What are some interesting facts about Perseus and Zeus?
The following facts, though, are much more accurate to Perseus! 1. Zeus impregnated Danae, Perseus’s mother, by turning into a shower of gold Danae’s father, Acrisius, had heard a prophecy that Danae’s son would overthrow him. Acrisius responded to this by locking his virginal daughter in a bronze tower that had an open top which viewed the sky.
Who is the father of Perseus?
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the Oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter's son.
Did Perseus live in the Kingdom of Mycenae?
From there, it is said that Perseus went on to form the Kingdom of Mycenae. The legends vary on this part of his life, just as there are variations to the other stories of his life. A popular story is that he did take up residence there as King along with Andromeda.
Why is Perseus called a demigod?
From that meeting with the very amorous Zeus, Danae did become pregnant and had a child while still imprisoned. That child was the legendary Perseus. Thus, Perseus was known as a demigod, meaning that he was born of both mortal (his mother, Danae) and immortal (his father, Zeus) parents.
Is Perseus the son of Poseidon or Zeus?
Percy did the same in The Sea of Monsters. However, Perseus was a demigod son of Zeus, as opposed to Percy Jackson who is the demigod son of Poseidon. He is a cousin to Percy because his father, Zeus, is the brother of Percy's father, Poseidon.
Is Perseus related to Zeus?
Perseus was a demi-god, the son of Zeus and a mortal named Danae. Perseus killed the famed monster Medusa, the hideous gorgon with snakes for hair who turned anyone with the misfortune of looking into her eyes into stone.
Who is the main son of Zeus?
1. Apollo: Zeus' Best-Known Son. Of all the sons Zeus fathered, Apollo is perhaps the best known. Apollo was conceived during an illicit affair between Zeus and Leto (Zeus was married to Hera at the time), along with a twin sister named Artemis.
What God is Perseus?
The only son of Zeus and Danae – and, thus, a half-god by birth – Perseus was one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology, most renowned for beheading the only mortal Gorgon, Medusa, and using her severed head (capable of turning onlookers into stone) as a mighty weapon in his subsequent adventures.
Who was Perseus father?
ZeusPerseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius of Argos. As an infant he was cast into the sea in a chest with his mother by Acrisius, to whom it had been prophesied that he would be killed by his grandson.
Who was the son of Perseus?
DanaëPerseus / ParentsIn Greek mythology, Danaë was an Argive princess and mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. Wikipedia
Who is Persephone's father?
ZeusPersephone, Latin Proserpina or Proserpine, in Greek religion, daughter of Zeus, the chief god, and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture; she was the wife of Hades, king of the underworld.
Who is Zeus first born son?
In some versions of Greek mythology, Zeus ate his wife Metis because it was known that their second child would be more powerful than him. After Metis's demise, their first child Athena was born when Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's head open and the goddess of war emerged, fully grown and armed.
Who is the strongest son of Zeus?
Hercules was the semi-divine son of Zeus and the beautiful mortal Alcmene. So Atlas is by far the stronger! Also, Who was the most feared Greek God? Possibly Phobos and Ares in Ares's chariot (510-530 BCE).
Who is Cetus in Greek mythology?
In Greek mythology, Cetus was the sea monster that was sent by Poseidon to devour Andromeda, daughter of King Cepheus of Ethiopia. In some accounts, the Greek hero Perseus used the Medusa's head to turn Cetus to stone; in others, Perseus killed Cetus with his sword.
Who is Apollon?
APOLLON (Apollo) was the Olympian god of prophecy and oracles, music, song and poetry, archery, healing, plague and disease, and the protection of the young. He was depicted as a handsome, beardless youth with long hair and attributes such as a wreath and branch of laurel, bow and quiver of arrows, raven, and lyre.
What is the power of Perseus?
Powers and Abilities Being a demigod, Perseus possesses supernatural strength and agility. He also uses a large variety of items given to him by various Gods. In the first part of the battle, he uses Hades' Helm to turn invisible.
