PERSEUS

Greek Mythology
by Ilya Keselman
http://www.maicar.com/GML/Perseus1.html
Background
Fairy story where Hermes and Athena are like the
godfather and godmother.
Only myth where magic plays a big part and an
important role.
Story told by both Ovid and Apollodorus.
CHARACTERS:
Perseus
Main character, son of
Dana and Zeus.
Strong, athletic and proud.
Kills Medusa.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Perseus
Good characters:
Dana: Perseus's mother, very beautiful, king Acrisius's
daughter.
Andromeda: Perseus's love, saved by Perseus from sea serpent.
Dictys: sherman, later king of island, saved Perseus and
Dana, lived with them, brother of king Polydectes.
Hermes: messenger God, helped Perseus kill Medusa.
Athena: Goddess of wisdom, helped Perseus kill Medusa.
Zeus: chief God, Perseus's father.
Antagonists:
Polydectes: brother of Dictys, cruel, greedy king of
island where Perseus lived, wanted to kill Perseus
and marry Dana.
Medusa: one of three Gorgons, creatures with wings,
snaky hair, who turn people to stone by looking at
them, only mortal Gorgon, killed by Perseus.
Acrisius: king of Argos, father of Dana, wanted to
kill Dana, because a prophecy said Perseus would
one day kill him.
Other characters:
Gray Women: three very old gray women who lived
in a dark land and had one eye for three, took turns
looking in it. They told Perseus about the nymphs.
Nymphs: lived in Hyperboreans, happy people who
helped Perseus nd the Gorgons.
Sea Serpent: a sea monster that was supposed to
punish Andromeda, but was killed by Perseus.
SETTINGS:
Main Settings:
Island of king Polydectes, where Perseus grew up.
Kingdom of Argos, where Dana was imprisoned
Terrible Sisters's island where the three Gorgons lived.
Other Settings:
Delphi: where king Acrisius travelled to know about
the prophecy.
Twilight land: where the Gray Women lived.
Hyperboreans: where the happy people (nymphs)
lived.
Ethiopia: where Perseus found Andromeda.
Larissa kingdom: where Perseus participated in an
athletic contest and accidentally killed Acrisius.
SUMMARY:
Part One:
Acrisius, king of Argos had a beautiful daughter,
Danae, but no son. When he went to Delphi to ask
about the future, the priestess told him that his
grandson was supposed to kill him. Acrisius locked
Dana in a bronze house so she wouldn't have kids,
but Zeus came to Dana in the form of golden rain
and they had a child, named Perseus. When Acrisius
found out, he put Dana and Perseus into a box and
sent it to the sea hoping they would die.
Part Two:
A poor sherman Dictys found Perseus and Dana and let
them live with him. They lived on an island where
Polydectes, Dictys's brother was the king, however he was
cruel and evil. Polydeuces wanted to kill Perseus and
marry Dana, so he set up a party and invited Perseus.
Since Perseus was poor and had no present, Polydectes
asked to get him the head of Medusa, one of the three
Gorgons, the only mortal one, hoping Perseus would be
killed in the quest. The Gorgons had snaky hair and
anyone they would look at would turn to stone. Because
of his pride, Perseus agreed and set out to nd where the
Gorgons lived.
Part Three:
Two great Gods, Hermes and Athena helped Perseus in his
journey, in killing Medusa and by guiding him. Perseus
needed equipment and he had to get it from the nymphs but
only the Gray Women knew where the nymphs were. So
Perseus went to the Gray Women, stole the one eye they
used for seeing and promised to give it back only if they
would tell him about the nymphs. Hermes gave Perseus a
sword to kill Medusa and Athena, her shield to use it instead
of a mirror in order to not turn to stone by looking at
Medusa. Then Perseus found the nymphs, who gave him
winged sandals, a wallet to pack Medusa's head and a cap to
make Perseus invisible. Finally Perseus went to kill Medusa.
Part Four:
When Perseus came, the Gorgons
were asleep. He ew to Medusa,
looking into the shield and with the
guidance of Athena, killed her.
Then Perseus packed Medusa's
head. The other Gorgons woke up,
but couldn't see Perseus, since he
had the invisible cap on. On his
way back, Perseus saw a woman,
Andromeda waiting for a sea
monster to kill her, because her
mother was too vain and Poseidon
wanted to punish Andromeda for
that. Perseus killed the sea monster
and brought Andromeda to his
home.
http://www.geocities.ws/greekmyth_athena_/
perseus.html
Part Five:
When Perseus arrived to the
island and found out about
Polydectes's plan, he turned
Polydectes to stone, by showing
him Medusa and made Dictys
king of the island. Then, Perseus,
Dana and Andromeda went to
Argos to nd Acrisius, but found
out he's not king anymore. One
day, Perseus participated in an
athletic contest and threw a disc
so far, that it hit a man in the
stands and killed him. That man
was Acrisius. And so, the
prophecy was true.
Perseus saving Andromeda
http://www.maicar.com/GML/Perseus1.html
Questions:
Why did Hermes and Athena help Perseus so
much?
Could Perseus kill Medusa without the Gods's help?
Why or why not?
Why did Perseus agree to set out to kill Medusa?
Works Cited:
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown, 1942. Print.
"Perseus - Greek Mythology Link." Perseus-Greek Mythology.
N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <http://www.maicar.com/GML/
Perseus1.html>.
Perseus." Perseus. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. <http://
www.geocities.ws/greekmyth_athena_/perseus.html>.
Perseus." Perseus. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. <http://
www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Heroes/Perseus/
perseus.html>.