1. (the guy who kills Medusa)
The Tale of Perseus
(the guy who kills Medusa)

2. Perseus “facts”
He was the husband of Andromeda, and he was always faithful to her.
He is the son of Zeus, which makes #1 even more incredible.
Homer calls him the “most renowned of all men.”

3. Who tells his story? Full length stories: Apollodorus and Ovid
Pausinaius and Herodotus mention him.
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides wrote plays about him.

4. Where did he come from?
Perseus is one of the (many) sons of Zeus. His mother, Danae, is the daughter (and only child) of King Acrisius of Argos. King Acrisius was worried about what would happen to his kingdom once he died since he had no male heir.

5. Acrisius’s prophesy
With the wisdom of a fortune cookie, the Oracle foretold that although Acrisius would never have a son of his own, his daughter would further the bloodline.
Acrisius was thrilled until he heard the second part of the prophesy.

6. Prophesy, Part 2 Yes, Acrisius’ daughter would have a son.
That son was destined to kill Acrisius.

7. Acrisius’ plan
To keep her from fulfilling her part of the prophesy, Acrisius shuts Danae in a subterranean house which opened directly to the sky.
He kept her guarded day and night.

8. You can’t stop Zeus!
One night Zeus transformed himself into a shower of gold. As he rained into Danae’s prison he somehow managed to impregnate her.
No, I don’t know how this shower+Danae=Perseus thing works.

9. The secret
Somehow, Danae managed to give birth secretly. She also managed to hide her son from Acrisius for a while.
When he eventually discovered them, he refused to believe Zeus was the father. He also began looking for ways to get rid of Perseus.

10. Away they go…
Acrisius eventually decided that the best way to get his daughter and his future murderer safely away from him was to lock them in a trunk and toss them into the ocean. This way they could die, but it wouldn’t technically be his fault.

11. Zeus made sure his son and Danae did not die
Zeus made sure his son and Danae did not die. They washed up on a beach on the island of Seriphus where a fisherman named Dictys found them.
Perseus and Danae lived with Dictys and his wife for many years and grew to be like family.

12. Around the time Perseus was grown, Dictys’s brother, Polydectes (ruler of Seriphus) noticed Danae. Danae was still a beautiful woman, and Polydectes decided she should be his wife. (Whether she wanted to be or not!)

13. …and she didn’t!
Danae had absolutely no desire to be married to Polydectes. He was a jerk. Because she had a son she did have someone to keep her from being taken. Perseus had the right to refuse the marriage offer on her behalf.
Polydectes came up with a plan: Get rid of Perseus.

14. To save her son…
Danae realized that her refusal of Polydectes could really hurt Perseus’s chances of staying alive. She agreed to marry Polydectes.
Polydectes announced his wedding and required everyone to bring lavish gifts. He knew Perseus could not comply since he was poor.

15. Perseus announces he will go get the greatest gift of all: the head of Medusa.

16. How Medusa became Medusa
Medusa was the daughter of Phorcys and Cieto.
Medusa was a beautiful maiden and servant in the temple of Athena. ( The temple is the Parthenon, in case you’ve forgotten.)
One day, Poseidon took a “liking” to her and decided to “have his way” with her whether she agreed to it or not.

17. The classicalParthenon was constructed between BCE to be the focus of the Acropolis building complex. The architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates (Vitruvius also names Karpion as an architect) and it was dedicated to the goddess Athena Pallas or Parthenos (virgin). The temple’s main function was to shelter the monumental statue of Athena that was made by Pheidias out of gold and ivory.

18. Reproduction of the Athena Parthenos statue in Nashville
The temple was constructed to house the new gold and ivory cult statue of the goddess by the master sculptor Phidias (also Pheidias) and to proclaim to the world the success of Athens as leader of the coalition of Greek forces in the Persian Wars. The cult statue, begun in 447 BCE and dedicated in 438 BCE, would remain the great city’s symbol for a thousand years until, in Late Antiquity, it disappeared from the historical record, possibly taken to Constantinople and there later destroyed. The Athena Parthenos was a gigantic statue which, according to Pliny, was around 11.5 metres tall (26 cubits) and was made of carved ivory for flesh parts and gold (1140 kilos or 44 talents of it) for everything else, all wrapped around a wooden core.

19. All this against her will way taking occurred within the walls of Athena’s temple (the Parthenon).
Obviously, Athena was furious!
How dare Poseidon deflower her virgin priestess within the holy sanctuary of the Parthenon?

20. The victim gets the blame
Athena was so furious..with MEDUSA..she turned her into the hideous, snake haired creature we know as the Gorgon, Medusa.
Medusa was one of three sisters. Her sisters, Euryale and Stheno, were immortal. Medusa was not. They were all cursed.

21. Back to Perseus… Polydectes expected Perseus to die.
No one knew where the Gorgons lived.
Perseus consulted the Oracles at Delphi and Dodona; neither were any help.

22. Perseus gets help
Hermes and Athena show up to give Perseus some assistance. They tell him to go to the nymphs of the North to get some special equipment.
To get to the nymphs, Perseus needed to visit the Gray women.
Hermes led him on this first part of the journey.

23. Hermes and Athena give Perseus a few tools as well.
Hermes gives him a magical sword that won’t break.
Athena lends Perseus a shiny bronze shield.

24. The Gray women
Three sisters of the Gorgons who looked like swans with human heads and hands and they had arms under their wings.
They shared one eye.
Perseus used it to get the information he needed.

25. To the Hyperboreans
Perseus goes to the farthest North to the land of the Hyperboreans. The Hyperboreans gave him three gifts:
Winged sandals
A cap to make him invisible
A bag which would hold anything. No matter what size.
Hermes knew where the Gorgons lived, so he flew Perseus to their island.

26. Perseus arrives while the Gorgons are asleep.
Perseus used his shield to watch the reflection of the Gorgons to aim.
He chopped off Medusa’s head, stuffed it in his bag, and flew away.

27. The return home…
Perseus flew home via Ethiopia, and he found a beautiful maiden about to be eaten by a sea monster.
Her name was Andromeda.
Andromeda’s mother, Casseiopeia, had bragged that her daughter was more beautiful than the daughters of the sea god.

28. Because of this bragging, an angry sea monster was terrorizing the Ethiopians.
An Oracle was consulted, and the prophesy was given: Sacrifice Andromeda and the monster will leave.

29. Andromeda’s father chained her to a rock and waited for the sea monster to eat her.
Perseus saw her and fell instantly in love.
Perseus killed the sea monster and asked permission for Andromeda to marry him.
(Perseus had to kill her ex-boyfriend with Medusa’s head.)

30. Meanwhile… Perseus and Andromeda returned to Perseus’s home.
Danae had decided not to marry Polydectes and was in hiding with Dictys and his wife.
Polydectes was having a party when Perseus walked in and showed him his “gift.”

31. Danae wanted the family to return home to Argos
Danae wanted the family to return home to Argos. When they got there Acrisius wasn’t there.
Perseus entered a sporting event.
He threw the discus into the stands.
He hit Acrisius and killed him.

32. Let’s take a look at the Hero’s Journey cycle for Perseus!
Let’s take a look at the Hero’s Journey
cycle for
Perseus!