Turned to stone
Perseus confronted Polydectes with Medusa’s head just as the king was
about to force Danaë to submit to his demands. The Gorgon’s gaze was
enough to petrify Polydectes and his men instantly where they stood.
Perseus and Andromeda
This painting of the rescue of Andromeda by Perseus shows the hero still
flying on the winged sandals of Hermes. Some versions of the story have
him riding across the sky on the winged steed, Pegasus.Abandonment of Danaë and Perseus
Acrisius’s death had been foretold in a prophecy,
which led him to put his daughter and grandson
in a chest and throw it in the sea.Discus thrower
Perseus was fond of discus throwing,
which became a very popular sport in
the ancient Greek Olympic games.THE EXPLOITS OF PERSEUSTHE RESCUE OF ANDROMEDA
Some say the winged horse Pegasus grew from
Medusa’s blood after Perseus had slain the Gorgon, and he left for
home on this magical steed. As he flew, he saw a woman chained
to some rocks on the Phoenician coast. She was Andromeda, the
daughter of Cepheus, the King of Ethiopia. His wife, Cassiopeia, had
boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs.
Furious at this insult, the god Poseidon had sent a sea monster
to terrorize Ethiopia; the beast would only be satisfied with the
sacrifice of Cassiopeia’s daughter. Perseus swooped down and
killed the monster, rescuing Andromeda. He asked for her hand
in marriage but when her parents refused, Perseus showed them
Medusa’s head, turning them to stone, and left with Andromeda.THE PETRIFICATION
OF POLYDECTES
After his adventures with the Gorgon and the sea monster, Perseus
finally returned home to the island of Seriphos. King Polydectes
had fallen in love with Perseus’s mother, Danaë, and had been
trying to persuade her to marry him. He had sent Perseus away in
the first place for this very purpose. Danaë hid herself in the temple
of Athena and Polydectes laid siege to the building. Enraged by
what he saw on his arrival, Perseus revealed Medusa’s head to the
king and his soldiers, turning them to stone. Perseus then returned
the gifts that the gods had loaned to him, and gave Medusa’s head
to Athena, who attached it to the front of her shield.THE DEATH OF ACRISIUS
Perseus was going to return to his homeland of Argos,
but he heard about the oracle that had predicted that
Danaë’s son would kill his own grandfather, and so he
decided to stay away. He travelled instead to Pelasgiotis
(or according to some accounts, Larissa) in Thessaly,
where the local king, Teutamides, was holding funeral
games for his recently deceased father. Perseus was
keen to compete in the games, especially in the discus,
which was his favourite event. But when he took his
throw, the discus went astray, hitting and killing one
of the men watching. Unfortunately, the victim turned
out to be Perseus’s grandfather, Acrisius. 41