Perseus
     Greek mythology, Perseus was the heroic slayer of the Gorgon Medusa * . His mother was Dana�, daughter of King Acrisius of Argos. Before Perseus's birth, an oracle predicted that Dana� would bear a child who would one day kill his grandfather. Terrified by this prophecy, Acrisius imprisoned his daughter in a tower. However, Dana� received a visit in the tower from Zeus * , who had taken the form of a shower of gold, and she became pregnant.
    After Dana� gave birth to Perseus, Acrisius had his daughter and her child locked in a box, which he threw into the sea. The box came ashore on the island of Seriphos and was found by Dictys, a fisherman. Dictys sheltered Dana� and Perseus in his home, and they remained with him for many years.
    When Perseus had grown into a young man, King Polydectes of Seriphos fell in love with Dana� and tried to persuade her to marry him. Dana� refused, and Perseus protected his mother from the unwanted advances. Hoping to rid himself of Perseus, Polydectes set him a seemingly impossible task. Perseus was to obtain the head of Medusa.
    With the winged sandals, Perseus flew to the home of the Gorgons. When he reached their cave, he advanced toward Medusa using Athena's shield as a mirror to avoid looking directly at the monster. Then he took the sword and cut off Medusa's head, which he placed in a bag. Drops of Medusa's blood that touched the ground changed into the winged horse Pegasus.
    Arriving back in Seriphos, Perseus found that his mother had taken refuge in the temple of Athena to avoid the advances of Polydectes.He then took Andromeda to Argos, the kingdom of his grandfather Acrisius. Hearing that Perseus had arrived, Acrisius fled to Thessaly, mindful of the prophecy made years before. Later, however, Perseus took part in an athletic contest there and threw a discus that accidentally killed Acrisius. The prophecy was fulfilled. Read more: http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Pa-Pr/Perseus.html#ixzz2LnmXXZwJ
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