The mythology of Ancient Greece is primarily based around the deeds of the gods of Mount Olympus. These stories are then intertwined with the exploits of human heroes fighting against man and beast. Perseus was one of the central heroes of Greek mythology and ranks alongside Heracles as one of the most famous characters. The stories of Perseus tell a tale of a life of trial and tribulation, and although the stories are difficult to tie to one timeline, they still make for a fascinating read.

The stories of Perseus start in Argos, where King Acrisius ruled the land. Acrisius with his queen, Eurydice, had only one daughter, Danae, and no son to take over the throne. With no direct male heir, Acrisius wanted to know whether Danae would ever bear him a grandson to rule Argos. To find out what the future held, Acrisius went to the oracle at Delphi. Instead of good news, though, the oracle foretold the king’s own death at the hands of his grandson.

Acrisius was more fearful about meeting his own demise than not having an heir to his throne. His daughter was without a suitor, and so Acrisius decided to ensure that this situation would continue. Danae was shut in a tall, inaccessible bronze tower that could not be scaled, and the only door was guarded day and night.

News of the confinement of Danae reached the Olympian gods, and Zeus heard about her beauty. Zeus was always on the look out for beautiful female mortals, and he decided that a visit was in order. When Zeus arrived in Argos, he found that the bronze tower had been made inaccessible to gods. Zeus though was not deterred and so transformed himself into a shower of gold, enabling him to cascade through the tower’s roof.

The result of the meeting of Zeus and Danae resulted in the birth of a son, who was named Perseus. The fact that Danae had given birth to a son could not go unnoticed by Acrisius, and he recognised that only a god could have got his daughter pregnant. Still fearful for his life, Acrisius was also fearful of the wrath of the Olympians if he killed one of their offspring.

Acrisius came up with a plan that would hopefully save him. Danae and Perseus were placed in a wooden chest, which was then set adrift on the open sea. Acrisius believed that there were two possible outcomes: either the chest would sink and his daughter and grandson would drown, or else the chest would drift far away where Perseus could do him no harm.

Zeus did not easily abandon his offspring, and with the assistance of Poseidon, he ensured that the wooden chest is safely transported to the shores of the island of Seriphos. The chest was found by a local fisherman, called Dictys, who was also the brother of Polydectes, the king of Seriphos. Mother and son were taken to Polydectes, who welcomed them into his court. It was there that Perseus grew into manhood.

Over time Polydectes fell in love with the beautiful Danae, but the grown Perseus was very protective of his mother. Polydectes tricked Perseus though into accepting an impossible mission. Polydectes told Perseus that he intended to wed Hippodameia but required an impressive wedding gift. Perseus was of course relieved that Danae was not the intended bride and rashly promised the head of Medusa as a present. It was a promise that Polydectes accepted, believing that Perseus would die during the quest.

Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, who had been cursed by the goddess Athena. Athena had caught the beautiful Medusa and god Poseidon having an affair in one of her temples. Medusa was cursed to have snakes for hair, and eyes that would turn anyone who was caught in their gaze into stone.

Perseus was at a loss to know how to start such a quest as he now faced, but he had not been abandoned by the gods of Olympus. Athena of course was always willing to help those against those she considered to be an enemy. Athena provided Perseus with her reflective shield. Hermes and Hades also aided Perseus in his quest. Hermes provided an adamantine sword and winged sandals, whilst Hades provided his helmet of invisibility. Perseus also acquired a magic wallet to hold the head of Medusa.

Perseus to start his quest first had to get information from the Graeae, the “three grey women,” additional sisters of Medusa and the Gorgons. The Graeae had but one eye and one tooth between them, so Perseus took the eye and kept it until the Graeae told Perseus everything he required.

With the information obtained, Perseus made his way to Medusa’s cavern on Samos. There he found the stony figures of men and animals that had been caught in the gaze of Medusa. Perseus managed to get close to Medusa by using Athena’s shield as a mirror, therefore avoiding a direct gaze. Medusa was then beheaded with Hermes’ adamantine sword; the decapitated head was then placed into the magic wallet.

