Transcript Perseus
Perseus
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Origin
King Acrisius was told
that the son of his
daughter, Danae, would
kill him.
He could not let this
happen so he locked her
in a tower to never marry
or have children
However, a man with a
thunderbolt appeared to
her and together they
gave birth to a boy,
Perseus.
Cast Away
King Acrisius was furious when he discovered the child.
He shut Danae and Perseus up in a chest and cast them
out to sea.
Somehow they got to Seriphos where Polydectes was
king.
Polydectes’ Plot
Soon Polydectes fell in
love with Danae and
wanted to remove
Perseus.
Perseus was tricked into
offering anything
Poldectes wanted as a
wedding gift.
He demanded the head
of Medusa, a gorgon with
a gaze that turned people
to stone.
Help from the Gods
Divine help was needed
for this quest and it came
from Hermes and Athena.
Athena gave Perseus her
mirrored shield and
Hermes gave him his
sword.
He then visited the Gray
Women and forced them
to tell him how to get to
the Gorgons. He was
also given a satchel,
winged sandals, and a
cap to make him invisible.
Slaying Medusa
He used the reflection in his shield to approach
Medusa and cut off her head.
The other Gorgons attacked, but Perseus used
the sandals and the cap to escape.
Princess Andromeda
As he passed Ethiopia on
his return trip, Perseus
spied Andromeda
chained to a rock.
Her father was sacrificing
her to a sea monster to
please Poseidon.
Perseus rescued her in
return for their marriage.
Return to Seriphos
When Perseus
returned to Seriphos,
he used Medusa’s
head to turn
Polydectes to stone.
He made Polydectes’
brother, Dictys, the
new king.
Prophecy Fulfilled and The End
At an athletic event
sometime later, Perseus
thrilled a crowd with his
discus skill.
However, he accidentally
struck and killed a man
who turned out to be
Acrisius.
The prophecy originally
told to Acrisius had come
true.
Works Cited
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York:
Little Brown & Company, 1940. Print.
"Perseus." Greek Mythology. 2005. Web.
21 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.greekmythology.com/Myth
s/Heroes/Perseus/perseus.html>.