Perseus the Hero

There once was a king named Acrisius, who had a beautiful daughter named Danae. The oracle of Apollo told Acrisius that Danae's son would one day kill him. Acrisius could not let that happen, so he locked Danae away in a bronze tower so that she could never marry or have childeren.

The tower had no doors, but it did have one very small window. One day a bright shower of gold came through the small window and a man appeared. He had a thunderbolt in his hand and Danae knew at once that he was a god. The man said, "I am the god Zeus and I wish to make you my wife. I can make this dark prison a wonderful, sunny land with many flowers."

Then all happened as he said. The horrible prison became fields almost as wonderful as the Elysian Fields themselves. However, one day Acrisius saw light coming out of the small window. He told his men to tear down one of the walls, and he walked into the tower and saw Danae with a baby on her lap. Smiling, she said, "I have named him Perseus." Acrisius was furious. He shut Danae and the baby Perseus in a large chest and cast them out to sea.

Somehow they got safely to the island of Seriphos where Polydectes was king. The king's brother, a fisherman called Dictys, caught them in his net, and pulled them to shore. Perseus grew up to become a strong young man. Polydectes heard about Danae and wanted her to marry him, but she rejected him. Polydectes would have married Danae by force if Perseus had not been there to protect her.

Polydectes devised on a plan to get rid of Perseus. Polydectes pretended he was marrying a daughter of a friend of his. Everybody had to bring a present to the wedding, including Perseus. Polydectes pretended to be furious when Perseus arrived empty-handed, for although he was very strong and brave, he was also very poor. "What, no wedding present?", yelled Polydectes. "I have no money!", exclaimed Perseus. "That's what you get for being a lazy good-for-nothing.", said Polydectes. Perseus was very angry. "I can bring you any present in the world, anything.", he said. "Then bring me the head of the gorgon Medusa!", replied Polydectes. "I will!", promised Perseus.

So off he went on his perilous voyage. For days he wandered, searching for the gorgon's lair. The gorgons were horrible, instead of hair they had black serpents that writhed on their head. They had brazen hands that could have squashed poor Perseus, but worst of all if you looked a gorgon you were instantly turned to stone.

One night, in an unknown country, he began to realise just how hopeless things were. Then suddenly a tall woman and a young man with winged sandals appeared. The man said, "I am Hermes, and this is my sister Athena." "You are the son of Zeus, and we have some things that may help you in slaying Medusa. Take my winged sandals and the sickle which Cronos used to overpower Uranus, and Zeus used against the mighty Typhoeus." "And here is a gift from me", said Athena. "Use this shield to reflect the image of Medusa so you won't be turned to stone." Hermes then said "You must find the Graeae and ask them to tell you how to find the Nymphs of the North. They will be able to give you the cap of darkness and a magic wallet, and will tell you how to find the Gorgons' lair"

So Perseus journeyed to the cave of the Graeae. The Graeae were strange women. There were three of them, but they had only one eye between them which they constantly fought over. Perseus hid behind some bushes and watched them for a while. When one took out the eye to pass to another, Perseus sprang from his hiding place and snatched the eye from them. "I have your eye and if you do not tell me how to find the Nymphs of the North you shall never have it back", said Perseus. They reluctantly told him how to find the Nymphs of the North. He gave them back their eye and flew off on his winged sandals.

The kindly Nymphs of the North gave him the Cap of Darkness which had the power to make it's wearer invisible, and the magic wallet. They told him how to reach the gorgons' lair. Perseus went further north until he found an island surrounded by rocks and statues which used to be men.

Perseus raised his shield and saw Medusa and her sisters asleep, he put on the Cap of Darkness and flew down. He swung the sickle and felt it tearing through sinew and bone. Still looking into the shield, he put Medusa's head in the magic wallet. Medusa's sisters woke up and went to attack Perseus. He flew quickly away on his winged sandals and escaped unhurt. On his way back to Seriphos he had many adventures, one was that when he saw Atlas holding up the sky. Perseus felt sorry for Atlas and turned him to stone, by showing him the head of Medusa, so that he would no longer feel the weight of his heavy burden.

Some time later he saw what looked like a statue chained to a rock. As he flew down he saw that it was not a statue, but a woman. He asked why she was chained to the rock. "My name is Andromeda and I have been punished because of my vain mother. She boasted that I was more beautiful then the Nereids. Poseidon was angered and said that I must be sacrificed to a sea monster", she said. Even as she spoke a monster rose from the sea.

Perseus pulled Medusa's head from the wallet and the sea monster was turned to stone. Perseus cut Andromada's chains and took her to her father, King Cepheus of Phoenicia. When Perseus asked Andromeda's hand in marriage, Cepheus gladly agreed. So Perseus with Andromeda in his arms set off for Seriphos. On the way they stopped at Larisa so that Perseus could compete in some games. When when he threw a discus it hit an old man watching in the stands. The old man was Acrisius. So the prophecy made by the oracle of Apollo came true and Perseus and Andromeda left.

When they arrived at Seriphos, the first person they met was Dictys the fisherman who brought Danae and Perseus to shore after they had been cast into the sea in the trunk. Dictys told Perseus and Andromeda how Polydectes had never really married, and since Danae wouldn't marry Polydectes, he forced her to be his handmaiden. Perseus was furious. He told Dictys to take care of Andromeda. Perseus stormed to the palace, walked in and proclaimed "Let all who are my friends shield their eyes". So saying he raised Medusa's head and Polydectes and his courtiers were changed to statues.

Perseus and Andromeda lived happily for many years and their descendants became great kings. When Perseus and Andromeda died, they went up into the sky and became constellations.