Perseus was one of the most famous heroes in Greek mythology. A prominent constellation in the Milky Way galaxy serves as a permanent reminder of his name and his story.

Perseus was the son of Zeus, king of the Greek gods and Danae, a mortal woman. Soon after Perseus’ birth, Danae’s father, King Acrisius, set the mother and son adrift at sea in a chest, because of a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson.

The chest washed ashore on the island of Seriphos, and the two were taken in by King Polydectes. The king fell in love with Danae and wished to marry her, but she protested. Perseus, now grown to manhood, defended his mother from the king’s advances. To get rid of Perseus, the king sent him on a quest.

He was to bring back the head of the Gorgan, Medusa. She was a fearful creature indeed, with a face covered with dragon scales, tusks like a boar, hands of brass and wings of gold. Instead of hair, her head was covered with writing snakes. Anyone who looked upon her would immediately be turned to stone.

King Polydectes probably thought Perseus would die trying to fulfil the quest, but the young man had powerful relatives among the gods. He was given a bronze shield by Athene, a diamond sword by Hephaestus, winged sandals by Hermes, and a helmet by Hades which made him invisible when he wore it.

Perseus flew first to the Gorgons’ sisters, the Graeae, who acted as lookouts. They had only one eye and one tooth between the three of them. Perseus grabbed the eye and threw it into Lake Tritonis.

Then he followed a trail of stone statues of animals and men until he neared the abode of the Gorgons. He put on his helmet of invisibility and waited until night. He crept up on Medusa while she and her snakes were asleep. Looking only at her reflection in his highly-polished shield Perseus decapitated her with one blow. He put her head in a pouch and flew away before her sisters awoke.

As he flew back over Africa on his way home, Perseus stopped to rest in the kingdom of the Titan, Atlas. When Atlas refused him hospitality, Perseus pulled out the head, and Atlas turned to stone, thereby forming the Atlas Mountains. Blood from the head also dripped onto the sands of the African desert and gave birth to the deadly vipers found in that region.

As he continued on his flight, he came across a beautiful maiden, Princess Andromeda, chained naked to a rock by the sea as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Perseus bargained with her father, King Cepheus, for her hand in marriage, if he killed the sea monster. He was successful in doing so and the wedding plans were made.

At the wedding feast, Phineus, a jilted suitor of Andromeda, demanded that the bride be turned over to him. Perseus held up Medusa’s head and Phineus and his followers were turned to stone.

When he returned home to Seriphos, Perseus found that King Polydectes was still harrassing Danae. Once again, he pulled out the Gorgon’s head. The king and his followers were turned to stone.

In gratitude for their assistance, Perseus gave the winged sandals and helmet to Hermes, and the Gorgon’s head to Athene. She had it set in the middle of the shield which she used to defend herself in battle.

Finally, Perseus returned to the kingdom of his grandfather, Acrisius. He fulfilled the original prophecy when he accidentally killed the king while throwing a discus.

Perseus, the constellation, can be found in the sky during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere. With a little imagination, you can see the image of a man in the stars. He has a sort of triangular body, with two legs and feet that appear to be curling up towards the head. There are also two arms stretching out, possibly carrying some sort of weapon or the head of Medusa.