Who are the main characters in the Perseus legend?
(Benvenuto Cellini’s bronze statue in Florence of Perseus with Medusa’s head is especially famous.) The chief characters in the Perseus legend, Perseus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and the sea monster (Cetus), ...
Who helped Perseus with his vision?
Alinari/Art Resource, New York. Aided by Hermes and Athena, Perseus pressed the Graiae, sisters of the Gorgons, into helping him by seizing the one eye and one tooth that the sisters shared and not returning them until they provided him with winged sandals (which enabled him to fly), the cap of Hades (which conferred invisibility), a curved sword, ...
What was Perseus's deed to Medusa?
A further deed attributed to Perseus was his rescue of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda when he was on his way home with Medusa’s head. Andromeda’s mother, Cassiopeia, had claimed to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs, or Nereid s; so Poseidon had punished Ethiopia by flooding it and plaguing it with a sea monster.
How did Perseus turn the sea monster into stone?
He turned the sea monster to stone by showing it Medusa’s head and afterward married Andromeda. Later Perseus gave the Gorgon’s head to Athena, who placed it on her shield, and gave his other accoutrements to Hermes.
What are the names of the constellations in Perseus?
The chief characters in the Perseus legend, Perseus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and the sea monster (Cetus), all figure in the night sky as constellations. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.
Who tricked Perseus into obtaining Medusa?
After Perseus had grown up on the island of Seriphus, where the chest had grounded, King Polydectes of Seriphus, who desired Danaë, tricked Perseus into promising to obtain the head of Medusa, the only mortal among the Gorgon s. Perseus, bronze sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini, 1545–54; in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence.
How many eyes did Perseus have?
They shared one eye and one tooth. When they were passing the eye between themselves, Perseus stole it. He wouldn’t give it back until the Graeae told him where the Hespirides were.
What happened to Perseus' grandfather?
Perseus traveled back to the land where he was born and took part in some games. While he played, his grandfather walked in front of the discus and was killed instantly when it hit his head .
Why did Perseus turn his great uncle into stone?
In this version, he turned his great-uncle Proteus, Acrisius’s brother, into stone. This was for banishing Acrisius. He then found Acrisius, who rejected him and claimed he was a liar. Perseus showed him the head of Medusa as proof, killing his grandfather instantly.
Who was Proteus' son?
Megapenthes was Proteus’s son. Perseus was next in line to Acrisius’s throne, but did not want to take it through killing. Instead, he gave the kingdom to Megapenthes and took over his kingdom instead.
Who were the Perseids?
They also were the progenitors of several ethnic groups, such as the Persians. Through his great-grandson Heracles, Perseus was the ancestor of the Heraclides.
Was Perseus a real person?
He was the forefather of heroes and a great hero himself, and it is no wonder that he is one of the most remembered. The Ancient Greeks saw him as a real person and themselves as his descendants.
Who did Phineas lose his claim to?
Phineas lost his claim to his niece Andromeda’s hand as she chose Perseus, who had saved her life. At the wedding, he and his men attacked Perseus. Perseus showed them Medusa’s head and the men turned to stone.
Where did Perseus come from?
Perseus and his origins on Argos. Perseus was thought to exist several generations before the famous Heracles (Hercules). He was born to Danae, his mother, who was a mortal (meaning that she was not a God). Danae was the daughter of the king of Argos, King Acrisius. King Acrisius had once sought advice from the oracle at Delphi because he had been ...
What did Perseus and his mother experience?
Perseus and his mother, Danae experienced calm seas after being cast out of Argos. The legends say that Zeus played a role in that by speaking to Poseidon, the God of the sea, so that they may have a calm journey. Eventually, Danae and Perseus washed up onto the shores of the island of Seriphos, an Aegean island.
What did King Acrisius do when he realized that his daughter had a child?
When King Acrisius realized that his daughter had, in fact, had a child, he feared for his life, but was unable to take the lives of his daughter and grandson. Instead, he responded by locking Danae and Perseus in a wooden chest and casting them out to sea.
