Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the. However, phineus, who was a brother of cepheus, and to whom andromeda had been first betrothed, plotted against him. The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek mythology. He returned with the head and turned polydectes to stone as the. Perseus used the head of medusa to turn polydectes into stone. The only son of zeus and danae and, thus, a halfgod 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. And whoever dared to look into her face ended up being turned into stone. Propter hanc causam minerva speculum perseo dederat.
First atlashis identity varies from a shepherd who tried to rob perseus, to a king and his army who tried to kill perseus for thinking he was trying. In classical antiquity the image of the head of medusa appeared in the evilaverting device known as. Ille igitur tergum vertit, et in speculum inspiciebat. As he flew back over africa on his way home, he encountered atlas. A so when he cut off her head, nobody would look at her face and turn to stone. According to hesiods theogony, the gorgons were the sisters. The gorgons head perseus journey medusa ancient greek.
Later perseus gave the gorgons head to athena, who placed it on her shield, and gave his other accoutrements to hermes. King acrisius, terrified, had his own daughter, danae, locked in a chamber with. This is effective for avoiding attacks and being seemingly untouched by those that do not have a ranged attack. He averts his eyes, because all those who look on medusa immediately turn to stone. In greek mythology, medusa also called gorgo, was one of the three monstrous gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Perseus killed the monster with the scimitar of hermes and was rewarded with andromeda as his wife. Perseus courageous adventurer who fulfilled a prophecy. Perseus then flew to seriphos, where his mother was being forced into marriage with the king, polydectes, who was turned into stone by the head. He accompanied his mother back to her native argos, where he. Then he threw medusa s head into the ocean where it drifted across the sea, creating coral on the way. He then pulled medusa s head out of his pouch and turned everyone to stone.
Perseus turned the brother into stone with the gorgon s head and restored acrisius to the throne. As a punishment, perseus showed the gorgon s head to atlas and turned him into a range of mountains that now bear his name. Then, accused by acrisius of lying about having slain medusa, perseus proves himself by showing acrisius the gorgon s head, thus fulfilling the prophecy. However, acrisius insults perseus by stating that the hero lied, perseus then shows the king the head and the prophecy is fulfilled. Who did perseus turn into stone with the gorgons head answers.
The king saw it, and was turned into stone, just as he stood, with his sword uplifted and. The pair of sandals that hermes lent to perseus, allows the hero to fly in the air without holding back. Being astonished by andromedas beauty, he decided to save her. In other motifs, the gorgon medousa medusa was a portrayed as a stormdaemon whose visage was set. It was a very difficult matter to cut off the head of the gorgon, for on seeing it people were turned into stone. In hesiods theogony, he recounts how perseus cut off the head of medusa and. So when he cut off her head, nobody would look at her face and turn to stone. Perseus takes care of polydectes by using medusa s head to turn him into stone. After perseus killed medusa, he gifted her head to athena, who mounted it on a shield and used it in battle to turn her enemies into stone. The myth of perseus and medusa explained theoi greek mythology. Perseus turned polydectes and his followers into stone with the gorgons head danae returned from argos dictys became king of seriphos and returned the magical objects to the gods. The earliest known record about the story of medusa and the gorgons can be found in hesiods theogony. Who put the womand and her son into the chest and dropped them into the sea.
He went first to the gorgons sisters, the graeae, who had only one eye and one tooth which they shared among themselves. Unfortunately, the king and the queen had also looked at the gorgon s head and they too turned into stone. A dramatised version of a classic greek myth told by anthony horowitz. First atlashis identity varies from a shepherd who tried to rob perseus, to a king and his army who tried to kill perseus for thinking he was trying to steal his golden apples, to the titan atlas who begged for mercy from the agony of carrying th. Sep 21, 2014 a dramatised version of a classic greek myth told by anthony horowitz. And when perseus was a very little boy, some wicked people put his mother and himself into a chest and set them afloat upon the sea. Perseus was reared there on seriphos, it is said, and when he brought the gorgon s head there, he showed it to the seriphians and turned them all into stone.
Perseus turned polydectes into stone to save his mother. Another version has it that acrisius twin brother, proetus, drove the king into exile after seizing the kingdom. Having killed acrisius, perseus, who was next in line for the throne, gave the kingdom to megapenthes great mourning son of proetus and took over megapenthes kingdom of tiryns. Since andromeda was already betrothed to phineus feyeneus, her uncle, perseus had to assert his claim by fighting phineus and his followers, all of whom he turned to stone with the gorgons. How did she keep herself from being turned into stone by. King polydectes was turned into stone by the gaze of medusa s head. As per legend, it contains the gorgon s head that has been turned into perseus s noble phantasm.
