap, which made the wearer invisible. Hermes gave
him a special sword that could cut through the strongest marble, and the
Gorgon’s golden scales. Athena gave him a mirror shield in which he
could view Medusa without getting turned to stone.
Armed to his teeth, Perseus was
finally ready to take on Medusa.
Hermes guided him to Terrible
Sisters Island where the three
gorgons lay sleeping. Athena told
which Perseus which gorgon was
Medusa, for the other two were
immortal. In one smooth motion,
with his hand guided by Athena
and viewing Medusa through the
mirror shield, Perseus sliced
through her neck, grabbed her
head, and dropped it into the
wallet, flying off into the night,
invisible to the enraged gorgon
sisters.
As Perseus was heading back home, he stopped by at Eithiopia, where he
discovered an incredibly beautiful maiden by the name of Adromeda, who
was tied to a rock and was going to be sacrificed to a sea serpent. By this
time Hermes had long left Perseus’s side. Andromeda’s mother, the
Queen of Eithiopia, had boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than
the daughter of Nereus, the sea god. Back in those days it was most
certain anguish that would fall upon those who claimed any sort of
superiority over any deity. In this case, her daughter was to be punished by
being devoured alive while tied to big stone over looking the ocean, smooth
move mom. This sacrifice was the only way for the Eithiopians to rid
them-selves of the terrifying serpent. Once Perseus looked upon her
tortured face, he fell in love, and waited by her side until the serpent came,
and when it did, SPLAT! He sliced its head off just like Medusa, and
proceed to ask her parents for her hand, which they readily agreed to.
Perseus finally returned to the island, and was enthralled to tell his mom the
grand news…but Dictys’s wife was dead, and Danae and the fisherman,
along with some friends, were hiding in a cave from Polydectes. He was
incredibly enraged because Danae had refused to marry him. Perseus was
sickened by this new, until he learned that the king was having a banquet for
all that favor him, to be held in the grand hall, the opportune moment had
arisen. Perseus attended the banquet, and when he entered the room, all men
turned in disbelief as to how he could have survived his quest. Impossible!
And before any of the kings cruel and servile men could turn away, out
popped Medusa’s head and they all turned to stone. The island was now
free of Polydectes tyrant rule. Perseus placed Dictys as the island’s king,
and his mother went with Perseus and Andromeda back to Greece to try and
reconcile with Acrisius…
When Perseus, along with his girlfriend and mom, returned
to Argos, they were surprised to discover that Acrisius had
been dethroned and driven out of the city. No one knew
where the coward ran to. It was fairly soon after their
arrival that Perseus heard of an athletic contest being held
in the North by King Larissa. Entering the discus
competition, to show Andromeda how big and strong he was,
he hurled the missile which landed in the audience and hit
Acrisius himself, who was on a visit to the king. The blow
was fatal, and the prophecy foretold many years before held
true and completed. With his death, a newfound piece fell
over Perseus and Andromeda, and they lived happily ever
after…but not before they had a kid. His name was
Electryon, later the grandfather of Hercules. As for
Medusa’s head, Athena kept it and bore it on aegis, Zeus’s
shield, which she always held for him.
THE END