Module 18 - Perseus

Part of the Greek folk tales of semi-divine heroes.

---

Places

Aethiopia

Kingdom of king Cepheus and Cassiepea. Abount to be destroyed by a sea monster (the Kraken??).

Argos

A city, founded by Phoroneus. Hera was worshipped prominently there

Larissa

A city in in Thessaly. Acrisius flees there after he discovers that Perseus is still alive and was heading for Argos.

Seriphos

Island where Perseus and Danae drifted to after being set afloat by Acrisius.

Tiryns

A city in the Argolid, where Proteus is king.

---

People

Acrisius

King of Argos at the time of Perseus' birth. he locked his daughter Danae in a room after it was prophesied that her son would would kill him.

After Perseus was born, he sent him and his mother out to sea in a chest.

After Acrisius heard that Perseus was still alive, he fled to Larissa.

Perseus accidentally kills him there by throwing a discuss while competing at the games of the king of Larissa.

Andromeda

Daughter of king Cepheus and queen Cassiepea.

Her father wanted to sacrifice her to the sea monster that was coming to destroy the kingdom. She was chained to a rock. Then Perseus kills the monster, and rescues and marries her.

Bellerophon

Hero of Corinth, who leaves after accidentally killing his brother. Goes to Tiryns, where the queen Stheneboea accuses him of trying to seduce her.

As a result, Iobates sends him to the following tasks

• Kill the Chimaera, in front was a lion, in the middle a goat, and in back a serpent.
• Defeat the Solymi warriors
• Defeat the Amazons, a nation of all-female warriors.

When he's done, he's ambushed by Iobates' men, whom he kills.

Athena gives Bellerophon a golden bridle to civilize Pegasus. Bellerophon dies after try to fly too high (in order to complete his tasks).

Cassiepea

Mother of Andromeda, wife of king Cepheus.

Boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids. Poseidon in punishment flooded the kingdom and sent a sea monster to destroy the land.

Cepheus

King of Aethiopia, husband of Cassiepea, father of Andromeda.

After Poseidon flooded his kingdom and sent a sea monster, an oracle told him that it would only be appeased if he sacrificed his daughter.

Danae

Mother of Perseus. Child of Acrisius, king of Argos.

Her father locked her up, but Zeus visits her as shower of gold and impregnates her.

Dictys

Fisherman who rescued Perseus and his mother. Brother of Polydectes the king of Seriphos.

Gorgons

3 monstrous sisters with snakes for hair, including Medusa (who Perseus goes to slay).

Graeae

Three daughters of Phorcys, the sisters of the Gorgons. They have one eye and tooth between the 3 of them to share, which Perseus takes to get information out of them.

Iobates

Father of Stheneboea. Told by Proteus, his son in law, to kill Bellerophon.

Iobates sends Bellerophon a series of difficult tasks.

Medusa

One of the Gorgons, whom Perseus goes to slay for Polydectes.

A lover of Poseidon by some accounts.

Perseus

Son of Danae and Zeus. His birth was kept secret for 4 years until Acrisius the king of Argos discovered him.

He set him and his mother afloat on the sea and he was saved by a fisherman named Dictys on the island of Seriphos.

The king of Seriphos sends him to slay Medusa and bring him her head. Her's helped by Hermes and Athena. The go to the Graeae, who tell him how to find nymphs would be able to give him magical things for his journey.

Here's what he gets

• From the Nymphs
  • Cap of Invisibility
  • Winged Sandals
  • Pouch (in Greek called a ‘kibisis’)
• From Hermes
  • Scimitar

Perseus uses his shield to approach Medusa without looking at her directly. He beheads her and puts her head in to his pouch. He escapes from the others with his cap of invisibility and sandals.

On his way back, he rescues Andromeda from the sea monster and marries her (using Medusa's head to turn her previous suiter, Cepheus' brother, into stone).

Perseus returns to Seriphos and stops Polydectes from persecuting his mother by turning him into stone.

He then returns the magical items and gives Medusa's head to Athena (who puts it on her shield).

Perseus returns to Argos with Danae and Andromeda, and follows Acrisius to Larissa. There he accidentally kills him with a discuss, fulfilling the prophecy.

Pegasus

Flying horse born from the body of Medusa when she was slain. In some versions he was given to Bellerophon by Poseidon (Pegasus' father).

Phoroneus

Mythical founder of the city of Argos.

Phorcys

Is a god of the hidden dangers of the deep.

Polydectes

King of Seriphos when Perseus and his mother Danae were rescued from the chest in which they were floating.

He fell in love with Danae but got rejected.

Perseus boasted that he would bring him Medusa's head, and Polydectes sent him to it.

But when Perseus returns, Polydectes was persecuting Danae and Dictys, which prompts Perseus to turn Polydectes to stone with Medusa's head.

Proteus

King of Tiryns, husband of Stheneboea

Stheneboea

Queen of Tiryns, wife of Proteus. Falls in love with Bellerophon, but he rejects her. She then accuses him of trying to seduce her.