Arcisius, king of Argos, missed having a son. He consulted the Oracle of Delphi, but the answer he received shocked him: his daughter will have a son who’d eventually kill him. This put the fear of god in him and he confined Danae his daughter in an underground cave with brass walls.
This was a challenge mighty Zeus couldn’t resist. He changed into a shower of golden rain and entered the cave and married Danae.
When Arcisius learnt of the birth of Perseus to his daughter, he was furious. But not wanting to kill his grandson, he got ready a wooden ark for Danae and baby Perseus and set them adrift at sea.
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Days later, Danae and the child were washed ashore on the island of Seriphos. Dictes, a fisherman and brother of the ruler of the island, took them in and cared for them. Perseus grew up strong and brave.
On a mission
The ruler, Polydectes, wanted to marry Danae and began to harass her. He devised a plan; he invited friends over for dinner and asked them what gift they’d bring him if he ever were to ask for one! Perseus’ answer was, if need be, he’ll get the head of Medusa, the gorgon. Now, Medusa was a fearsome monster who turned into stone anyone who looked at her.
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Perseus set forth on his mission. The gods came to his help: Athena and Hermes presented him winged sandals so he could fly, a bag so that he could carry the head of Medusa, and a cap of darkness that would make him invisible. He took care to look only at the reflection of Medusa on his shining shield and chopped off her head and put it in the magic bag. He then turned homewards.
When Polydectes looked at the face of Medusa, he became a block of stone!
As for Arcisius, when he heard of the feats of Perseus, he fled the country.
It so happened that he attended the athletic games in Larissa where Perseus was a participant. When Perseus' threw the discus, it slipped from his hand and hit his grandfather on the head, killing him. When Perseus realised it was his grandfather he’d killed, he was sad and gave him a grand burial.
Monster Medusa
A gorgon is a monster with the face of a hideous female with live snakes in place of hair. There were three gorgon sisters — Medusa, Stheno and Euryace. Medusa was the golden-haired, fair-skinned priestess of Athena. But when she fell in love with Poseidon and married him, Athena cursed her. Each wavy lock of her hair became a snake, her gentle eyes turned blood-shot orbs, and her milk-white skin became green.