Statue of Perseus. Vatican Museum, Rome, Italy
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.
Perseus
Perseus was an ancient Greek hero. His mother was Danae, the daughter of Acrisius,
the king of Argos. When a prophecy revealed to Acrisius that his grandson would kill
him, Acrisius imprisoned his daughter Danae to keep her chaste.
Zeus, however, fooled
Acrisius' precautions by entering the prison disguised as a shower of gold. When Acrisius discovered that Danae had given birth to Perseus, he had the mother and the son thrown into the sea in a chest of wood.
Luckily they reached the island of
Seriphos where the king Polydectes offered them hospitality and protection. Perseus was secretly raised on the island and became a courageous young man. He was sent to complete a dangerous mission.
Perseus had to fetch the head of the Gorgon Medusa whose head could turn anyone who looked at it into stone. With the help of
Hermes, Perseus succeeded. On his voyage back to Seriphos, he met
the beautiful
Andromeda in Ethiopia and married her. When his triumph became known,
he was invited to the city of Larissa to participate in funeral games in honor of the king.
During the games, Perseus threw a discus and accidentally hit
his grandfather Acrisius, who was watching the games, unaware of his grandson's presence. Acrisius died fulfilling the prophecy.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Learn about Earth and space science, and have fun while doing it! The
games section of our
online store includes a
climate change card game and the
Traveling Nitrogen game!
You might also be interested in:
In the Northern Hemisphere sky is the constellation Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and that of his wife Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia claimed that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the sea nymphs,
...more
Pegasus was a winged horse that came out of Medusa when she was be-headed by Perseus. The Gorgon Medusa was once a beautiful Lybian princess. Because she was seduced by the sea god Poseidon in the temple
...more
Ahsonnutli was the sky father and chief god for the Navajo. He created heaven, Earth, and the sky. Each of the four directions, or cardinal points, are supported by a giant. Each direction is symbolized
...more
Amphitrite was one of the sea-nymphs called the Nereids. One day the sea god Poseidon saw her dancing and fell desperately in love with her. He promptly asked her to marry him but unfortunately she refused.
...more
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was known to the Romans as Venus. To the perfection of her figure and the purity of her features she added an innocent grace. On her sweet face she
...more
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Jupiter(in Greek Zeus) and Leto (Letona). He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and healer. Leto travelled all over Greece
...more
According to an ancient Greek legend, the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the nighttime sky by the goddess Hera to form the constellation Cancer. Hera swore to kill Heracles, the most famous Greek
...more
