Perseus

PERSEUS.

Perseus, one of the most renowned of the legendary heroes of antiquity, was
the son of Zeus and Danaë, daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos.

An oracle having foretold to Acrisius that a son of Danaë would be the
cause of his death, he imprisoned her in a tower of brass in order to keep
her secluded from the world. Zeus, however, descended through the roof of
the tower in the form of a shower of gold, and the lovely Danaë became his
bride.

For four years Acrisius remained in ignorance of this union, but one
evening as he chanced to pass by the brazen chamber, he heard the cry of a
young child proceeding from within, which led to the discovery of his
daughter's marriage with Zeus. Enraged at finding all his precautions
unavailing, Acrisius commanded the mother and child to be placed in a chest
and thrown into the sea.

But it was not the will of Zeus that they should perish. He directed
Poseidon to calm the troubled waters, and caused the chest to float safely
to the island of Seriphus. Dictys, brother of Polydectes, king of the
island, was fishing on the sea-shore when he saw the chest stranded on the
beach; and pitying the helpless condition of its unhappy occupants, he
conducted them to the palace of the king, where they were treated with the
greatest kindness.

Polydectes eventually became united to Danaë, and {206} bestowed upon
Perseus an education befitting a hero. When he saw his stepson develop into
a noble and manly youth he endeavoured to instil into his mind a desire to
signalize himself by the achievement of some great and heroic deed, and
after mature deliberation it was decided that the slaying of the Gorgon,
Medusa, would bring him the greatest renown.

For the successful accomplishment of his object it was necessary for him to
be provided with a pair of winged sandals, a magic wallet, and the helmet
of Aïdes, which rendered the wearer invisible, all of which were in the
keeping of the Nymphs, the place of whose abode was known only to the Grææ.
Perseus started on his expedition, and, guided by Hermes and Pallas-Athene,
arrived, after a long journey, in the far-off region, on the borders of
Oceanus, where dwelt the Grææ, daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. He at once
applied to them for the necessary information, and on their refusing to
grant it he deprived them of their single eye and tooth, which he only
restored to them when they gave him full directions with regard to his
route. He then proceeded to the abode of the Nymphs, from whom he obtained
the objects indispensable for his purpose.

Equipped with the magic helmet and wallet, and armed with a sickle, the
gift of Hermes, he attached to his feet the winged sandals, and flew to the
abode of the Gorgons, whom he found fast asleep. Now as Perseus had been
warned by his celestial guides that whoever looked upon these weird sisters
would be transformed into stone, he stood with averted face before the
sleepers, and caught on his bright metal shield their triple image. Then,
guided by Pallas-Athene, he cut off the head of the Medusa, which he placed
in his wallet. No sooner had he done so than from the headless trunk there
sprang forth the winged steed Pegasus, and Chrysaor, the father of the
winged giant Geryon. He now hastened to elude the pursuit of the two
surviving sisters, who, aroused from their slumbers, eagerly rushed to
avenge the death of their sister.

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His invisible helmet and winged sandals here stood him in good stead; for
the former concealed him from the view of the Gorgons, whilst the latter
bore him swiftly over land and sea, far beyond the reach of pursuit. In
passing over the burning plains of Libya the drops of blood from the head
of the Medusa oozed through the wallet, and falling on the hot sands below
produced a brood of many-coloured snakes, which spread all over the
country.

Perseus continued his flight until he reached the kingdom of Atlas, of whom
he begged rest and shelter. But as this king possessed a valuable orchard,
in which every tree bore golden fruit, he was fearful lest the slayer of
the Medusa might destroy the dragon which guarded it, and then rob him of
his treasures. He therefore refused to grant the hospitality which the hero
demanded, whereupon Perseus, exasperated at the churlish repulse, produced
from his wallet the head of the Medusa, and holding it towards the king,
transformed him into a stony mountain. Beard and hair erected themselves
into forests; shoulders, hands, and limbs became huge rocks, and the head
grew up into a craggy peak which reached into the clouds.