The remaining Gorgons, Euryale and Stheino, gave chase to Perseus, but with the assistance of the invisibility caused by Hades’ helmet, and Hermes’ winged sandals he escaped. The adventures of Perseus though were far from over, and in his travels back to Seriphos he happened to stop in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia he found that the kingdom of King Cepheus was being ravaged by a sea creature, the Ceto, as punishment from Poseidon. Queen Cassiopeia had claimed that she was more beautiful than the god’s offspring, the Nereids. To placate the sea monster Cepheus was forced to offer his daughter, Andromeda, as a sacrifice. Thus it was fastened to a rock that Perseus first cast eyes on the beautiful Andromeda. Perseus made use of Medusa’s head as a weapon turning Ceto to stone, setting Andromeda free, and claiming her as his bride.

At the subsequent wedding feast, Perseus was once again forced to use the head of the Gorgon. Phineus, a formed suitor of Andromeda, wanted the princess for himself, he though and his followers were turned to stone by the gaze of the decapitated Medusa.

The magic wallet though seems to have been damaged and, as Perseus and Adnromeda continued their way back to Seriphos, Medusa’s blood leaked out. The drops of bloods landed on the deserts of Northern Africa, creating the poisonous snakes that now inhabit the area. Blood also dripped into the Red Sea where it created the coral found there today.

Eventually though Perseus arrived back at Seriphos, where he found his mother was being abused by Polydectes, either in a forced marriage or in servitude. Perseus made one last use of the head of Medusa, and entering the court of Polydectes turned all those present into stone. Stone boulders remain on the island; these are identified as being the remains of the court’s inhabitants.

With his quest now completed Perseus returned the sandals, sword and helmet to Hermes. The head of Medusa though was given to Athena, who placed it on her own shield to act as a protective element in her future battles.

With one quest over though, the story of Perseus was not at an end. Perseus went on to found the city of Mycenae, and there is some historical evidence to suggest that there was a Greek called Perseus who did just this, although there was probably more to it than the myth about the dropping of his cap on the city site. Perseus and Andromeda made the city there home, although it may have existed before hand. The walls were built up and it became a fortified city on the Peloponnesian peninsula, and one of the most important city states of the whole of Greece, long before Sparta and Athens reached their peaks.

Perseus and Andromeda went on to have seven sons and two daughters. The sons were: Perses, who became ancestor of all Persian emperors; Electryon, grandfather of Hercules; Alcaeus; Heleus; Mestor; Sthenelus; and Cynurus. The two daughters were Gorgophone and Autochthoe.

There was though still the prophecy as given to Perseus’ grandfather, Acrisius. Whether the prophecy was fulfilled or not depends on what version of the story is being told.

In one version of the story, Perseus was competing in the athletic games of Larissa. There he was displaying a new game he had created, quoits, when his grandfather crossed in the path of the quoits, causing his death. A similar tale is told in Argos and Thessaly where Teutamides was throwing funeral games for his father, when Acrisius was killed by a discus thrown by Perseus.

The death of Acrisius would mean that Perseus was to be king of Argos. Perseus though gave the kingdom to Megapenthes, a nephew of Acrisius, whilst Persues became ruler of Tiryns.

A final version though has Perseus killing Acrisius’s brother Proteus, rather than his grandfather. Proteus had sent Acrisius into exile, and it was Perseus who returned Acrisius to the throne.

Time has seen changes made to the story of Perseus though, and in the Renaissance the winged sandals of Hermes were not the method of escape from the Gorgons. The story changed to an escape being made on the back of Perseus, the legendary winged horse. Perseus was the offspring of Medusa, who had sprung from the neck of the Gorgon. This though is in contrast to the classical tales that have Bellerophon as the hero who tamed and rode the winged gorse.

Additionally a widespread tale involves turning the Titan Atlas into stone. A struggle between the hero and the Titan had ensued, where Medusa’s head was used to create the Atlas Mountains. This, though, again cannot work with the classic tales that have Hercules encountering Atlas in his travels. Hercules of course is the great-grandson of Perseus, so Atlas could not have been turned to stone by Perseus.