Perseus

Perseus was a Greek hero.

Birth
Acrisius was a King of Argos that had trouble having a son. He consulted the Oracle at Delphi and it told him that one of his daughter's sons with Zeus would kill him. Acrisius, not wanting the prophecy to become true, locked his daughter Danae in a bronze chamber that was only open to the sky. Zeus came to Danae in the form of a golden shower and impregnated her. She later gave birth to their son, Perseus. With the child of Zeus born, Acrisius was afraid but didn't want to anger Zeus by killing Perseus so he locked them both in a chest and threw it into the sea. The chest floated to the island of Seriphos and was found by the fisherman Dictys, who raised Perseus to manhood.

Polydectes
Polydectes was the king of Seriphos and was also the brother of Dictys. After Perseus had grown into a man, Polydectes fell in love with Danae, but Perseus disliked him and shielded his mother from him.

Polydectes, knowing the Perseus didn't want him to court his mother, devised a plan to send Perseus away. Polydectes held a part and requested that each guest bring a gift, which he specified that he wanted horses to give to Hippodamia. Perseus didn't own a horse and therefore didn't have one to give to Polydectes so he asked him what else he would like. Polydectes requested the head of the mortal Gorgon Medusa.

Slaying of Medusa
Athena told Perseus to seek the help of the Hesperides because they had weapons that he needed in order to defeat Medusa. Perseus also sought out the Graeae to find out the location of the Hesperides. However, in some accounts, Perseus was given the weapons by Athena and he only had to find the Graeae to find the location of Medusa.

The Graeae were three old women that had to share on removable eye and tooth. Perseus stole the eye and made them give him information in exchange for the eye.

With their help, he found the Hesperides and from them he received a knapsack, to carry Medusa's head, an adamantine sword,Hades' help of darkness, Hermes' winged sandals, and a polished shield from Athena.

When Perseus reached Medusa's layer, she was sleeping. Perseus used the polished shield to only see her reflection, rather than seeing her directly which would turn him to stone. He cut off her head and put it in the knapsack. From her severed head sprang Pegasus and Chrysaor. Medusa's sister, Stheno and Euryale, chased Perseus but he used the helm of darkness to escape, since it turned the wearer invisible.

Andromeda
While flying back to Seriphos, Perseus came across the kingdom of Aethiopia, which was ruled by Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia was an arrogant woman that boasted that her daughter, Andromeda, was more beautiful than the Nereids. This arrogance angered Poseidon and he sent Cetus to destroy the kingdom. The oracle of Ammon told the King and Queen that the only way to stop the beast would be to sacrifice Andromeda to the beast. She was taken by the people and chained to a rock near the shore. Perseus arrived and used the head of Medusa to turn the beast to stone and saved Andromeda. The two were then married.

Flying
Depending on the myth, Perseus either flew with Hermes' winged sandals or from Pegasus, the winged horse that emerged from the beheaded Medusa, which he tamed. However, many believe that having Perseus be the tamer of Pegasus, as opposed to Bellerophon, was just a mistake of painters and poets of the Renaissance.

Phineus
Andromeda agreed to marry Perseus, even though she was also promised to Phineus. At the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda, a fight took place between Perseus and Phineus but Perseus used the head of Medusa to turn Phineus to stone.

Perseus and Andromeda went to Tiryns in Argos where they became the ancestors of the ruling family at Tiryns through their son Perses.

Return to Seriphos
After returning to Seriphos, Perseus discovered that Danae had to hide from Polydectes, who's advances were getting violent. Perseus used the head of Medusa to kill him and Dictys became the king and the consort of Danae.

Fulfilling the Oracle's Prophecy
As a thank you to the goddess for all of her help, Perseus gifted the head of Medusa to Athena and she put it on Zeus' shield, aegis.

Perseus went to Larissa, which was where athletic games were held. He invented the quoit and was showing them to a crowd of people, one of whom was his grandfather, Acrisius. When Perseus threw the quoit it hit Acrisius and killed him.

However, in Bibliotheca, there is another variation of the story of Acrisius' death. In this story, Perseus went back to Argos and Acrisius left to Pelasgiotis. In Pelasgiotis, the king of Larissa, Teutamides, was holding funeral games for his father. Perseus competed in the discus throw and the discus is what hit and killed Acrisius.

In another version, Acrisius was exiled by his brother, Proetus. Perseus turned Proetus to stone with Medusa's head and returned Acrisius to the throne. Perseus, who was next in line for the throne, gave the entire kingdom of Argos to his cousin, Megapenthes, the son of Proetus. Perseus then took over Tiryns, which was previously reigned by Megapenthes.

Mycenae
Many stories tell that Perseus founded the city of Mycenae. There was an altar to him on the road from Mycenae to Argos and there was a fountain in Mycenae called Persea.

Relationships

 * Parents: Zeus and Danae
 * Spouse(s): Andromeda
 * Children with Andromeda: Perses, Heleus, Alcaeus, Sthenelus, Electryon, Mestor, Cynurus, Gorgophone, Autochthe