Perseus shop

Aleksandra Sniezko-Blotska

Perseus - why did the famous hero kill his grandfather?

Perseus is one of the most famous ancient Greek heroes. The legends about him occupy a special place in Hellenic mythology. Perseus was considered a famous victor, a favorite of the gods who helped him succeed. Scenes from the myths surrounding him were often depicted on antique amphorae and bowls.

Undoubtedly, the Greeks were proud of their hero, knew his exploits and greatly admired him. What do the legends tell us about the birth and fate of Perseus? How did he manage to defeat the terrible monster? What else was this famous Hellenic hero famous for?

The Birth of Perseus

The story of Perseus begins in the city of Argos, ruled by the powerful king Acrisios. He possessed a lot of wealth, but did not have the heir that the ruler dreamed of.

But the gods gave him a daughter, Danaë, who grew into a girl of unearthly beauty. When Acrisius asked the oracle for advice on who should take the throne of Argos after his death, he was appalled by the fairy's answer.

'Your grandson will kill you' – were the words of the oracle. Upon hearing the prophecy, the king had Danaë locked in a dungeon, hoping that this would keep her hidden from the eyes of potential suitors and that she would never bear a child.

A few years passed, and Acrisius calmed down, believing that he had managed to trick fate. Danae lay in a dungeon, but her beauty did not go unnoticed. The supreme god Zeus himself fell in love with the girl. He appeared to the girl in the form of a golden rain pouring down her beautiful body.

Danaë became the wife of Zeus and gave birth to a wonderful child whom she named Perseus. For a long time Akrisios had no idea that his grandson would be born. Only one day, when he was on his way to Danaë's chambers, did he hear the child crying.

Apparently the king thought that the servants had let in one of their suitors, thereby disobeying the ruler's orders. At Acrisius' request, the woman and her child were put in a wooden box and thrown into the sea (here the legend of Perseus reminds me a little of Pushkin's 'The Tale of Tsar Soltan').

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Perseus in mythology

In ancient Greek mythology, Perseus' feat is directly linked to the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa. According to legend, she is a monster with a woman's head and hair made of snakes. And anyone who dares to look Medusa in the eye will be turned to stone in an instant.

Polydectus decided to get rid of Danaë's son at any cost, but dared not confront Zeus' descendant directly. So the king hatched an ingenious plan: at a banquet, the island ruler publicly questioned Perseus' divine origin and asked the young man to prove his kinship with the gods. When Perseus agreed to prove his power to the king, the latter asked him to kill the dreaded gorgon Medusa and bring back her severed head.

Polydectus gave Danaë's offspring a superhuman task, for Medusa not only effortlessly turned living beings into stone, but also lived with her two sisters. The Olympian gods Athena and Hermes helped the hero cope with the monster: thanks to them, Perseus acquired useful attributes - a magical curved sword and a polished copper shield, in which everything was reflected as in a mirror.

The hero also paid a visit to the Sisters of the Prophets, old women from Forkiad who had only one eye and one tooth in three. The young man stole their most prized possessions, and Graias offered them winged sandals, an invisible hat of Hades, and a magic pouch in return.

Armed from head to toe, Perseus reached the cave of the Gorgons. The son of Danaë took to the air thanks to his magical sandals and cut off Medusa's head. In order not to turn to stone, the hero looked into the reflection of Athena's shield. Then he used the invisibility cloak to hide from the other gorgons.

screen adaptations

Filmmakers have a habit of delighting moviegoers not only with new ideas, but also with images based on historical or mythological stories. The filmmakers didn't miss Perseus. So let's take a look at the images in which this character appears.

'Clash of the Titans' (movie, 1981)

This action-adventure film, directed by Desmond Davies, won over audiences because it presented a free interpretation of ancient Greek myths: while in the legends snakes are born from the blood of Medusa, in the myths scorpions are born. Also, the painting shows Perseus turning Phineas to stone, which did not happen in the painting. According to the plot, the mortal son of Zeus, Perseus, must save the beautiful Andromeda from magical charms and slay the Kraken. The hero has courage, determination and loyal friends - Bubbo the owl and Pegasus the winged horse. The main roles are played by Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Ursula Andress, Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom and other show business stars.

'Clash of the Titans' (Movie, 2010)

Director Louis Leterrier staged a remake of the film of the same name and spiced it up with special effects. The filmmaker also decided not to base himself on the template, but instead developed his own concept. The film begins with a fisherman pulling out a coffin containing the dead body of a woman with a living child in her arms. Spyros and his wife decide to raise the boy and name him Perseus. As the young man grows up, he learns that the gods are preparing for war. The standout cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Holt, Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Jason Fleming and other stars of the film.

Director Jonathan Liebesman continued the story and directed a spin-off of 'Clash of the Titans'. This time the film shows how, after defeating a sea monster, Perseus put his exploits aside and lived the quiet life of a fisherman while raising his son. However, as the walls of Tartaros began to crumble, the thunderous Zeus begged Perseus to save the world from the coming chaos. The cast includes Rosamund Pike, Bill Nye, Danny Huston, Lily James and more.

Story [ ]

Perseus' mother, Danaios, was imprisoned by her own father, the king of Argos, Acrisius. The king received a prophecy that one day his daughter's son would kill him. Instead of going after his daughter, he locked her in a tower with no door and only one window. Zeus saw the beautiful maiden, fell in love with her, turned into golden rain and slipped through the window. God turned the prison into a beautiful meadow filled with sunlight. Danaë's father saw the light coming out of the window and demanded that the wall be torn down to check on his daughter. As the wall fell, the king saw Danaë holding a little boy in his arms. Fearing to anger Zeus, King Acrisios locked the mother and child in a box and sent them into the sea to let the sea do its work. But Zeus protected Danaë and his son anyway. They landed on the shore of an island where they were met by Diktys (a fisherman). Perseus grew up a happy child until one day King Polydectus decided to marry the mother of Zeus' son.

