Serifos, Perseus, Andromeda and Medusa

When once Danae's father, King Acrisius of Argos, questioned the oracle, it said that Danae would give birth to a son who would kill him.  Fearing that, he built a brazen chamber underground, and there he guarded Danae.  But Zeus had intercourse with her in the shape of a stream of gold which poured through the roof into Danae's lap.  When her father afterward learned that she had a child, he would not believe that she had been seduced by Zeus, so he put her and the child into a chest, which he cast into the sea.  This child was Perseus.

The chest was washed ashore on the island of Serifos, which is one of the islands called Cyclades, where Polydectes was king.  Polydectes, who colonized Serifos and became king of the island, fell in love with Danae, but could not be with her because of Perseus.  In order for Polydectes to get rid of him, he gave him a dangerous assignment far away.  He sent young Perseus to fetch the head of Medusa, and so Perseus departed, under the guidance of Hermes and Athena.

Medusa had a hidden, dangerous face.  It was inscribed that no one could possibly lift her veil, and that to look upon her face was to glimpse one's own death, as she saw your future.  A version to the myth is that she had a monstrous head, with serpents instead of hair, so terrifying to see that the unfortunate one to do so would turn into stone.

In order for Perseus to find his way, he met the Graeae, who were sisters of the Gorgons (mermaids), and old women from birth.  The three Graeae had one eye and one tooth, and these were passed to each other in turn.  But Perseus, taking their tooth and eye, compelled them to show him the way to the Nymphs, who had the winged sandals and a wallet (kibisis).  So when the Graeae had shown him the way, he gave them back the tooth and the eye, and finding the Nymphs, got what he wanted. He slung the wallet about him, fitted the sandals to his ankles, and put the Helmet of Hades on his head (by wearing it, he could see everyone, but he was invisible!).  And having received from Hermes an adamantine sickle, he flew to the ocean and caught the Gorgons asleep.  And while Athena guided his hand and he looked on a brazen shield - in which he could see the image of Medusa - he beheaded her and put the head in the wallet.  Perseus cleverly proceeded this way, because whoever looked directly at Medusa was instantly turned into a stone.

The other two Gorgons pursued him, but, because of the helmet which made him invisible, they could not see him.  Perseus then came to Ethiopia, where he found the king's daughter, Andromeda, ready to be the prey of a sea monster, a situation that had been caused by her mother's boasts against the Nereids.  Andromeda had said that she was better than all of them, and for that reason the Nereids felt angry, and Poseidon, sharing their wrath, sent a flood and a monster to invade the land.  Andromeda, then, was exposed to the monster, in order to appease both Poseidon and the Nereids.  When Perseus saw this girl in such distress, he fell in love with her and promised King Cepheus that he would kill the monster, only if he would give him the rescued girl as his wife.  The king agreed, and Perseus slew the monster and released Andromeda. However, her uncle, who had been betrothed to her, plotted against him.  But Perseus, who now owned an extraordinary weapon, discovered the plot, and by taking out of the wallet the head of Medusa and showing it to the disappointed lover, he turned him into a stone.  So, Perseus rescued Andromeda.

When Perseus returned to Serifos,  he discovered that Polydectes was behaving like a cruel ruler. Once again Perseus, remembering his weapon, entered the palace and showed the king and his friends the head of Medusa, and everyone was turned into stone.  After this, he gave all the objects that he had borrowed back to their respective owners, and the head to Athena, who inserted it into her shield.  This is why some people say that Medusa was beheaded for Athena's sake.  Of course, this allegory has a much more profound symbolism, but that issue is addressed in more scientific papers, beyond the range of this short text.

According to the prophecy, when all this was done, Perseus went with Danae and Andromeda first to Argos and later to Larissa, to compete in athletic games.  During the competition, Perseus killed King Acrisius of Argos by accident, the same man to whom the oracle had said that his daughter would give birth to a son who would kill him.  And in that way, during the games, the oracle was fulfilled.  Some others say, however, that Acrisius was obsessed with the oracle and that, when he discovered that Perseus and Danae were staying at Polydectes' court, he went to get them, but at his arrival Polydectes interceded for them, and Perseus was made to swear that he would never kill his grandfather.  Acrisius, however, had to stay there because of a storm, during which time Polydectes died.  It was at his funeral games that the wind blew a discus from Perseus' hand and struck Acrisius' head, instantly killing him.