The story begins in the ancient Greek city of Argos. The king of Argos had a beautiful daughter called Danae who was the fairest maiden in the kingdom and had many admirers. Then one day the king heard of a prophecy  that foretold that his daughter Danae would have a son who would one day kill him. So he built a great bronze tower and locked Danae away far from any men, her only companion being her faithful nurse. Danae was so beautiful that even the mighty Zeus, king of the gods, desired her. While the nurse slept, Zeus transformed himself into a wondrous shower of gold and poured himself into her lap. Soon afterwards her son Perseus was born. Danae kept Perseus with her for many years unbeknown to the jealous king until one day the king heard Perseus crying in the tower. He flew into a rage. He killed the nurse locked them inside a large wooden chest and threw it into the sea.

The chest floated towards the island of Seriphos where it was found by Dictys, a fisherman, who took them both to his brother Polydectes who was the king. Polydectes took pity on them, gave them shelter and raised Perseus as if he were his own son. Perseus grew up to be a handsome young man of exceptional beauty and strength. In the mean time the king had become extremely fond of Danae and realised that the only way to have her was to get Perseus out of the way first. He came up with a plan and pretended he wished to marry a lady of the court called Hippodamia and asked them what gift they were willing to offer. Perseus was arrogant and promised to bring him the head of Medusa, a once-beautiful maiden who Athena had turned into a monster with hissing snakes for hair. Polydectes agreed and sent him on the mission.

Perseus was aided by Hermes and Athena who sent him to The Graeae, sisters of the gorgons who had one eye and one tooth between them. Perseus stole the eye and tooth by which persuaded them to show him how to reach The Nymphs, who had winged sandals, a magic bag for Medusa’s head and the helmet of Hades which made the wearer invisible. He also received a sword from Hermes and a shield from Athena.Knowing that one look from Medusa could turn a man to stone, Perseus used the reflection in his shield to creep up on Medusa while she was sleeping and cut off her head. From her neck sprung the winged horse Pegasus and the sea-monster Chrysaor. The mighty Medusa was slain. Perseus took the head and secured it in his bag. The noise awoke the other two gorgons who lived with Medusa and they chased Perseus, but Perseus sprung into the air with his winged shoes and escaped.

On the way back to Seriphos, Perseus journeyed through Ethiopia and saw a naked woman chained to the rocks by the shore. She was Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia and was being sacrificed to a sea-monster because her mother had bragged about her beauty, comparing her to the sea-nymphs, which had enraged Poseidon. Perseus agreed to slay the monster and rescue Andromeda in return for her hand in marriage. This enraged Phineus, who was engaged to Andromeda, but Perseus showed him Medusa’s head and he was turned to stone.

Perseus and Andromeda were married the next day and straight after the wedding they journeyed back to the kingdom of Seriphos. Here they found that Polydectes was trying to force his mother Danae to marry him, so Perseus found him and turned him to stone. After this Perseus returned his magical gifts and gave Medusa’s head to Athena who fixed in to her shield (the Aegis) so her enemies would be terrified of her when she went into battle.

Perseus wanted to make peace with his grandfather Acrisius and unite his mother and wife with him in one big family. He returned to Argos but his grandfather had fled, fearing Perseus was seeking revenge. Perseus eventually caught up with him in the land of Larissa and persuaded his grandfather that he meant him no harm. To celebrate they both went to a mighty athletic competition that was being held in Larissa at the time. But the prophecy was fulfilled: Perseus took part in the games and threw a discus which accidentally struck his grandfather and killed him.

Perseus was filled with grief and could not return to Argos, but he went on to found two other great cities. He and Andromeda bore six sons and one daughter and were themselves related to the greatest of all Greek heroes – Heracles. They lived to an old age and when they died, because they were in the favour of the gods, they were set in the night sky as constellations so they could stay with each other for all time.

There is a wonderful poem written by the Roman poet Ovid about the meeting of Perseus and Andromeda. To read the poem click here.

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