Birth of Perseus

The story of Perseus began with his grandfather, Acrisius, king of Argos. After many years of marriage, Acrisius had only one child, a daugther named Danae. He wanted a son to inherit his kingdom and thus consulted the oracle. However, he learned that not only that he would have no sons, but his only grandson would kill him.

To prevent the prophecy from coming true, he locked his daughter up in an underground chamber cast of bronze. Despite the security measures, Danae conceived a child. She insisted the child's father was Zeus who appeared to her in a shower of gold. The child borned was Persus.

When Acrisius discovered his grandson, he placed both daugther Danae and his grandson into a large wooden chest and dumped them on the Aegean sea. Foturnately, Zeus guided the chest to the island of Seriphus. The island has a pair of brothers, Polydectes, king of Seriphus and Dictys a poor fisher.

Dictys found the chest when he was out fishing one day. He rescued Danae and Perseus and took the two refugees home. Dictys cared for them for many years until Perseus was fully grown.

Mission Impossible

Perseus grew up to become a formidable young man. While he was living in Dictys home, King Polydectes felled in love with his mother Danae. Danae rejected the king and he might have tried to take her by force if not for Persues. Soon after this, Polydects announced his intention to marry Hippodameia, a daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa. He demanded each of his subjects bring him a horse as a gift.

Perseus was poor and had no horses. Polydects knew this and hoped he would be shamed into fleeing the kindgom. Instead, Persues offered to bring the king antyhing else he wanted - even the head of Medusa! Polydects gladly accepted the offer thinking that the mission was impossible since anyone who set eyes on Medusa's face would be turned into stone.

Medusa

Medusa was once a beautiful maiden. She layed with Poseidon in the temple of Athena. The enraged goddess turned her into a hideous monster. Medusa was one of the three monstrous sisters called the Gorgons . Only Medusa could be killed