Perseus and the Gorgon
Retrieving the head of Medusa, and fulfilling a destiny
The story of Perseus begins in the land of Argos, where its king, Acrisius, learned of an oracle that told that his daughter, Danae, would have a son that would kill him. In fear of this oracle, the king locked his daughter away in a guarded dungeon before she had the chance to conceive. Danae, however, was paid a visit by Zeus, who came to her as a shower of gold. As a result, she gave birth to Perseus. She tried to hide the baby, but his crying eventually attracted Acrisius’ attention. He then locked the two in a wooden chest and threw it into the ocean. With the aid of Zeus, the chest landed on the shores of Seriphus, where a fisherman rescued them, and raised Perseus into a strong and virtuous man.
The tyrannical ruler of Seriphus, who happened to be the fisherman’s brother, demanded that Perseus retrieve the head of theGorgon Medusa. Thus began the exploits of the young hero.
On his journey, Perseus was guided by Athena and Hermes. They sent him to the Graiae, who guarded the realm of the Gorgons. The three blind women shared one eye, and Perseus succeeded in purloining it, so that he could bargain with them to let him through to visit the nymphs (who would arm him for his task). This tactic worked, and he was able to see the nymphs, who gave him three tools that would help him succeed in his task: winged sandals for flight, a sack for the Gorgon’s head, and Hades’ helmet, which endowed the wearer with invisibility. And Hermes himself also gave the hero a sharp hook.
Perseus faced the Gorgons, and with the help of the sandals and hook, he severed Medusa’s head while she slept. To avoid being turned to stone by her glance, Perseus looked upon her with the reflective side of his shield. He placed the head into the sack, and used Hermes’ helmet to escape the other Gorgons.
As Perseus sets of on his journey back to Serpihus, he finds that fate, naturally, intervenes.
Sources consulted:
Graves, R. The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994.
Bonnefoy, Y. Greek and Egyptian Mythologies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1991.
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