ANDROMEDA AND PERSEUS
Many moons ago, King Acrisius, ruler of the Greek Kingdom of Argos, traveled to Delphi to visit the Oracle. While the king was father to one of the most beautiful maidens in the realm, he was desperate for a son.
The priestess sat and listened to the king’s worries, and when he was finished, delivered a vision—no, he would not father a son. Even worse, he would die at the hands of his future grandson.
The king was shocked, and it wasn’t long before he became paranoid. He loved Danaë, his only daughter, but couldn’t bear the thought of losing his kingdom. To prevent Danaë from finding a suitor and giving birth to his murderer, King Acrisius built an underground house and locked her inside. The house was made of bronze with one large window that opened to the sky. Danaë spent her days with little else to do other than stare into the heavens and speak to the stars.
At first, Zeus watched the king’s paranoia with amusement, but as each day passed, he fell more and more in love with the girl trapped within the bronze tomb. Knowing that the house was heavily guarded, Zeus transformed into golden rain and commanded that the wind carry him to Danaë. He dropped through her skylight, and the maiden greeted him with open arms.
It wasn’t long before Danaë realized that she was pregnant, and she soon gave birth to a son, Perseus. She kept his birth a secret for as long as she could, but eventually, the king heard the child’s cries. His attempts to stop destiny were futile. He had a grandson.
To soothe her father’s worries, Danaë explained that Zeus was the father, but the king scoffed at what he believed to be a tall tale. Unsure of what to do, but knowing that he couldn’t kill his kin with his own hands, the king placed his daughter and grandson within a bronze chest and shipped them out to sea.
The chest pitched and rolled in the stormy surf, but Danaë was used to being imprisoned in small spaces. At least this time, she had her son. She made the best of her woeful situation by singing songs to Perseus about his courageous father as the water rocked them to sleep.
But it wasn’t just Danaë who was enamored with Perseus. Zeus, still watching from the skies, saw the potential within his son. So, Zeus decided to step in once more and asked Poseidon to calm the seas and deliver the bronze chest to a nearby island.
Poseidon agreed, and a local fisherman, Dictys, discovered the chest while on his way to work. When Dictys finally managed to open the crate, instead of finding food or treasure from a passing ship, he was stunned to discover a beautiful maiden cradling her young son. They were hungry and tired but alive and well.
Dictys and his wife had no children, so the fisherman welcomed Danaë and Perseus into their home. Danaë and Perseus lived with the kind fisherman and his wife for many years. Despite being the brother of Polydectes, the ruler of the island, Dictys lived a humble life. He taught Perseus how to fish and read the sea, and Danaë watched proudly as her son grew into a man.
But Polydectes wasn’t as kind as his brother. No, he was a ruthless man who saw Perseus as his enemy. You see, Polydectes had been in love with Danaë since she first arrived on the island. But it was easy to see that Perseus was the apple of his mother’s eye, and she openly rejected the ruler’s advances. Although this infuriated him, he refused to let it show. After all, he had a plan to get rid of Perseus. And once Perseus was gone, Danaë would have no other option than to accept his marriage proposal.
Or so he thought.
One night, Polydectes hosted a party for his closest friends. Each of the guests brought him a gift, but Perseus, being of humble upbringings, had nothing to give. So, he offered the one thing that his host claimed to desire the most—the head of a Gorgon.
Polydectes knew that nobody had ever seen a Gorgon in person and lived to tell the tale, so when Perseus offered to bring him the head of the most famous Gorgon, Medusa, he was elated. It would only take one glance at Medusa for the young man’s flesh to turn to stone.
But, what Polydectes did not know was that Perseus was the son of Zeus. Shortly after Perseus announced his intentions, he was visited by Hermes and Athena. Hermes gifted Perseus a pair of winged shoes and a sword strong enough to pierce the Gorgon’s scales. Athena shared a hat that rendered the wearer invisible, a magical wallet that was always the perfect size for whatever you put inside of it, and the most crucial weapon—a polished bronze shield.