However, Danaë was not interested. The king had no answer, nor could he persuade Perseus to marry her, so he pretended to marry someone else. When Perseus came to the wedding without a gift (which he couldn't afford), the king demanded that the hero bring him the head of Medusa as a gift. Perseus set out on the difficult quest and finally killed Medusa (Gorgona) with the help of Hermes, the god of travelers (who lent him his sword, which he used to kill Argus, and his winged sandals), Athena, the goddess of wisdom (the gave Perseus a mirrored shield), Hades, lord of the underworld (who gave Perseus the helmet of darkness so he could hide in the shadows). The hero also took an eye and a tooth from the Gray Sisters, who gave him information about the situation on Gorgon Island. On the way back to the king, Perseus showed his true heroism: he saved the princess Andromeda from the sea monster Keto. He later married the princess.

Eventually he gave the head of Medusa to the king, but found out that his marriage was a scam and his mother had been forced to marry the king. Angry Perseus used Medusa's head and turned his enemies in the kingdom to stone, saving his mother. Unwilling to rule, Perseus surrendered power to his stepfather, Dixius. Towards the end of his life he was attending the Olympic Games when a sudden gust of wind changed the trajectory of a discus, which struck Perseus' grandfather and killed the old man (despite Acrisius' intense efforts to prevent the prophecy). Perseus lived happily ever after with his mother, children and wife Andromeda, died and departed for Elysium. Much later Perseus and Andromeda were placed in the sky as constellations.

Books [ ]

The character does not appear in the books, but Percy mentions that his mother named him that on purpose because Perseus was doing well.

• Perseus married Andromeda.
• He is the protoplast of the Persians.
• Perseus is the demigod son of Zeus, in contrast to Percy Jackson who is the demigod son of Poseidon.
• Perseus is the half-brother and great-grandfather of Hercules.
• He is Percy's cousin because Percy is Zeus' nephew and Zeus is Perseus' father.
• constellation perseus bears his name.
• Percy and Perseus have a lot in common.
  • Sally Jackson named her son after Perseus because he was one of the few heroes in the myths to have a happy ending.
  • Percy Jackson beheaded Medusa, just like his namesake Perseus.
  • In the original myth, Perseus threatened the Gray Sisters by trading their eye for information. Percy did the same in Sea of Monsters..

  The scattered star clusters in the studied constellation

  

  Image of NGC 869 and NGC 884 of the scattered star cluster Hee and Ashe Perseus

  A unaided look away from the previously described star Eta Perseus reveals a fuzzy, irregularly shaped bright spot. Even through a telescope, anyone can see two star clusters scattered across the sky. They are called Hee and Ash of Perseus. It is worth noting that these two clusters contain a large number of stars.

  For example, the Hee star cluster in Perseus is 4.3 m in magnitude and 56 light-years across. About 350 stars can be counted within the cluster. h Perseus is 6200 second years away from us.

  

  Photo of Hee and Popiel Perseus, amateur shot

  The second diffuse star cluster, x Perseus, has a similar stellar size to h Perseus at 4.3 m. The cluster is 77 light-years across. This cluster contains nearly three hundred stars. Named x Perseus, the diffuse star cluster is located at a distance of 6520 light-years from Earth. Observing these two star clusters through a telescope is a fascinating experience.

  Nebulae and galaxies in Perseus

  The Small Dumbbell

  

  The constellation Perseus contains some very interesting nebulae. One of these nebulae is the Dumbbell Nebula. This celestial object is also known as the Cork Nebula or simply the Dumbbell Nebula, but is also referred to as Messier 76 (M76) or NGC 650/651. In 1780 the planetary nebula was discovered. Because the object was previously thought to consist of two independent nebulae, it has been given a double number in the NGC catalogues. It is the faintest nebula in Messier's list of objects. Its apparent magnitude is 10.1m at 65 arc seconds.

  The California Fog

  

  A shot of the California Nebula and the Pleiades Cluster. Author Rogelio Bernal

  The emission nebula has the same name as the popular US state of California - Perseus. It is also cataloged as NGC 1499. It was discovered in the sky by the American astronomer Bernard in the 19th century.

  

  Photo of the California Nebula taken by an amateur astronomer from the UK

  The California Nebula is difficult to see without special filters because it is not very bright. Located 1,000 light-years from our planet, the California Nebula spans about a hundred light-years.

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  Discussion >>

  Zinaida Naryshkina doesn't speak 'girl' but a younger Graya. The middle voice borrows Lyusena Ovchinnikova, and the older, like Gorgon Medusa, Sofia Zaikova. read more>>

  Perseus contained another brilliant work by Vsevolod Larionov - Hermes. Of all the 'mythological' Snow White-Blotskaya cycles, this was the one I saw first. And Larionov's Hermes just blew my mind. read more>>

  A wonderful movie. The myth is abridged, of course, but — they just removed everything that wasn't necessary. The only comment - Andromeda is played by an Ethiopian, although her name is absolutely Greek. Besides, in ancient times Ethiopia was not. read more>>

  This comic was published in 1973, and actress Sophia Zaikova (Gorgon Medusa) died in the same year. read more>>

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