Perseus
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Greek Son of the god Zeus and Danae;
husband of Andromeda; father of Perses; slayer of
the Gorgon Medusa. After many exploits, Perseus
may have become king of Argos, but legends differ
about what actually happened. Some say that Perseus,
Andromeda, and their son, Perses, went to Asia and
founded the land of Persia; others say that Perseus
accepted the throne of Tiryns and founded the city of
Mycenae.
The Childhood of Perseus Danae, daughter
of King Acrisius of Argos was mother of Perseus.
An Oracle had predicted that Acrisius would die at
the hands of a son of Danae. Acrisius locked Danae
in a bronze tower or chamber. The great god Zeus
entered the tower and covered Danae with a shower
of gold, after which she bore the son that she named
Perseus. Acrisius put mother and son into a wooden
chest and cast them upon the sea, hoping thus to
avoid the fate the oracle had foreseen.
The fisherman Dictys spotted the chest and
rescued the pair. He took them to the court of King
Polydectes on the island of Seriphos.
Some years later Polydectes fell in love with
Danae and wanted to marry her. Perseus, now a
robust young warrior, knew that his mother did not
want the attentions of the king. To get the young man
out of the way, Polydectes contrived to send him on
a dangerous and impossible quest. Polydectes asked
Perseus to bring back the head of Medusa.
Perseus and Medusa Perseus and his mother
had been cast away from Argos by King Acrisius, the
father of Danae. They found shelter at the court of
King Polydectes on the island of Seriphos. When
Perseus became a young man, Polydectes sent him on
a quest: to bring back the head of Medusa, the sight
of whom turned men to stone.
Fortunately, Perseus had allies among the gods.
Athene, who had turned Medusa from a beautiful
maiden into a hideous monster with snakes for hair,
still hated Medusa for defiling one of her temples.
Athene warned Perseus never to look directly at
Medusa lest he be turned to stone, and gave him a
burnished shield to use as a mirror. Hermes gave him
a sickle, a leather bag in which to carry the severed
head, and a pair of winged sandals so that he could
fly. Hermes also told Perseus where to find the Graea
and how to borrow the helmet of Hades, which
would allow him to become invisible.
The Graea (Gray Women) were the sisters of
the Gorgons. They had only one eye and one tooth
among the three of them, which they used in turn.
Perseus snatched away the eye and gave it back only
when the Graea told him where to find Medusa.
Now well protected by the weapons of the gods,
Perseus slew Medusa and cut off her head, which
he carefully stowed in his leather bag. From the
blood of Medusa sprang Chrysaor and the winged
horse, Pegasus, children of Medusa and the sea god,
Poseidon.
Perseus and Andromeda With Medusa's head
in his leather bag, Perseus set off on his winged sandals
to take the head to King Polydectes of Seriphos.
As he flew along the coast, he saw a beautiful woman
chained to a rock, weeping. She was Andromeda,
daughter of King Cepheus of Ethiopia, in northeast
Africa, and of Cassiopeia. Perseus saved Andromeda
from being devoured by a sea monster. He uncovered
the head of Medusa and turned the monster to stone.
Perseus and Andromeda fell in love and decided
to marry. At the wedding feast, Perseus defeated
another suitor of Andromeda, Phineus, by using the
Gorgon's head to turn Phineus and his soldiers into
an army of stone.
Perseus and Polydectes When Danae and her
infant son Perseus were cast adrift in a wooden box
on the Aegean Sea, they were rescued by a fisherman,
Dictys, and taken to the court of King Polydectes.
Polydectes and Dictys (who may have been the
brother of the king) took good care of the mother
and child. As the years went by, Polydectes became
enamored of Danae. To get the son out of the way,
Polydectes sent Perseus on the quest to bring back
the head of Medusa. Danae was protected from the
amorous king by Dictys. They took refuge in a temple.
Polydectes amassed an army and went after them.
Perseus came to the rescue and turned the king and his
soldiers into stone, again using the head of Medusa.
Dictys became the new king of Seriphos. Perseus,
Danae, and Andromeda returned to Argos, the birthplace
of Perseus.
Perseus and Acrisius After Perseus had killed
Medusa and turned Polydectes to stone, he and his
wife, Andromeda, and his mother, Danae, returned
to Argos.
The now aging King Acrisius, who had long ago
set his daughter and her infant son adrift, fled the
arrival of Perseus, the young hero, remembering an
ancient prophecy that said a son of Danae would kill
Acrisius. But he could not escape his fate. Acrisius
went to Larissa, where games were being held. Perseus
also attended the games. Perseus threw a discus
that went awry and hit Acrisius, who died from the
blow. Thus the prophecy that Acrisius would be killed
by a son of Danae was fulfilled.
Liens utiles
- Perseus Greek Son of the god Zeus and Danae; husband of Andromeda; father of Perses; slayer of the Gorgon Medusa.
- Polydectes Greek King of the island of Seriphos, protector of Danae and her son, Perseus.
- From Bulfinch's Mythology: Perseus and Medusa - anthology.