Banished from Argos before he was born (due to an ominous prophecy), Perseus grew up over a distant island. When he arrived of age, he was sent to eliminate the Gorgon Medusa, a monster whose gaze turned all who looked upon her to stone.

Iphicles was the son of Alcmene and Amphitryon and therefore the fifty percent-brother of Heracles. Regardless of obtaining diverse fathers, the two heroes were thought of twins, conceived on a similar evening.

Pegasus was a horse who had a chance to fly. In literature plus the visual arts, Pegasus was almost always represented with wings, but in certain uncommon conditions he appeared as a normal horse.[three] Eventually, it became significantly frequent to depict Pegasus as pristinely white.

Additional information to the Graeae—including the part from the Graeae in dropped works of literature—can be found in later on commentaries, such as the scholia made or compiled in the Byzantine time period and the center Ages. For further more references, see the notes.

Medea was the daughter of Aeetes, who ruled the distant kingdom of Colchis. A descendant from the gods and a priestess of Hecate, Medea was a robust witch and magician herself. She fell in like with Jason when he arrived to Colchis While using the Argonauts to steal the Golden Fleece from her father.

Pegasus was usually imagined as an immortal being, and many historical resources connected him which has a constellation while in the night sky that was eventually named right after him.

As Perseus made his way house, he passed by means of Ethiopia. There, he witnessed an odd and horrible scene: a beautiful young girl was bound bare to the rock, awaiting a sea monster to emerge in the depths and devour her. Cassiopeia, the queen of Ethiopia, had boasted that she was much more stunning in comparison to the fifty daughters of The ocean deity Nereus.

Heracles and Iphicles had been twins who shared a mother but had various fathers. Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon, had been seduced by Zeus, who came to her disguised as Amphitryon.

Likely to Polydectes’ palace, Perseus confirmed the lecherous king the “gift” he himself had asked for: the head of Medusa. Polydectes, disbelieving, checked out the Gorgon’s head and turned to stone.

He then employed her severed head to be a weapon through his travels, turning his enemies to stone. Medusa’s head was lastly supplied to the goddess Athena, getting to be Element of the armor she wore into battle.

Andromeda was recognized for her extraordinary elegance. As she was a princess of Ethiopia, it truly is fair to assume that she was black; certainly, plainly historic authors took it as a right which the legendary Ethiopians experienced darkish skin.[1]

Danae’s father was told by an oracle that he was destined to die in the hands of his grandson. Thus, he locked Danae up within a dungeon to forestall her from ever bearing a son. But more info Zeus frequented Danae to be a shower of gold dust, and Perseus was conceived from their union.

You can find different versions of what Perseus required from the Graeae. In one Variation—almost certainly the greater common 1—the hero necessary to Identify a gaggle of nymphs who were in possession of winged sandals, a cap of invisibility, plus a magical bag (the kibisis) that could hold Medusa’s hazardous head—the instruments needed to face the Gorgon. But only the Graeae understood wherever Perseus could find these nymphs.

Poseidon was generally named as the father of equally creatures, although the mechanics of his paternity were obscure at greatest.[5]

When Acrisius uncovered of Perseus’ return, nevertheless, he fled the town, continue to dreading the prophecy that experienced predicted he could be killed by his grandson.