Perseus — Slayer of Medusa

I. Who Was Perseus?

Perseus was one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology — the slayer of the Gorgon Medusa, the rescuer of the princess Andromeda, and the founder of the city of Mycenae. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal princess Danae, conceived when Zeus visited her in the form of a shower of golden rain while she was imprisoned in a bronze tower by her father Acrisius, who had been warned by an oracle that his grandson would kill him.

Set adrift on the sea in a wooden chest with his infant son, Danae washed ashore on the island of Seriphos, where the fisherman Dictys raised Perseus to manhood. When the island's king Polydectes desired Danae and wanted Perseus out of the way, he challenged the young hero to bring him the head of Medusa — a quest intended to be a death sentence.

II. The Quest for Medusa

Perseus received divine assistance from Athena (who gave him her polished bronze shield to use as a mirror) and Hermes (who provided winged sandals, the cap of invisibility, and an adamantine sickle). He first sought out the Graeae — three ancient sisters who shared a single eye and tooth — and forced them to reveal the location of the Gorgons' lair at the edge of the world.

Approaching Medusa while she slept, Perseus used the shield's reflection to guide his hand and severed her head with a single blow. From her neck sprang Pegasus, the winged horse, and Chrysaor, a golden warrior. Perseus placed the head in his magic bag and fled before the immortal Gorgon sisters could catch him.

III. Andromeda & Legacy

On his journey home, Perseus encountered Andromeda chained to a rock by the sea — a sacrifice to a sea monster sent by Poseidon to punish her mother Cassiopeia's vanity. Perseus slew the creature using Medusa's petrifying head and claimed Andromeda as his bride. They returned to Seriphos, where Perseus turned Polydectes and his court to stone, freeing his mother. He later accidentally fulfilled the prophecy by killing his grandfather Acrisius with a stray discus throw during athletic games — and went on to found the great city of Mycenae. Both Perseus and Andromeda were placed among the stars as constellations.