Heroes, Gods and Monsters of Ancient Greek Mythology by Michael Ford

Author:Michael Ford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: quirky, stories, greek, myth, fable, classic, religion, civilisation, heracles, hercules, history, epic, battle, war, legend, creature, king, queen, gift, information
ISBN: 9781908759818
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2012
Published: 2012-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

Perseus and Medusa

King Acrisius of Argos had been told by an Oracle that he would die at the hands of his grandson. Since he only had one child, a woman called Danae, he locked her up in a tower where she could never meet a husband and have children. But once the Gods had decided on something, there was no point trying to avoid fate. Zeus came down to Danae in the form of a shower of rain, and she fell pregnant. When the child a boy, was born, Danae named him Perseus.

King Acrisius was worried, but he didn’t dare kill baby Perseus, in case it angered Zeus. So he did the next best thing. He ordered his soldiers to put Danae and her child into a large chest and to throw them into the sea. If they died, Acrisius reasoned, he could blame Zeus’ brother, Poseidon, the God who ruled the oceans.

Zeus spoke with Poseidon and asked him to keep the chest safe, so Poseidon made sure the waves were small, and eventually the chest washed up on the island of Seriphos. It was found by a fisherman called Dictys, who happened to be the brother of Polydectes, the king of Seriphos.

As soon as the king set eyes upon Danae he wanted to make her his queen, so he separated mother and child. He took Danae to live with him in the palace, and Perseus grew up with Dictys, learning how to be a fisherman. But Polydectes was always worried that Perseus might come to rescue his mother, so he devised a plan to get rid of her son once and for all.

Polydectes pretended he was going to marry a woman called Hippodamia, who was very fond of horses. So he asked each of the most important lords in his kingdom, and also Perseus, to give him a horse as a wedding gift. Of course, he was well aware that Perseus didn’t have the money to buy him a horse, so the boy visited Polydectes’ palace and fell right into the king’s trap.

‘I can’t give you a horse,’ he said, ‘but whatever else you want, I’ll bring.’

Polydectes gave a wicked smile.

‘Then bring me the head of Medusa,’ he said for all his court to hear.

Perseus realised his error. Medusa was one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons. Once a beautiful woman, she had been transformed into a hideous monster by the Goddess Athena. Now she had the face of an old woman, and her hair was a writhing mass of vipers. It was said that just to look into her terrifying eyes would turn a man to stone on the spot.

Perseus had made a promise to the king and for many days he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t even find Medusa, let alone kill her. Help came, though, in the form of the Gods Hermes and Athena. They gave him three gifts. The first gift was a curved adamantine sword and the second was a shield so polished that he could see himself in its surface.

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