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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 25 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Perseus
Danae. King Acrisius of Argos imprisoned his daughter Danae in a tower of bronze to avoid her having a son who, it was foretold, would murder him.
Zeus. Zeus visited Danae in a shower of gold ...
The Gray Sisters. Only the Gray Sisters could tell the way.
Polydectes. The tricky Polydectes got his own medicine ... Acrisius was killed as well, fullfilling his prophesy.
Acrisius. Acrisius was the king of Argos and the maternal grandfather of Perseus. Adrastus was the leader of the Seven Against Thebes. Aeacus was the king of Aegina for whom Zeus created the Myrmidons. Aegisthus was the lover of Clytemnestra and slayer of Agamemnon.
A prophesy said that her son would kill him and he wanted her to remain a virgin forever. When Acrisius consulted an oracle, it told him that he would be killed by his own grandson. Terrified at this prospect, Acrisius locked his daughter Danae in a bronze tower so that no man could ever impregnate her. Unfortunately for him, Zeus desired Danae and was determined to have her. Her turned into golden rain and entered her tower, making her pregnant with Perseus.
Seriphos. When Acrisius found out the Danae was pregnant, he was still determined that the child would not survive. He could not kill them outright without incensing the Harpies, who punished those who kill family members, so he locked them in a box and threw them into the sea. That way, if they died, it was Poseidon's fault and not his. Zeus, however, protected them and they washed up on the shore of the island of Seriphos. Danae and Perseus were found by a kind fisherman, Dictys, who adopted them.
He wanted Perseus gone permanently so he could marry Danae. Polydectes, the brother of Dictys and king of Seriphos, desired Perseus's mother Danae. Perseus, however, objected to the marriage, and Polydectes devised a way to get rid of him for good. Knowing that Perseus did not possess many worldly goods, Polydectes requested a wedding present from him; when Perseus asked him what he wanted, Polydectes asked him for the head of Medusa, hoping that Perseus would perish trying to procure it and he could marry Danae without interference.
Atlas. Although it clashes with the story that Heracles later asked Atlas for the Apples of the Hesperides, Ovid writes that Perseus turned the formidable Titan into stone by showing him the head of Medusa.
Aegis. The Aegis, although technically the shield of Zeus, was carried by Athena. She let Perseus borrow it so he could slay Medusa, since looking at her directly would have turned him into stone. After he had returned to Seriphos and turned Polydectes into stone, Perseus placed the head of Medusa on the aegis and returned it to Athena.
Phineus. Phineus had been betrothed to Andromeda before she was tied to a boulder to be devoured by a sea monster. Cepheus offered Perseus her hand in marriage if he saved her life, and Perseus eagerly complied. At their wedding feast, an angry Phineus and some of his supporters attacked Perseus, who was forced to turn them into stone using the head of Medusa.
Gorgophone. Although most accounts say Perseus and Andromeda had quite a few sons, Perses being one of them, Gorgophone, whose name means "slaying of the Gorgon," is the only daughter ever mentioned. Cassiopeia was the unfortunate mother of Andromeda and Phaedra was the second wife of Theseus and a princess of Crete.
Discus. Perseus happened to be competing in funeral games in Thessaly where Acrisius was in attendance. He accidentally threw his discus with too much force, killing Acrisius, who was a spectator there, thus fulfilling the prophesy that Acrisius had tried so hard to avoid.
| Our story starts out on a sadder note. Perseus had a mom, who was very beautiful. However, her father cast her adrift because there was a prophecy that her son would kill his grandfather. What was his mother's name? | The Life and Times of Perseus
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Danae. Danae's father was actually King Acrisius, Perseus's grandfather. Persephone is married to Hades and Aphrodite and Athena are both goddesses.
Zeus. Yes, Perseus is one of Zeus's many successful children.
| Now there was a man who had grown fond of Danae but Perseus was a very protective son, and made sure that this man wouldn't get to her. What was this man's name? | The Life and Times of Perseus
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Polydectes. Polydectes wanted to get to Danae but Perseus wouldn't let him. Perseus made sure that no one got to his mother. This would soon change though.
| Now this man who had grown fond of Danae eventually devised a plan to get rid of Perseus so he could finally be with Danae. What was this plan? | The Life and Times of Perseus
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He was going to send Perseus to slay Medusa. Yes he sent him to slay Medusa because he was sure that there was no way that he could ever return. Polydectes thought he was home free, until something else happened.
| Now what this particular man didn't know is that Perseus had some help, and this wasn't just normal help, he had the help of the gods. What two gods aided Perseus on his quest? | The Life and Times of Perseus
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Athena and Hermes. These two gods would end up helping Perseus a great deal on his quest by watching over him and giving him a few things to help him.
A bag and winged sandals. The bag was to put Medusa's head in so that no one could see it after he had slain her and the winged sandals were so that he could fly around Medusa and stay away from her deathly gaze.
He used a shield to reflect its gaze back into its eyes and then chopped off its head. Yes, it was a brilliant plan. After he had slain her he put the head in his bag and set off back to his home, ready to shock everyone.
| Now on his way home Perseus encountered someone who had been chained to the sea as a sacrifice. He fell in love with this woman and bargained with her father for her hand in marriage. Who was this woman? | The Life and Times of Perseus
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Andromeda. The bargain was that if Perseus killed the monster that she was being sacrificed to he could marry her. Perseus succeeded of course and they eventually got married.
| When Perseus returned home and found that the man who had sent him on his quest was pestering his mother what did he do to him? | The Life and Times of Perseus
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Using Medusa's head, he turned him to stone. He had learned that Medusa's head was a useful tool as he had turned many people to stone with it on his journey back.
Yes. He did end up killing him; however, it was an accident. One day Perseus was throwing a discus that went wild and struck his grandfather, killing him, and that is the story of Perseus.
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