HISTORY AND MYTHS ABOUT PERSEUS Perseus, the hero of Argolis, was the son of Zeus and Acrisius' daughter Danae. When Acrisius learned from the oracle at Delphi that his daughter would have a son that would kill him, he built an underground bronze chamber where he locked Danae with her nurse. However, Zeus reached Danae through the hole in the roof, in the form of a golden shower. Soon afterwards, Danae gave birth to a boy, Perseus. The boy grew with his mother, until one day Acrisius heard his weeping. Danae was trying in vain to convince her father that the boy was Zeus' son; Acrisius killed the nurse and enclosed Danae and her son in a wooden chest and threw them into the sea. Waves have brought the chest to the shores of the island of Seriphos. Perseus and his mother were found by Dictys, brother of the king Polydectes. He gave them a shelter and brought up the boy as if he had been his own son. Perseus grew up to be a handsome young man, one of an exceptional beauty and strength. Polydectes wanted to get rid of Perseus, because he treated him as an obstacle in approaching Danae, who in the meantime had become dear to his heart. One day, Polydectes invited Perseus and some friends to a dinner. He pretended that he wished to marry Hippodamia , and asked what gift each of them was willing to offer. All the other guests agreed that a horse was a fitting gift, but Perseus, who was eager to distinguish himself, said that he would, if necessary, bring the head of the Gorgon Medusa to the king. The next morning, when other guests arrived with horses and Perseus was empty handed, Polydectes demanded from Danae's son to bring him the promised present. Perseus didn't know how to do this difficult task. Desperate, he walked to the sea shore. Hermes saw him there and asked Perseus about the cause of his worries. After he had heard the story, Hermes promised he would help. Together with Athena, he took Perseus to Graeae, sisters of Gorgons, who among them had one tooth and one eye which all three used in turn. Perseus stole their single tooth and only eye, and in this way persuaded them to show him how to reach Nymphs, who kept winged sandals, a magic bag called kibisis and the helmet of Hades which made its wearer invisible. After he had received these objects from Nymphs, Hermes armed him with the harpe, a short sword shaped like a sickle, and Athena gave him a shield of polished bronze. Equipped like this, Perseus started his journey to where monstrous Gorgons lived, near the Ocean, in Ethiopia, Libya, or the most distant parts of Africa. When he arrived, Gorgons were sleeping. As he knew that their look turns the living into stone, he approached them without looking at them. There were three Gorgons, Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. Of the three, only Medusa was mortal; it was therefore she whom Perseus attacked. He fixed his eyes on Medusa's reflection in the polished surface of his shield. Then he cut off her head with one stroke of the sickle. From the bleeding Medusa's neck, a winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor sprang out. With Medusa's head in his bag, Perseus flew into the air; the other two Gorgons chased him in vain, as he was using Hades' helmet and thus he was invisible. On the way back, Perseus travelled through Ethiopia, when he noticed Andromeda, the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus , chained to the rock. She was being offered as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Perseus fell in love with her at first sight. He promised her father that he would release her if he could have her for his wife. Cepheus agreed, and Perseus killed the monster.After the marriage, Perseus and Andromeda returned to Seriphos just in time when Danae and Dictys were praying to gods to save them from Polydectes, who had tried to rape Danae. Perseus took his revenge on Polydectes by turning him into stone, using Medusa's head. After punishing Polydectes, Perseus gave Medusa's head to Athena, returned the harpe to Hermes, and Hades' helmet, winged sandals and bag to Nymphs. He handed over the government of Seriphos to Dictys, and then he went with Andromeda to Argos. When Acrisius heard that Perseus was coming, he fled to Larissa. Perseus came after him to persuade him to return to Argos. He succeeded, but despite that, the old prophecy was fulfilled: before leaving Larissa, Perseus took part in a competition in throwing discus, with which he accidentally killed his grandfather. Devastated by the sorrow, he buried his grandfather and then decided not to return to Argos because he was ashamed. He exchanged the kingdom with his cousin Megapenthes , and so he became the king of Tiryns, while Megapenthes became the king of Argos. Perseus fortified cities of Midea and Mycenae. Some legends claim that he was the founder of these cities, as well as the founder of the family of the Perseids. While he was still the ruler of Argos, Perseus fought with the god Dionysus and his companions. Some say that he killed Dionysus and his wife Ariadne, but there are also stories that they made peace later on, and that Dionysus' cult was permitted in Argos. Perseus had six sons with Andromeda: Perses, Alceus, Sthenelus, Heleius, Mestor and Electryon, and a daughter Gorgophone.

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