Perseus and Andromeda
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Image courtesy of Planet Art.

Cepheus

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, the Nereids.

Offended, the Nereids complained to the sea god Poseidon, who sent a flood and a marine monster to destroy Cepheus'land. Cepheus was told by the oracle of Ammon that only the sacrifice of the king's daughter, Andromeda, could save the kingdom.

Andromeda was then chained, naked except for some jewelry, to a rock to be devoured by the monster. While the monster was approaching, Perseus, a famous Greek hero was traveling along the coast to the north. He noticed the beautiful woman and immediately fell in love with her. He decided at once to kill the monster and marry Andromeda.

Perseus had powerful weapons given to him by the god Hermes and the goddess Athena. He used magical sandals that allowed him to fly and the head of the Gorgon Medusa. Medusa's head had the power to turn anything into stone. After his victory, Perseus laid the Gorgon's head on a bed of seaweed, which instantly turned to coral. That is how, according to the legend, the first coral was created. Andromeda and Perseus married and one of their children, Perses, became the king of Ethiopia when Cepheus died.

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