Greek mythology
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External Websites
- Roman and Greek Gods - Perseus
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Perseus
- Humanities LibreTexts - Story: Perseus and Medusa
- Ancient Origins - Perseus: The Powerful Demigod of Greek Mythology
- Ancient-Greece.org - Perseus
- Mythopedia - Perseus
- Perseus Digital Library - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology - Perseus
- Mythology.net - Perseus
- Pressbooks - It’s All Greek to Me! - Perseus and Medusa
- UEN Digital Press with Pressbooks - Perseus
- Greek Legends and Myths - Perseus in Greek Mythology
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Perseus - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- Perseus - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
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Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- Roman and Greek Gods - Perseus
- Ancient History Encyclopedia - Perseus
- Humanities LibreTexts - Story: Perseus and Medusa
- Ancient Origins - Perseus: The Powerful Demigod of Greek Mythology
- Ancient-Greece.org - Perseus
- Mythopedia - Perseus
- Perseus Digital Library - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology - Perseus
- Mythology.net - Perseus
- Pressbooks - It’s All Greek to Me! - Perseus and Medusa
- UEN Digital Press with Pressbooks - Perseus
- Greek Legends and Myths - Perseus in Greek Mythology
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- Perseus - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- Perseus - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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Perseus, in Greek mythology, the slayer of the Gorgon Medusa and the rescuer of Andromeda from a sea monster. Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius of Argos. As an infant he was cast into the sea in a chest with his mother by Acrisius, to whom it had been prophesied that he would be killed by his grandson. After Perseus had grown up on the island of Seriphus, where the chest had grounded, King Polydectes of Seriphus, who desired Danaë, tricked Perseus into promising to obtain the head of Medusa, the only mortal among the Gorgons.
Aided by Hermes and Athena, Perseus pressed the Graiae, sisters of the Gorgons, into helping him by seizing the one eye and one tooth that the sisters shared and not returning them until they provided him with winged sandals (which enabled him to fly), the cap of Hades (which conferred invisibility), a curved sword, or sickle, to decapitate Medusa, and a bag in which to conceal the head. (According to another version, the Graiae merely directed him to the Stygian Nymphs, who told him where to find the Gorgons and gave him the bag, sandals, and helmet; Hermes gave him the sword.) Because the gaze of Medusa turned all who looked at her to stone, Perseus guided himself by her reflection in a shield given him by Athena and beheaded Medusa as she slept. He then returned to Seriphus and rescued his mother by turning Polydectes and his supporters to stone at the sight of Medusa’s head.
Britannica QuizFrom Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek MythologyA further deed attributed to Perseus was his rescue of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda when he was on his way home with Medusa’s head. Andromeda’s mother, Cassiopeia, had claimed to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs, or Nereids; so Poseidon had punished Ethiopia by flooding it and plaguing it with a sea monster. An oracle informed Andromeda’s father, King Cepheus, that the ills would cease if he exposed Andromeda to the monster, which he did. Perseus, passing by, saw the princess and fell in love with her. He turned the sea monster to stone by showing it Medusa’s head and afterward married Andromeda.
Later Perseus gave the Gorgon’s head to Athena, who placed it on her shield, and gave his other accoutrements to Hermes. He accompanied his mother back to her native Argos, where he accidentally struck her father, Acrisius, dead when throwing the discus, thus fulfilling the prophecy that he would kill his grandfather. He consequently left Argos and founded Mycenae as his capital, becoming the ancestor of the Perseids, including Heracles. The Perseus legend was a favourite subject in painting and sculpture, both ancient and Renaissance. (Benvenuto Cellini’s bronze statue in Florence of Perseus with Medusa’s head is especially famous.) The chief characters in the Perseus legend, Perseus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and the sea monster (Cetus), all figure in the night sky as constellations.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.