Athena and Hermes knew better than to share these gifts with Perseus and send him on his way, so they accompanied him to the Gorgons’ island. With Hermes leading the way, it was easy to find Medusa among the others. Perseus waited until Medusa was sleeping to make his move. He kept his eyes on the shield’s reflection, and when it was time to strike, Athena guided his hand. With one swift movement, Perseus decapitated the once fearsome Medusa and sealed her head within the magical wallet.
With the job complete, Hermes and Athena headed back to Mount Olympus. Perseus, still wearing his winged sandals, took off toward his home island. He was daydreaming about how impressed Polydectes would be with his prize when he passed by the shores of Ethiopia and discovered a maiden chained to the rocks.
Her name was Andromeda, and for Perseus, it was love at first sight.
Perseus hovered in front of the frightened girl as she explained that her mother, Queen Cassiopeia, had bragged that Andromeda was more beautiful than the daughters of Nereus, the god of the sea. Offended by this silly mortal’s claims, Nereus sent a sea serpent to ravage the shores and devour any Ethiopian who dared get too close.
Unsure how to appease Nereus and the sea nymphs, Queen Cassiopeia contacted Zeus to ask his advice. Zeus told the queen to convince her husband, King Cepheus, to sacrifice their daughter to the sea monster. Only then would the monster retreat and Ethiopia be saved.
Upon hearing this ridiculous bargain, Perseus removed his sword from its sheath and beheaded the sea monster. He untied his lady love and flew her back to her parents, who were quick to praise Perseus for his bravery and offer their blessings for marriage.
However, Perseus did not stay long in Ethiopia, for he was anxious to return home. Not only did he have Medusa’s head for Polydectes, but he couldn’t wait to introduce his new bride to the other woman in his life—his mother. But when Perseus arrived back at the fisherman’s cabin, it was empty. After speaking with a nearby neighbor, Perseus discovered that the fisherman’s wife had died several years ago and that Dictys and his mother were forced into hiding. The neighbor explained that Polydectes had become increasingly hostile towards Danaë since she still refused to marry him.
While Perseus mused over his options, the neighbor offered one last morsel of information—at that very moment, Polydectes was hosting a banquet at his estate for his closest allies.
With his plan solidified, Perseus wasted no time making his way to the palatial estate. When he arrived, Polydectes, who had assumed that Perseus died many years ago, managed to keep his composure and invite Perseus to sit at his table. As Perseus walked to his seat, he captivated the room with tales of the Gorgon’s island. He told them about the Gorgon’s golden scales and their giant heads covered in hissing snakes. He could feel every set of eyes in the room watching his movements and hanging onto his every word. And just as he was about to reach the climax in his story, he reached into his pocket, retrieved the magical wallet, and removed Medusa’s head.
With the exception of Perseus, who knew to look away, every man inside the chambers turned to stone.
Word spread fast about the fall of Polydectes, and soon the entire island was celebrating. Danaë and the fisherman came out of hiding, and the islanders chose Dictys as their new ruler.
Danaë, Perseus, and Andromeda, finally together and free to roam wherever they pleased, headed to Greece with the hopes of reconciling with King Acrisius. When they arrived, Acrisius was not to be found, and rumors swirled that the king was dethroned many years ago.
While the three continued their search, Perseus was invited to partake in an athletics competition. When it was his turn to throw the discus, he launched the object so far that it flew beyond the field and struck a spectator. Danaë ran to the fallen man to assess his injuries and discovered that it was her father, Acrisius. With Acrisius dead by his grandson’s hands, the Oracle of Delphi’s prophecy was complete.
If Perseus felt remorse for killing his grandfather, he never let it show. After all, how could he grieve the man who banished him and his mother from their homeland? But Perseus, like his mother, only focused on the good. He and Andromeda went on to live a happy life. They raised one daughter and seven sons, one of which, Electryon, would become the grandfather of another famous Greek demigod, Hercules.
