NYMPHAI (Nymphs). Lloyd-Jones) : ", Pausanias, Guide to Greece 2. . Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) 21. . 16, Apollodorus 2.34, Strabo 10.5.10, Herodotus 6.53 & 7.61, Diodorus Siculus 4.9.1, Hyginus Fabulae 63 & 155, Ovid Metamorphoses 4.607, Nonnus Dionysiaca 2.286, et al), [1.1] STHENELOS (Homer Iliad 19.97) 11 : Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) "When he [Midas of the golden-touch] washed his hands in liquid streams, the lustrous drops upon his hands might have been those which once astonished Danae. ", Ovid, Metamorphoses 11. Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. ((lacuna)) if I don't rejoice in the sight of you. "Perseus was the son of Danaê, the daughter of Akrisios (Acrisius), and Zeus. . For him a thousand flocks, a thousand herds overwandered pasture fields; and neighbour tribes might none disturb that land. But Zeus having metamorphosed himself into a shower of gold, came down upon her through the roof of the apartment, and became by her the father of Perseus. 7 : Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. But, according to the common story, Polydectes, king of Seriphos, made Danae his slave, and courted her favour, but in vain; and in order to obtain the undisturbed possession of her, he sent off Perseus, who had in the meantime grown up to manhood, to the Gorgons, to fetch the head of Medusa, which he said he would give to Hippodameia as a wedding present (Tzetz. 63). Danae : Rivers of Argos and gods of my fathers, and you, Zeus, who bring my ordeal to such an end! . [Diodorus then goes on to describe a legendary tribe of Libyan Amazon-women. ERYTHEIA. 68 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. One such example of euhemeristic interpretation of myth is the idea that the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece arose from real practices which involved panning for gold using wool. . 697 ff (trans. Acrisius, who had no male issue, consulted the Pythian oracle, and received the answer, that if Danae should give birth to a son, he would kill his father. to C1st A.D.) : Furthermore, the manly prowess of those of whom we are now about to write presupposes an amazing pre-eminence when compared with the nature of the women of our day. And yet, for any creature living on the face of Mother Earth, one drop of its black poison in his veins was short cut to the world below . : Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. Perseus then gave the winged sandals and the helmet to Hermes, who restored them to the nymphs and to Hades, and Athena received the head of Gorgo, which was put on the shield or breast-plate of the goddess. For such was the helmet of Haides, which Perseus used when he killed the Gorgon. Perseus was the son of the Greek god Zeus and the woman Danae. . 270 ff (trans. Of the three sisters only Medusa was mortal. . Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : ", Suidas s.v. Herodotus, the ancient historian, meanwhile, stated that the Gorgons lived in Libya, and it’s been suggested that they originated in a north African Berber myth, which may have been co-opted by the Greeks. ", Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. Proitos' father-in-law with the Lykian army conducted him home again, where he seized Tiryns, which had been walled for him by the Kyklopes (Cyclopes). 617 ff (trans. AKRISIOS (Acrisius). This last magic item was especially useful, as it made whoever wore it invisible. 24 - 25 (trans. 5. HERMES. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. The next day, all of the other guests brought their horses as gifts to Polydectes, but Perseus turned up with nothing. An Aegean island, south of mainland Greece. ", Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. [N.B. Perseus put her head into the bag which he carried on his back, and as he went away, he was pursued by the winged Gorgons (Hes. Fab. Percy leaves the package with his mother, so that she can decide whether or not to use it on Gabe if he continues to threaten her. Their stories are some of the most memorable; consider Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus. When Acrisius learnt this, he went to Polydectes, who, however, interfered on behalf of the boy, and the latter promised not to kill his grandfather. : Sophocles, Danae (lost play) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) Heroic son of Zeus and Danae. . . "He [Perseus] laid ambush for the sentinel eye of Phorkys (Phorcys) [i.e. The deed itself no one has described. ARGOS. "[Perseus enters the cave of the Gorgones :] Into the cave he rushed like a wild boar. Medousa : The king of Seriphos, brother of Diktys. Palat. vii. POLYDEKTES (Polydectes). "The round island of the Graiai (Graeae) [lay somewhere beyond India]. The summary of “Medusa’s head”. 11 : Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. he who, men tell, was from a flowing stream of gold betotten.". § 1 ; comp. The harvester" is Perseus; "the weasel" is Medousa; "the horse and man" are Pegasos and Khrysaor; "the wandering guides" are the Graiai. ii. 1109.) A mountain range in North-West Africa near the Atlantic Ocean. Athenian Red Figure Vase Painting C5th B.C. Three old sea-hags, sisters of the Gorgones. ad Aen. Well, now that she has before her eyes our youthful vigour, she rejoices and exults; such is the bridegroom that by the bright gleam of Aphrodite's torches.". When Acrisius discovered that Danaë had given birth to a son, he threw both mother and son into a chest, and put them out to sea; but Zeus caused the chest to land in the island of Seriphos, one of the Cyclades, where Dictys, a fisherman, found them, and carried them to his brother, king Polydectes. 19.115) No, I am afraid to! SERIPHOS. 11 : Or has the Old Man of the Islands [Nereus or Proteus] sent us something in a chest? 65) (trans. Perseus; Theseus; Other Heroes; Myths. 15. Joseph Campbell, for instance, who was probably the most influential comparative mythologist of the twentieth century after James Frazer, suggested that Perseus’ beheading of Medusa is mythologising of a real historical event, namely the sack of a temple (in the 13th Century BC), during which Greek invaders killed priestesses who wore Gorgon masks. "The ruler of Seriphos was Polydektes (Polydectes), Diktys' (Dictys') brother. The wife of Diktys. who now the heavens' expanse unnumbered stars, on him command to rest.". "Seriphos, the scene of the mythical story of Diktys (Dictys), who with his net drew to land the chest in which were enclosed Perseus and his mother Danae, who had been sunk in the sea by Akrisios (Acrisius) the father of Danae; for Perseus was reared there. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : Vellacott) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) 270 ff (trans. In the case of the Gorgon Medusa, although it is similarly speculative, numerous mythologists have put forward the idea that the story of Perseus’ slaying of Medusa may be a sort of ‘origin myth’ created to explain the Gorgoneion, a protective pendant worn by followers of Athena and Zeus and displaying the ugly head of a woman, surrounded by serpents. Took flight and made his way to the Hyperboreans, by hitting him with sickle-shaped. 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