Perseus found the latter at a repast, and metamorphosed him and all his guests, and, some say, the whole island, into stone, and presented the kingdom to dictys. Perseus 5 the gorgons head translation flashcards quizlet. How does perseus cut off medusas head without being turned to stone. Perseus only laughed, and when the sea monster reared up out of the waves to devour andromeda, he held medusas head aloft so that it turned to stone.
Atlas range the giant atlas refused to show perseus hospitality so perseus turned him into stone using medusa s head head and body became mountain ranges. Perseus, finding the giant too strong for him, said, since you value my friendship so little, deign to accept a present. On the way home, perseus rescued andromeda and brought her back to seraphos. After he killed medusa, by severing her head, perseus had a weapon which turned his opponents to stone.
Then perseus gave the gorgons head to the goddess athena, who placed it on her shield, the aegis. In greek mythology perseus was the young hero who slew medusa, one of the fearful gorgons who turned to stone anyone who dared to look at them. Perseus and the head of medusa in a roman fresco at stabiae. Feb 28, 2011 to get rid of perseus, polydectes sent him on a quest to bring back the head of the gorgon medusa, a snakehaired maiden who turned all who saw her into stone. Perseus of course made great use of the head of the gorgon medusa, for in rescuing the andromeda, perseus used the head to turn the sea monster to stone, and also turned to stone polydectes and his followers when the hero returned to seriphos. In ancient greek mythology, medusa is the most famous of three monstrous sisters known as the gorgons.
The gorgons are three sisters too terrifying to behold. The severed head, which had the power of turning into stone all who looked. And when perseus was a very little boy, some wicked people put his mother and himself into a chest, and set them afloat upon the sea. Despite the danger, perseus agreed to embark on the adventure in order to get his own name a glory. Heavily outnumbered, perseus has unveiled the severed head of the gorgon medusa, who he had recently slain. Luca giordano perseus turning phineas and his followers to. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology with a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. Who did perseus turn into stone with the gorgons head. For this reason, minerva had given perseus a mirror.
According to this ancient author, the three sisters, sthenno, euryale, and medusa, were the children of phorcys and ceto and lived beyond famed oceanus at the worlds edge hard by. Since andromeda was already betrothed to phineus feyeneus, her uncle, perseus had to assert his claim by fighting phineus and his followers, all of whom he turned to stone with the gorgons head. Perseus, passing by, saw the princess and fell in love with her. There is no indication that the ancient greeks ever believed that medusas head could turn the greek gods to stone and there is, in fact, some evidence contrary to this.
Perseus would grow into a strong young man with great power and intelligence. Then perseus gave the gorgons head to athena, who placed it on her shield, the aegis. But fearing the protective wrath of her son, he sends perseus on a suicide mission. Acrisius committed perseus with his mother to the sea in a wooden box, which. Perseus approaches medusas cave, passing figures turned to stone. Perseus approaches medusa s cave, passing figures turned to stone. Dec 23, 2018 first atlashis identity varies from a shepherd who tried to rob perseus, to a king and his army who tried to kill perseus for thinking he was trying to steal his golden apples, to the titan atlas who begged for mercy from the agony of carrying th. Then perseus gave the gorgon s head to athena, who placed it on her shield, the aegis. And that would be a great pity, said quicksilver, with his mischievous smile. Perseus used her severed head to turn atlas to stone. In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae and.
Acrisius had banished mother and son because an oracle had said danaes son would one day. The dead gorgons head, in other words, still petrified all who gazed on it. That was the last time he used the head of medusa and he gave it to athene. Perseus turned to atlas for help and when denied the guest friendship bond, perseus turned atlas into stone. Her two older sisters were born immortal and were the daughters of phorcys and keto, a pair of primordial deities, while medusa was born as a mortal. His beard and hair became forests, his arms and shoulders cliffs, his head a summit, and his bones rocks. Quiz on the gorgons head i english quiz on the gorgons head ii english quiz on o captain. Unfortunately, the king and the queen had also looked at the gorgons head and they too turned into stone. Perseus showed him the head and he turned into stone. He then went to athena s temple and gave the goddess the shield with medusa s image etched on it, which she named the aegis. In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae. Perseus turned the brother into stone with the gorgons head and restored acrisius to the throne. So, perseus took his place as the rightful king of argos. How does perseus avoid being turned into stone by medusa.
