Now that we’ve finished with the labours of Hercules, let’s look at another Greek hero: Persesus, who was Hercules’ ancestor. Acrisius, the king of Argos, was warned by a soothsayer that he would be killed by his daughter’s son. To save his life, the king imprisoned his daughter Danae in a huge tower. But Danae’s beauty drew the eyes of the king of gods, Zeus. He visited her as a golden shower of rain. Of their union was born Perseus.
When Acrisius found that Danae had borne a son despite his precautions, he put mother and baby into a huge chest and threw it into the sea.
After many days, the chest came ashore at the island of Seriphos, and Danae and Persues were rescued by a fisherman names Dictys. Perseus grew into a strong, handsome young man, but Dictys’ brother Polydectes, the king of the island, wanted to get rid of Perseus so that he could carry away Danae. As part of his plan, he held a big dinner at which people had to bring him expensive gifts. Perseus, who was invited, couldn’t bring anything. Polydectes humiliated him and an angry Perseus swore that he would bring the king the head of Medusa, the gorgon.
Off on a quest
Perseus asked Dictys to look after his mother and set out on his quest. On the way, he met the god Hermes who gave him a pair of winged sandals that would carry him anywhere and a helmet that would make him invisible. The goddess Athena gave him a special sword that would cut the gorgon’s neck, a highly polished shield through which he should see the gorgon, and a bag to hide the head. They also told him to seek out the Graeae, three sisters who had but one eye between them, to find out the way to the gorgon’s lair.
Once Perseus reached the cave where the Graeae lived, he hid himself. The three old women were huddled around the fire passing the eye to each other. Perseus watched for his chance and grabbed the eye. This forced the women to tell him how to reach Medusa’s home.
When he got there, Medusa and her sisters were asleep. Perseus put on his helmet and held up the shield so he could use the image reflected on its surface. He cut off her head, put the severed head in the bag and flew away before Medusa’s sisters realised what had happened.
Who was Medusa?
Medusa was a beautiful woman who was cursed by Athena for profaning her temple. Her hair was turned into snakes; her face acquired a greenish tinge and her expression would turn anyone who looked on her into stone. She had two sisters, Sthenno and Euryale
