PERSEUS

(Περσεύς)

408595022 Nitchanun Ongpadyakul

(Dear)
408595410 Bryam
408595428 Nicolas
408595436 Jennifer
408595543 Marco
409595849 Jose
409596532 Nina
408595220 Raúl López
Who is Perseus?
• Perseus was a demi-god, the son of Zeus (the God
of sky and thunder) and a mortal named Danaë,
the daughter of Acrisius of Argos.
• As an infant he was cast into the sea in a chest
with his mother by Acrisius, to whom it had been
prophesied that he would be killed by his
grandson. After Perseus had grown up on the
island of Seriphus, where the chest had grounded,
King Polydectes of Seriphus, who desired Danaë,
tricked Perseus into promising to obtain the head
of Medusa, the only mortal among the Gorgons.
 Killing Medousa
• Polydectes did not know that Perseus was
beloved by the Gods. To help him, god
Hermes gave him a curved sword and a pair of
winged sandals while Athena gave him a
mirror of polished bronze and a cap from
Hades that could make invisible anyone who
would wear it. With these divine aids, Perseus
started his long journey to the cave of
Medousa, somewhere in Africa.
• He indeed found Medousa lying in her deep
cave. Since he was wearing the winged
sandals, he could fly around her and since he
was wearing the magical cap of Hades, he was
invisible. In order to avoid looking Medousa
directly to her face and thereby being turned
into a stone, Perseus approached Medousa
looking at her reflection in the mirror and cut
off her head with the sword of Hermes. So
easily then, the brave and intelligent Perseus
managed to complete this difficult task.
 Andromeda and Perseus
• As he was flying over Africa in his return home, Perseus encountered Atlas
the Titan, a mythical giant, who challenged him. In their confrontation,
Perseus used Medousa's head to turn the Titan into stone. Perseus continued
his journey home and, as he passed the kingdom of Ethiopia, he came upon
the beautiful and helpless maiden Andromeda, chained to the rocks waiting to
be devoured by a sea monster.
• The beautiful Andromeda was the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and
queen Cassiopeia. One day, the vain queen had bragged that her daughter
Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymphs. The sea
nymphs fell angry to hear that and complained to Poseidon, the god of the sea.
A furious Poseidon unleashed the sea monster Cetus to frequently ravage the
coast and devastate the land of Ethiopia in order to avenge the insult to his
wards, the Nereids. The desperate king Cephus appealed Zeus, who suggested
the sacrifice of Andromeda as the only way to appease the wrathful Poseidon.
• Thus it was that our hero Perseus found himself face to face with the beautiful
Andromeda chained helplessly onto the rocks, awaiting her doom. Perseus
immediately fell in love with the lovely maiden and promptly killed Cetus the
beast, who had been licking his lips at the prospect of having a delicious
meal.
• Perseus took Andromeda to her father Cepheus and asked for her hand in
marriage. This infuriated Andromeda's uncle Phineus, to whom the maiden
was already promised. During the ensuing quarrel, Perseus turned Phineus
into a stone by showing him the head of the Gorgon Medousa.
 Back to Seriphus
• A happily married Perseus returned to the
island of Seriphus with his wife,
Andromeda, only to find Polydectes still
pursuing his unwilling mother, Danae. Poor
Polydectes soon joined the list of stone
statues, thanks to the skillful use of the head
of Medousa. After that, Perseus made Dictus
the fisherman king of the island, to thank
him for his kindness and generosity all these
years. A grateful Perseus gave his flying
sandal, mirror and magical cap to god
Hermes. He also gave his great trophy, the
head of Medousa, to goddess Athena.
 Return of Perseus to Argos
• The whole family finally decided to leave Seriphos and return
to Argos, keeping it a secret from King Acrisius. There, one
day, Perseus took part in a sport competition. While throwing
the discus, he accidentally struck his grandfather and instantly
killed him. The old prophecy had come true, no matter how
Acrisius tried to avoid it.
• After the death of Acrisius, the Kingdom of Argos naturally
passed on to Perseus, who thought himself unworthy of it,
since he had caused his grandfather's death, even by accident.
So he gave away the kingdom of Argos to Megapenthes, in
exchange for Megapenthes' kingdom of Tiryns.
• Perseus and his wife Andromeda happily settled in Tiryns and
became the parents of seven sons and one daughter. According
to Mythology, the descendants of Perseus ruled Mycenae, the
most powerful town of Peloponnese in the Mycenaean times.
Another great Greek hero, Heracles, was also a descendant of
Perseus while his son Perses is said to have traveled in far
away Asia to become the ancestor of a new race, the Persians.
THANK YOU
ευχαριστώ