Perseus was the son of danae and zeus, who came to danae in the form of a golden spring. Perseus grew up at the court of polydectes, king of seriphus. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology with a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. So acrisius locked his daughter away in a bronze chamber, but zeus transformed into a. One of a trio of gorgon sisters, medusa was the only sister who was not immortal. Greek mythologyheroesperseus wikibooks, open books for an. After using it to turn king polydectes into stone, he carried it with him on many adventures, and turning his enemies to stones. In greek mythology, various old texts are used as references along with centuries old artifacts and drawings. In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae and of the perseid dynasty. As an educator and counselor, i often use tales from classic greek mythology as a way of relating common themes that speak to the human condition. Oct 21, 2012 perseus was one of the greatest and oldest panhellenic heroes of greek mythology. Perseus was thought to exist several generations before. Perseus, athena and head of medusa, apulian redfigure krater c4th b.
The hunt for medusas head a greek myth graphic myths and. As perseus deals with the gray women, we see the imaginative nature of greek mythology. Each book covers a character from mythology and brings the tale to life through illustrations and storytelling, with inspiration from ancient art and literature. Thomas bulfinchs study of greek and roman mythology, was first published in 1855. Medusa, in greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as gorgons. The legend of perseus beheading medusa means, specifically, that the hellenes overran the goddesss chief shrines and stripped her priestesses of their gorgon masks, the latter being apotropaic faces worn to frighten away the profane. Polydectes, the king of seriphus, wishes to marry danae, and plots to get rid of perseus because he may object. Athena told perseus in order to kill medusa he would need to find hesperides, that the nymphs who guard heras garden and golden apples also guarded the items perseus would need to beat medusa. Athena also left perseus a magic shield and told perseus not to look the ugly gorgon in the eye, to use the shield for his eyes. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology. These distinct characters, sharing one eye, all shades of gray, last in the readers mind and expand the universe which the mythology depicts.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading perseus. So, one night, he visited her as a shower of golden light, and from this heavenly union, nine months later, a baby boy was born. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes spoken of in greek mythology, for perseus was the famed vanquisher of the gorgon medusa. Like most of the mythological heroes, the genealogy of perseus makes him the son of a god and a mortal.
The gorgons were three monsters in greek mythology, daughters of echidna and typhon, the mother and father of all monsters respectively. Veronese medusa from the greek mythology statue figurine cold. The myth of perseus and medusa explained theoi greek mythology. Perseus, one of the most famous of the legendary heroes of ancient times, was the. Jul 15, 2019 perseus is a major hero from greek mythology best known for his clever decapitation of medusa, the monster who turned all who looked at her face into stone.
Greek mythologyheroesperseus wikibooks, open books for. Medusa project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. The gorgons in greek mythology greek legends and myths. When perseus was flying back to seriphos, he ran into not literally a young woman chained to a rock in the middle of the ocean. Choose from 500 different sets of greek mythology perseus flashcards on quizlet. Oct 07, 2017 greek heroes from classicalgrecoroman mythology. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and impregnated her. Reviews the book jason and the golden fleece, by francis mosley. Although the first two were immortal, medusa was not. At some point in time, he gave the head to athena to put on her aegis and forge it into a deadly weapon. This is a fairly faithful retelling of the myths around greek hero perseus. Polydectes asked perseus to slay and behead the gorgon medusa and bring back her head as his gift. The story of perseus begins in the greek kingdom of argos, at a. The mythology and you book states, perseus depended exclusively upon divine magical aid for success.
Most of what we know of medusa comes from her short time serving in athenas temple and the way in which her head was used after she was beheaded by perseus. In the temple of athena she was forcibly seized by poseidon. The story of medusa from greek mythology guy counseling. He was the son of zeus and danae, making him a demigod, and is known best for having slain the creature medusa. Detraci regula is a freelance writer who has specialized in greek travel and tours for 18 years. Percy jackson and the lightning thief jason, medea and the golden fleece. Perseus is the first book in the early myths collection, a series of childrens picture books on greek myth. Polydectes wished to marry danae and, in order to accomplish his purpose, thought best to get rid of perseus. The adventures of perseus part 2 greek mythology ep. Adapted from the myths and legends of ancient greece and rome by e. Perseus perseus facts and information on the greek hero. She was beheaded by the hero perseus, using the sword harpe, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess athena to place on her shield the aegis. Perseus is a major hero from greek mythology best known for his clever decapitation of medusa, the monster who turned all who looked at her face into stone.
Kids books on greek myth volume 1 kindle edition by spence, dr simon, lawton, colm. Moreover, when perseus actually defeats them, the story underscores the recurring theme of human ingenuity. Pegasus can be found on many transportation company logos. However, her pleas and sighs were heard in the heavens by zeus. The curse of medusa from greek mythology medusa is one of the more unusual divine figures of ancient greece mythology. She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes. Myth of atlas and perseus roman and greek gods and.
Perseus in greek mythology greek legends and myths. Perseus perseus facts and information on the greek hero perseus. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from the sea.
