Perseus

By: Giorgio & Jacopo

Perseus
One of the most famous
greek heroes
Son of Danae and Zeus
Killed Medusa and his
grandfather
Characters
Zeus: King of all gods, son of Cronus and Rhea, youngest of his siblings,
god of the sky and thunder.
Danae: Mother of Perseus, impregnated by Zeus when he came to her as
shower of gold, daughter of Acrisius.
Polydectes: King of Seriphus, wants to marry Danae, brother of Dictys
Dictys: A fisherman, saves Danae and perseus from the chest, raised
Perseus as his own child, brother of Polydectes.
Hermes: Guide and giver of good, messenger of the gods, protector of
travelers, conductor of souls in the afterlife, gave Perseus a sword.
Athena: Goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare, strategy, strenght, mathematics,
and she gave Perseus a shield made of bronze.
Other Characters
Medusa: A Gorgon, has snakes for hair, bronze hands, wings, tsuks, she
turns everyone who look at her into stone.
Gray Women: Three women who share one eye, sisters of the Gorgons, tell
Perseus where the gorgons are,are half swan.
Nymphs of the north: holders of winged sandals, magic wallet, and Hades
helmet of invisibility.
Andromeda: daughter of cepheus (king) and Cassiopeia (queen), marries
Perseus.
Nereus: Sea god
Electryon: son of Perseus and Andromeda, grandfather of Hercules.

Danae
King Acrisius had a child named
Danae.
Delphi priest told the king that the
son of the his daughter would kill
him.
Acrisius could not kill Danae
otherwise the gods would get
angry.
So he locked her up in a bronze
house half under ground.
The Banishing of Danae and Perseus
Zeus came into the bronze house taking the
shape of many gold coins.
Danae new that she had had a baby from
zeus.
When Danae Gave birth to the baby she tried
to hide it but the King found it.
The king was very frightened of the baby
because he was the one which would kill him.
The king could not kill him because of the
fear of Zeus and the furies who hunt down
such murderers.
So the king locked Danae and her son in a
chest and sent it them to sea.
The Fisherman
After a rough journey in the sea the
chest finally reached land.
A fisherman called Dictys freed Danae
and Perseus her child.
They lived with the fisherman and his
wife for many years .
The bother of Dictys was Polydectes and
he was the ruler of the small island.
Polydectes fell in love with Danae even
if she had grown a little old.
Perseus was fully grown and Polydectes
did not want him in the way.
The First god
Polydectes made a party for his wedding
and Perseus brought nothing so he
decided to go and get the head of
Medusa.
Perseus went asking the direction of the
gorgons but he got no answer but finds
Hermes.
Hermes told Perseus to go to the three
Gray Women.
Hermes gave Perseus a sword and
Athen gave him a shield made out of
bronze.
Medusa
Once Perseus was at the place of the gray women he took their
one eye so that they could tell him the direction of the gorgons
and the gray women did not hesitate to tell.
On the way to the gorgons he also went to the Hyperboreans
where he got three gifts:winged sandals, a magic wallet and a
cap.
Perseus went to the gorgons island and the sisters were asleep.
Hermes and Athena who were beside him told Perseus which
one was medusa.
Perseus cut Medusas head off with athena who guided his hand.
Perseus then got the head and put it into the magic wallet.
The sisters woke up and tried to pursue him but he had the cap
of darkness.
Andromeda
Perseus passed Ethiopia and went to
rescue the daughter of the Queen of
Ethiopia who compared her daughter to
the ones of Nereus.
A serpent was sent to kill all the
Ethiopians unless Andromeda would be
sacrificed.
Perseus fell in love with her.
He killed the serpent and brought her
with him.
His mother and the Dictys had hid from
the king of the island.
The king held a party so Perseus went
there and used Medusas head to turn
them to stone.
The Athletic Tournament
Dictys became king.
Perseuss mother decided to go to
see Acrisius.
Acrisius was not in Argos
anymore because the people
kicked him out.
Perseus went to an athletics
tournament and there was also
Acrisius who came to watch.
Perseus threw the disc and it
went into the crowd and it killed
Acrisius.
Questions
1. What is the moral of this myth?
2. What do you think King Acrisius had to do with Danae when he discovered her son would have
killed him?
3. Do you feel bad for Medusa? Why or why not?
http://www.kunstgemeinde.de/alte-meister/jan-gossaert/
http://skyview.vansd.org/bquestad/myth/greek/Consvmyths/Perseus.doc_files/image001.jpg
http://www.johnwilliamwaterhouse.com/assets/images/content/waterhouse/hi/waterhouse31.jpg
http://www.thehellenictimes.com/images/1274393175_CD957E.jpg
http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100318174517/galacticafanon/images/3/3f/Hermes.jpg
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/gallery/medusahead.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Medusa-Caravaggio_(Uffizi).jpg/990px-Medusa-
Caravaggio_(Uffizi).jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IyT9t-
8GUY0/TUSUV8lnIoI/AAAAAAAABHM/faYV7OXA8Xc/s400/CarlVanLoo_1735_AndromedaPerseus.jpg
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Thank you for your
attention