Perseus then resumed his travels. His winged sandals bore him over deserts
and mountains, until he arrived at Æthiopia, the kingdom of King Cepheus.
Here he found the country inundated with disastrous floods, towns and
villages destroyed, and everywhere signs of desolation and ruin. On a
projecting cliff close to the shore he beheld a lovely maiden chained to a
rock. This was Andromeda, the king's daughter. Her mother Cassiopea, having
boasted that her beauty surpassed that of the Nereides, the angry
sea-nymphs appealed to Poseidon to avenge their wrongs, whereupon the
sea-god devastated the country with a terrible inundation, which brought
with it a huge monster who devoured all that came in his way.

In their distress the unfortunate Æthiopians applied to the oracle of
Jupiter-Ammon, in the Libyan desert, {208} and obtained the response, that
only by the sacrifice of the king's daughter to the monster could the
country and people be saved.

Cepheus, who was tenderly attached to his child, at first refused to listen
to this dreadful proposal; but overcome at length by the prayers and
solicitations of his unhappy subjects, the heart-broken father gave up his
child for the welfare of his country. Andromeda was accordingly chained to
a rock on the sea-shore to serve as a prey to the monster, whilst her
unhappy parents bewailed her sad fate on the beach below.

On being informed of the meaning of this tragic scene, Perseus proposed to
Cepheus to slay the dragon, on condition that the lovely victim should
become his bride. Overjoyed at the prospect of Andromeda's release, the
king gladly acceded to the stipulation, and Perseus hastened to the rock,
to breathe words of hope and comfort to the trembling maiden. Then assuming
once more the helmet of Aïdes, he mounted into the air, and awaited the
approach of the monster.

Presently the sea opened, and the shark's head of the gigantic beast of the
deep raised itself above the waves. Lashing his tail furiously from side to
side, he leaped forward to seize his victim; but the gallant hero, watching
his opportunity, suddenly darted down, and producing the head of the Medusa
from his wallet, held it before the eyes of the dragon, whose hideous body
became gradually transformed into a huge black rock, which remained for
ever a silent witness of the miraculous deliverance of Andromeda. Perseus
then led the maiden to her now happy parents, who, anxious to evince their
gratitude to her deliverer ordered immediate preparations to be made for
the nuptial feast. But the young hero was not to bear away his lovely bride
uncontested; for in the midst of the banquet, Phineus, the king's brother,
to whom Andromeda had previously been betrothed, returned to claim his
bride. Followed by a band of armed warriors he forced his way into the
hall, and a desperate encounter took place between the rivals, {209} which
might have terminated fatally for Perseus, had he not suddenly bethought
himself of the Medusa's head. Calling to his friends to avert their faces,
he drew it from his wallet, and held it before Phineus and his formidable
body-guard, whereupon they all stiffened into stone.

[Illustration]

Perseus now took leave of the Æthiopian king, and, accompanied by his
beautiful bride, returned to Seriphus, where a joyful meeting took place
between Danaë and her son. He then sent a messenger to his grandfather,
informing him that he intended returning to Argos; but Acrisius, fearing
the fulfilment of the oracular prediction, fled for protection to his
friend Teutemias, king of Larissa. Anxious to induce the aged monarch to
return to Argos, Perseus followed him thither. But here a strange fatality
occurred. Whilst taking part in some funereal games, celebrated in honour
of the king's father, Perseus, by an unfortunate throw of the discus,
accidentally struck his grandfather, and thereby was the innocent cause of
his death.

After celebrating the funereal rites of Acrisius with due solemnity,
Perseus returned to Argos; but feeling loath to occupy the throne of one
whose death he had caused, he exchanged kingdoms with Megapenthes, king of
Tiryns, and in course of time founded the cities of Mycenæ and Midea.

The head of the Medusa he presented to his divine patroness, Pallas-Athene,
who placed it in the centre of her shield.

Many great heroes were descended from Perseus and Andromeda, foremost among
whom was Heracles, whose mother, Alcmene, was their granddaughter.

Heroic honours were paid to Perseus, not only {210} throughout Argos, but
also at Athens and in the island of Seriphus.