Jun 26, 2015 the feast turned into battle and at the end phineas became a stone together with two hundred men who did not hide their faces when perseus asked them to do so. The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek. Perseus turns his uncle to stone with the gorgons head and restores his grandfather to the throne. He turned the sea monster to stone by showing it medusas head and. At the end of the epic he gave athena the head of medusa. Looking straight in medusas eye can turn mortals into stone.
Medusa and her sisters, stheno and euryale, were gorgons, monsters which took on the form of serpenthaired females with the power to turn people into stone by looking at them. Mar 09, 2011 for on seeing it men were turned into stone. The next day he flew across the libyan desert and some drops of the medusa s blood fell on the sand and bred a swarm of poisonous snakes, one of which later killed mopsus the argonaut. Guided by athena, perseus, looking at the gorgons reflection in his shield, beheaded medusa and put her head in the kibisis. Perseus last battle is with king polydectes, who has be trying to force danae to marry him. Perseus takes care of polydectes by using medusas head to turn him into stone. When the monster approached the girl, perseus showed the gorgons head to it. The king took perseus up on his boast and accepted the gift, with the caveat that if perseus failed, polydectes would take his mother.
He therefore turned his back and looked into the mirror. Perseus accomplished his quest with the help of hermes and athena. 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. Later writers continue this tradition when they speak of reefs being created where perseus had set the gorgons head and where he had turned a sea monster to stone. He turned the sea monster to stone by showing it medusas head and afterward married andromeda. Harrison considered that the tripling of medusa into a trio of sisters was a secondary feature in the myth. This he did to avenge his mother, because polydektes polydectes the king, with their cooperation, intended to marry his mother against her will. Perseus turned over the throne to the old kings brother. Their hair is made of living snakes, and to look at them is to turn to stone. Averting his gaze, perseus, pulled medusas head from the sack and held it up for polydectes to see.
Hermes added that perseus needed also the winged sandals, the helmet of invisibility, and the magic wallet. Perseus was the son of danae, who was the daughter of a king. Perseus was the son of zeus, king of the gods, and danae, the beautiful daughter of acrisius, king of argos. The king, of course, thought that he had a winwin situation here. Jun 18, 2009 averting his gaze, perseus, pulled medusas head from the sack and held it up for polydectes to see. Apr 14, 2016 perseus only laughed, and when the sea monster reared up out of the waves to devour andromeda, he held medusas head aloft so that it turned to stone. Pallas athena appeared then and took back the sword and shield, the hat of darkness and the winged sandals, telling perseus that he had done well and that andromeda was his reward. In a third tradition, 21 acrisius had been driven into exile by his brother proetus. Then perseus gave the gorgons head to athena, who placed it on her shield, the. The gorgons head perseus journey linkedin slideshare. Along the way, he arrived at a different country which was in. To my mind, it was the easiest way to fight a monster in the history of myths and fairy tales.
On the train he read us the story of perseus and the slaying of the gorgon medusa. Later he rescued princess andromeda from being eaten by a sea monster, which perseus also turned to stone. To get rid of perseus, polydectes sent him on a quest to bring back the head of the gorgon medusa, a snakehaired maiden who turned all who saw her into stone. Perseus caught the blow on his shield, and at the same moment took the head of medusa from his magic pouch. Then he went back to argos, but acrisius had already escaped a few years ago. Wikimatrix the first set included two versions of kratos. The bibliotheke of pseudoapollodoros, an ancient greek mythographic comp. What is the main reason that polydectes asks perseus for medusas head. Apollodorus, library, book 2, chapter 4, section 3 perseus.
The monster whose facial features automatically turned people into stone. Instead of looking at medusa, he uses the reflection on. The feast turned into battle and at the end phineas became a stone together with two hundred men who did not hide their faces when perseus asked them to do so. Polydectes told perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon medusa. His attackers have had no time to react, and giordano has vividly portrayed their flesh turning from pink to stone grey.
359 1278 1262 1547 368 1195 1066 1334 974 964 725 1558 104 1019 617 1500 1183 1407 20 1093 1495 57 778 203 796 1605 545 1051 1124 964 1264 1229 1257 1501 754 699 661 668 391 1440 118 362 805 1122