ordinary world: the hero starts out in their regular/normal life

the hero, perseus, lived carefree by the sea on a tiny island kingdom with his mother, danaë, and the kind
fisherman dictys. as the glorious son of zeus, king of the gods, he was both charming and courageous. danaë,
famed for her equally mesmerizing looks, attracted many suitors, and news of her undisputed beauty reached the
ear of dictys’ brother, ruler of the realm: polydectes.

the call to adventure: something calls the hero to go on their quest

cruel and ambitious, polydectes was insistent on claiming danaë as his wife. although she refused at first, dictys’
warning of his brother’s legendary temper urged her to agree to marriage in order to ensure perseus’ safety.
nonetheless, polydectes taunted perseus on the day of the wedding who, out of spite, then vowed to bring back the
head of medusa.

refusal of the call: refuses because they are scared

danaë is horrified and cries out to perseus for him to take back his words. she can’t bear to see her beloved son
pursue such a dangerous quest.

meeting the mentor: the hero gets help from a teacher or mentor
while perseus broods and contemplates how he should capture the infamous gorgon, athena descends to offer him
encouragement and a shining shield, along with hermes, who gifts him a mighty sword, an invisible cap, winged
sandals, and a magical wallet. perseus is speechless and gratefully accepts their assistance.

crossing the threshold: leaves normal world to the world of adventure

hermes guides perseus to atlas, a titan who provides the hero with directions to the gray women, three old sisters
who all shared one eye.

tests, allies, enemies: battles, solving problems, riddles, etc.

the duo arrives at the dark, desolate plain where the grey women reside. perseus quietly approaches the trio with
his invisible cap and steals their shared eye. after revealing his presence, perseus threatens to crush the eye in
exchange for information on medusa’s location. he is successful and hermes leaves him to continue his quest
alone.

approach the inmost cave: hero prepares to face their biggest ordeal or fear
perseus flies to the east, past the mountains of fire. soon he smelled the stench of decaying bodies, and a black
mountain rose up before his view, where he spied the gorgon creatures.

the ordeal: hero’s darkest hour

by using his reflective shield as a mirror, perseus used his sword to slice off medusa’s head.

reward: claims an important treasure or power

he stuffs the severed prize into his satchel and escapes from the cave.
the roadblock: return to normal world
as perseus crossed the roaring sea on his way home, he spotted a young woman tied to a stake in the ground. by
word of oracle, the princess andromeda was sacrificed by her people and family to a terrorizing sea serpent.
perseus slays the monster and rescues andromeda, who wishes to go to his kingdom.

the resurrection: most dangerous meeting with death

upon his return, perseus discovers dictys and his mother missing, who have supposedly fled to a faraway temple in
order to avoid polydectes. he calls a meeting with the king and before he can be seized by his army, perseus
turned him to stone using medusa’s head.

return with elixir: the final reward

the hero and his loved ones rejoiced. the head of medusa was endowed to athena, dictys was named the new king,
and perseus married andromeda. they resolved to make their home in argos, where they lived a happy life.