Perseus was one of the oldest out of all of the greek mythological heroes. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article. Perseus is the only greek hero that i am aware of who does not fit the story. The adventures of perseus have been told, and retold, over the millennia, and even today his story regularly appears on the big screen. She is famed for her snakelike hair and her gaze, which turns those who look at her to stone. Perseus and medusa photo by nightowl on pixabay, perseus and medusa. Based on what we have read from the book, perseus seems to be the more heroic person. See more ideas about greek mythology, mythology and perseus greek mythology. The narrative of apollodorus is quoted, for the most part verbally, but as usual without acknowledgment, by zenobius, cent. In classical antiquity the image of the head of medusa appeared in the evilaverting device known as the gorgoneion.
He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from. According to one of them, medusa was a beautiful girl with luxurious hair. It was foretold to danaes father, acrisius the king of argos, that danaes son would kill him. Danae and zeus disguised as a shower of gold on a krater in the louvre. The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek. For example, in one version of the story of perseus, the oracles prophecy was fulfilled when perseus showed medusas head to acrisius to prove that he had actually slain her.
The story of atlas and perseus is featured in the book entitled the age of fable, or stories of gods and heroes by thomas bulfinch. After perseus beheaded medusa, he took her head as a war trophy. King polydectes tricks perseus into promising to bring back the head of medusa, one of the dreaded gorgons. Medusa was beheaded by the hero perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess athena to place on her shield. The only son of zeus and danae and, thus, a halfgod by birth perseus was one of the greatest heroes in greek mythology, most renowned for beheading the only mortal gorgon, medusa, and using her severed head capable of turning onlookers into stone as a mighty weapon in his subsequent adventures. Medusa and pegasus are two of the most wellknown creatures from greek mythology. The myth of perseus and medusa, according to pindar and apollodorus, started with a quest.
Perseus, one of the most famous of the legendary heroes of ancient times, was the son of zeus and danae, daughter of acrisius, king of argos. Oct 22, 2014 the mythology and you book states, perseus depended exclusively upon divine magical aid for success. Myths include king midas, perseus, medusa, persephone, the minotaur, theseus, odysseus, ariadne, with ancient greek. A dictionary of greek and roman biography and mythology, perseus. The myth of perseus and medusa explained the story of how medusa was killed by perseus is one of the most thrilling stories in greek mythology.
By killing medousa, perseus would prove his braveness, as fits to the son of zeus. He famously slew the dreaded gorgon medusa whose gaze could turn men to stone, an exploit he swiftly followed up with the daring rescue of the princess andromeda from a monstrous seacreature sent by poseidon to terrorize the kingdom of ethiopia. But what makes jason truly more heroic that perseus is that perseus had athenas help in cutting off medusas head. This book is a comic about greek myths and legends.
Their names were stheno, euryale, and the most famous of them, medusa. He received a mirrorlike shield to take on his journey. Perseus was born to the god, zeus, and mortal woman, danae, making him a demigod with great strength and intelligent ingenuity. Medusa greek statue figurine mythology gorgon ptc 7. The myth of perseus and medusa explained greek mythology.
So perseus set out to retrieve the head of the gorgon, medusa. Medusa was one of the three gorgons, daughters of phorcys and ceto, sisters of the graeae, echidna, and ladon all dreadful and fearsome beasts. However, as the legend says, zeus came to her in the form of golden rain, pierced through the walls of chamber, and danaes body. Dictionary of greek and roman biography and mythology, london 1873. Medusa is one of the more unusual divine figures of ancient greece mythology. A beautiful mortal, medusa was the exception in the family, until she incurred the wrath of athena, either due to her boastfulness or because of an illfated love affair with poseidon. Because the gorgons could turn anybody to stone by looking in their eyes, perseus cleverly looked in the shield, so that medusa couldnt look directly into his eyes. He was the son of the argive princess danae who was locked away in a bronze chamber by her father akrisios acrisius who lived in fear of a prophecy that he would one day be killed by her son.
The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek mythology. The myth of perseus and medusa was one of the mostpopular in antiquity. Jason and the golden fleecepegasus, the winged horse. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos. Greek mythology heros journey of perseus storyboard. See more ideas about medusa, medusa myth and mythology. The story of how medusa was killed by perseus is one of the most thrilling stories in greek mythology.
Nov 28, 2018 medusa was pregnant at the time of her death with the baby of poseidon, and when perseus severed her head, her two unborn children pegasus, a winged horse, and chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden. One of my favorites is the medusa story, sometimes referred to as perseus and the gorgon medusa. Perseus, having grown up on the island of seriphos, was now quested by king polydectes to bring forth the head of the gorgon medusa. The gorgons might have had a deadly reputation in greek mythology, but they only come to prominence when the path of the hero perseus crosses that of the monsters. With a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. She is famed for her snakelike hair and her gaze, which turns those who look at her to. Learn greek mythology perseus with free interactive flashcards. Perseus was given a magical tool that the task of killing medusa seems impossible without. Transformed into a vicious monster with snakes for hair, she was. After he cut off medusas head, pegasus and chrysaor some golden warrior dude that you honestly nevereverever hear of, medusas children, sprang out of her neckliterally.
While medusa is known to be one of the most famous monsters in greek mythology, there is relatively little that is recorded of her existence before she was beheaded by perseus. Hoena and jason and the golden fleece, by neil yomtov. The story begins on the island of seriphus, the home of perseus and his mother, danae. He is best known in greek mythology as the slayer of medusa, one of three female creatures, or gorgons, with hair said to be made of poisonous snakes. Medusa jellyfish have very long and poisonous tentacles that resemble medusa s snake hair.
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