Why did Perseus go to Larissa?
King Acrisius had gone to Larissa in Greece, probably to avoid Perseus. However, Perseus went to Larissa in search of his grandfather. Perseus was, of course, known as a great athlete with tremendous strength.
What was Perseus' mission?
With the challenge from King Polydectes, Perseus was started on a mission to slay the Gorgon Medusa. Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, sisters who were known for their hair made of venomous snakes and who could turn men to stone with just a single look.
How did Poseidon appease Andromeda?
It was said that the only way to appease Poseidon was to offer up Andromeda as a sacrifice to the sea monster, and so that was done. Andromeda was kept chained to a rock by the sea monster, which is where she was first seen by Perseus as he journeyed back from Medusa’s lair.
Why did King Acrisius lock up his daughter?
His goal was to keep her from male suitors so that she could not become pregnant.
2. Hermes
Another of Zeus’s most famous sons is Hermes, who became messenger of the gods and carrier of the dead to Hades. Hermes’ mother was a mountain nymph named Maia, and she gave birth to Hermes alone in a mountain cave.
5. Hercules
Another famous son of Zeus is the great hero Hercules, who we might all know as the iconic totem of masculinity and power. He was born a demigod, as his mother was the mortal woman Alcmene. Even from infancy Hercules showed great promise, strangling two snakes sent to his cradle by Zeus’s jealous wife Hera.
6. Perseus
This next son of Zeus, named Perseus, is best known as the demigod who slayed Medusa, and used her severed head as a weapon. Perseus’s mother was Danae, Princess of Argos.
Overview
In Greek mythology, Perseus is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was a Greek hero and a slayer of monsters before the days of the Trojan war and Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles (as they were both children of Zeus).
Etymology
Because of the obscurity of the name "Perseus" and the legendary character of its bearer, most etymologists presume that it might be pre-Greek; however, the name of Perseus's native city was Greek and so were the names of his wife and relatives. There is some idea that it descended into Greek from the Proto-Indo-European language. In that regard Robert Graves has proposed the only Greek derivation available. Perseus might be from the Greek verb πέρθειν (pérthein, "to waste, ra…
Mythology
Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the Oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter's son. In order to keep Danaë childless, Acrisius imprisoned her in a bronze chamber, open to the sky, in the courtyard of his palace: This mytheme is also connected to Ares, Oenopion, Eurystheus, and others. Zeus came to her in the form of a sh…
Descendants
Perseus and Andromeda had seven sons: Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelus, Electryon, and Cynurus, and two daughters, Gorgophone and Autochthe. Perses was left in Aethiopia and was believed to have been an ancestor of the Persians. The other descendants ruled Mycenae from Electryon to Eurystheus, after whom Atreus got the kingdom. However, the Perseids included the great hero, Heracles, stepson of Amphitryon, son of Alcaeus. The Heraclides, or descendants of …
On Pegasus
The replacement of Bellerophon as the tamer and rider of Pegasus by the more familiar culture hero Perseus was not simply an error of painters and poets of the Renaissance. The transition was a development of Classical times which became the standard image during the Middle Ages and has been adopted by the European poets of the Renaissance and later: Giovanni Boccaccio's Genealogia deorum gentilium libri (10.27) identifies Pegasus as the steed of Perseus, and Pierre …
Perseus Constellation
Perseus has a constellation. The legend says that because he was so brave fighting Cletus for someone else he was given a place in the stars forever. It is located in the east in the winter at about the Latitude 10-N. It is not far from the stars Betelgeuse and Sirius; his wife's constellation Andromeda is also nearby. It is southward from Cassiopeia, and to the left of Taurus. His constellation contains the most famous variable star Algol and some deep sky objects such as …
See also
• Lugh
• Lully
• Ibert (1921)
• Chimera
• Ethiopia (Greek mythology)
Bibliography
• Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online vers…
• Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the …