Perseus

Statue of Perseus. Vatican Museum, Rome, Italy Click on image for full size (72K JPEG) Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.

Luckily they were rescued by a fisherman of the island of Seriphos. The fisherman was the brother of king of Seriphos, Polydectes. He took the woman and her child to the royal palace where the king offered them hospitality and protection. Perseus grew up on the island and became a courageous young man.

Polydectes fell in love with Danae, but she rejected his advances. Hoping to overcome her resistance, Polydectes sent Perseus on a dangerous mission to get rid of him. Perseus had to fetch the head of the Gorgon Medusa. Instead of hair Medusa had serpents on her head and anyone who looked at her horrific features was turned into stone. Nevertheless, with the help of Athena and Hermes, Perseus managed to kill Medusa.

On his voyage back to Seriphos, he met Andromeda in Ethiopia and married her. In Seriphos, he rescued his mother and overthrew Polydectes. When his triumph became known, he was invited to the city of Larissa to participate to funeral games in honor of the king of that city.

During the games, Perseus threw a discus which accidentally hit his grandfather Acrisius, who was watching the games, unaware of his grandson's presence. Acrisius died fulfilling the prophecy.