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>.