![]() They could direct him to the cave where the Gorgons lived. Hermes and Athena advised he seek counsel from the Graeae, who were the sisters of the Gorgons, known for sharing one eye and one tooth between the three of them. The gods helped Perseus on his quest to kill Medusa by giving him gifts and weapons that would support him. The Gorgons were known for preying on mortals and terrorizing the area. The Gorgons dwelt in a dark cave on the island of Cisthene. The myths say that just a look of the deadly Gorgons was enough to turn men into stone, making the task of attacking them difficult. The sacrilege on her temple enraged Athena, who punished Medusa and her sisters (who’d tried to save her from Poseidon) by turning them into Gorgons – hideous monsters with live, writhing snakes for hair. She ran from him and took shelter in Athena’s temple, but Poseidon followed her and had his way with her. One day, she attracted the interest of Poseidon, god of the sea, who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Medusa was a beautiful woman whom both gods and mortals found attractive, but she rejected their advances. Medusa’s story is intriguing and closely tied to that of Perseus. ![]() The Gorgons were a group of three sisters, of whom Sthennoand Euryales were immortal, but Medusa was not. However, this command led Perseus to pursue one of the greatest quests of Greek mythology. It’s likely that the king commanded Perseus with this impossible task so that he wouldn’t succeed and would probably be killed in the process. Taking him up on this, Polydectes requested Perseus to bring him the head of Medusa. Perseus, instead, promised Polydectes to bring him any gift he desired. This was a ploy because he knew that Perseus had no horse. According to other sources, Polydectes held a banquet and asked his guests to each bring a horse as gifts for his intended bride, Hippodamia.If the hero failed, he would take his mother as a prize. He commanded Perseus to kill the Gorgon and bring the head back to him. King Polydectes saw the opportunity to send the hero away when Perseus boasted about being able to slay Medusa, the only mortal Gorgon.There appear to be two versions of how Polydectes gets rid of Perseus: Perseus didn’t approve of Polydectes and wished to protect Danae from him. Since his early childhood, Perseus amazed the people of Argos with his physical strength and bravery, and King Polydectes was no exception. According to the myths, the king fell in love with Perseus’ mother, but he knew that in order to woo Danae, he needed to get rid of the hero first. It was here that Perseus spent his formative years. The wooden chest was carried easily to the coast of the island of Seriphos, where a fisherman called Dictys found it. Dictys, who happened to be the brother of Polydectes, king of Seriphos, offered Danae and her son shelter and helped to raise Perseus. Zeus, however, would not abandon his son and requested of Poseidon to ease the tides. Public Domain Banishment from Argos and Safety in SeriphosĪcrisius would not believe the story of his daughter and enraged by the birth of Perseus, he threw the princess and her son into the ocean in a wooden chest and thus banished her from Argos. Zeus entering the chamber in the form of a golden shower. He entered the bronze chamber in the form of a golden shower through a crack in the roof and managed to get Danae pregnant. However, Zeus, who was attracted to Danae, wasn’t deterred by this. Conscious of this prophecy, the king had his daughter Danae imprisoned in a bronze chamber underground to prevent her from conceiving. According to Greek mythology, Acrisius, King of Argos, received a prophecy from an oracle, which said that one day his grandson would kill him.
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