Adventures of Perseus
Perseus' life was a very interesting one, full of
adventures. He was the son of the god Zeus and mortal, Danae. Acrisius, Perseus' grandfather, had asked an oracle if he would
ever have any kids; the answer he got was shocking and led him to live in a
life of paranoia. He was told that his daughter would have a son that would
eventually kill him. Acrisius, driven by the force of fear, had his daughter Danae jailed in an underground cave with brass walls. Nevertheless,
the mighty Zeus, who had an eye for beauty and a way with women few
dared to compete, had already spotted the beautiful maiden. He transformed into
a shower of golden rain and entered the cave where Danae was held.
Through their union, Danae gave birth to a baby boy, which she managed to keep
secret for some time.
It wasn't long,
though, that her angry father found out about the baby. He refused to believe
that Zeus had anything to do with it. He thought
about killing his grandson himself, but his guilt would not let him.
Desperately seeking a solution that would pose no danger to his life, he made
up his mind. He had a wooden ark built for his daughter and his grandson, and
he immediately ordered the two of them to be placed in it and to be set adrift
at sea.
The wooden ark washed
up on the island of Seriphos. There, a fisherman named Dictes, who was the
brother of Polydectes,
the ruler of the island, found it. He kindly took in young Perseus and his mother and shared his home with
them. During this time, Perseus grew into a
strong and brave man blessed with many talents, undoubtedly the result of a
god's grace. However, Polydectes fell
in love with Danae, and Perseus, wanting to protect her, kept his mother under guard at all
times. So, Polydectes devised
a plan; he invited some friends for dinner, and asked them what gift they would
bring him if he was ever to ask for one. Perseus answered that if it was necessary, he would
bring the head of Medusa. The King agreed and asked Perseus to bring him the head of the Medusa, otherwise, he would take his mother.
Perseus set forth on his adventure to get Medusa's head. Athena and Hermes set out to help Perseus with this challenge. With his
intelligence and wit, Perseus managed to trick
the nymphs who gave him winged sandals, so he could fly above the ground; a
bag, so he could carry the head of the Medusa; and the helmet of Hades, which would make him invisible. Using the winged sandals, Perseus flew above Medusa, looking only at her
reflection using the shiny shield that Athena had given him. Invisible thanks to Hades' helmet, Perseus cut Medusa's head
off, placed it in the bag and set for home.
On his way home, he
met Andromeda who he rescued from a sea monster. They
quickly fell in love and decided to get married. However, Andromeda's uncle, who wanted her for himself,
disagreed and plotted to murder Perseus. Having Medusa's head
gave Perseus a great advantage. He took out the head and as soon
as Andromeda's uncle looked at it, he turned into stone. When Perseus arrived
home, he did the same with Polydectes, who was
harassing Perseus' mother.
