Herodotus recounts this story, devising a foreign son, perses, from whom the. Herodotus 1 greek and latin texts with facing vocabulary. They do not admit that the forefathers of acrisius were in any way related to perseus, but say they were egyptians, as the greeks likewise testify. King acrisius of argos had only one child, a daughter, danae.
In ancient times, the greek gods would have children with mankind. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from. Mar 18, 2015 the myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology. Perseus hid the medusa s head in his leather bag and strode into the great hall. Perseus and the legends of argos oxford university press. Perseus, the champion, is the french persee, the italian perseo, and the german perseus, formerly was catalogued as perseus et caput medusae. Perseus used the winged shoes and flew to the gorgons lair to find many stone men. A prophecy states that the king of argos will be defeated by his infant grandson perseus, so the king throws perseus, and his mother, into the sea.
But acrisius had a streak of jealousy that ran through his soul and tainted everything that he touched. Before he can claim his heritage, the hero is ordered to slay a hideous monster named medusa, whose gaze turns men into solid stone. Ovids account of medusa s mortality tells that she had once been a woman, vain of her beautiful hair. Polydectes held perseus to his rash promise and demanded the head of the only mortal gorgon, medusa, whose gaze turned people to stone. Argos was connected in history and in legend with corinth and thebes, and the.
All search options view abbreviations home collectionstexts perseus catalog research grants open source about help. Perseus killed the serpent and claimed the girl, andromeda, as his wife. His description of the tribes in the sahara belongs to the most reliable parts of his histories. As the subject of myth, the existence of theseus as a real person has not been proven. As usual, herodotus narrative looks more reliable when he describes the recent past. He took medusas head and andromeda back to the polydectes and discovered that the king was forcing danae to marry him.
But when perseus the son of danae and zeus had come to cepheus the son of belus, and taken his daughter andromeda to wife, a son was. Olympus in the form of a stream of gold, which poured through the roof of the chamber, and soon danae had a baby named perseus. The greeks appointed to serve in the fleet were these. Urania the greeks engaged in the seaservice were the following. In this story, perseus is sent out to claim the head of the only mortal gorgon, medusa. The history of herodotus by herodotus, part of the internet classics archive. The adventures of perseus the national gallery, london. He is shown in early illustrations1 as a nude youth wearing the talaria, or winged sandals, with a light scarf thrown around his body, holding in his left hand the gorgoneion, or head of medusa guberna, the mortal one of the gorgons, and in his right. The three gorgons, of whom only medusa was mortal, were of terrifying aspect, and those who looked upon their faces were turned to stone. The hero puts on hades helmet of invisibility and escapes the crazy snake ladies. Medusa remains a popular image on later architectural components, but her form is more specifically human and female.
The greek commander was the admiral of the small spartan squadron, a man named eurybiades. Perseus and the legends of argos 549 gorgon and came bearing the head with hair of writhing snakes, for the islanders a stony death. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. July 20 this link contains a free pdf copy of herodotus book i. The internet classics archive the history of herodotus by. The hunt for medusas head a greek myth graphic myths and legends kindle edition by storrie, paul d.
Mar 02, 2012 herodotus, histories book 7 page 61 perseus, the son of danae wanting to establish for himself his own kingdom, despised that of the medes. Furious, perseus took medusas head out of the bag and turned the king and all of the wedding guests to stone. Medusa in ancient greek art essay the metropolitan museum. Perseus turning phineas and his followers to stone, early 1680s long ago in greece there lived a king called acrisius who had just one daughter, a beautiful girl named danae. As soon as perseus was inside the room, phineas called to his men. Wearing it, he saw whom he pleased, but was not seen by others. Perseus plops medusa s head in the kibisis and starts make his getaway. Kir bulychovs 1993 book an attempt on theseus life is. Clash of the titans the most recent hollywood production loosely based on the story of perseus. But it is alleged by some that medusa was beheaded for athenas sake. This is a great source for all things ancient greek. Later authors such as herodotus and pausanias place the gorgons abode in libya.
The histories herodotus translated by george rawlinson book 1 these are the researches of herodotus of halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the greeks and the barbarians from. He was the son of the argive princess danae who was locked away in a bronze chamber by her father akrisios acrisius who lived in fear of a prophecy that he would one day be killed by her son. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology. Perseus, andromeda and king cepheus apulian redfigure krater c5th b. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue.
Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9. In its first logos, we witness the naval engagement on the sea between aphetae and artemisium. And first, dividing the city into three parts, he gave a share in the government to his brothers pantagnotus and syloson. Looking into the shield, perseus saw medusa walk slowly near him. Perseus, athena and head of medusa, apulian redfigure krater c4th b. Silenus was a naturedeity, inhabiting places of rich vegetation. Perseus and medusa by blake hoena goodreads share book. It is in part a gripping and much revered tale of colossal confrontation between freedomloving greekspeaking peoples the athenians, spartans, and others and the seemingly unstoppable forces of the persians.
Rape of io by phoenician traders as persian version of origin of eastwest conflict 1. Creeping closer, perseus saw the reflection of the monster and thack medusa s head flew off her body. The tale of perseus and medusa free stories online. And having received also from hermes an adamantine sickle he flew to the ocean and caught the gorgons asleep. Suddenly, perseus heard the faint sound of hissing snakes. Herodotus, the histories, book 8, chapter 1, section 1. According to the persian story, perseus was an assyrian who became a greek. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a member of western democratic civilization. I will go back to the earliest literature on the perseus myth and discuss how its. Ceto bore to phorcys the faircheeked graiae, sisters grey from their birth. 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. They are rescued by a fisherman, and young perseus grows up, unaware of his royal birth.
Harding, published in 1906 by scott, foresman and company. At this point medusa s sisters, stheno and euryale, wake up, and they are not happy. This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. These halfbloods were known as demigods, and they were the greatest heroes of thei. Clash of the titans the 1980s take on the myth of perseus. Perseus had no horse to give, so he asked polydectes to name the gift. Apollodorus, library, book 2, chapter 4 perseus digital library. The story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles. Polydectes had taken perseus s mother and told perseus the only w. Opening alludes to homer, suggests epic scale and purpose memorialization. Andromeda, daughter of cepheus and wife of perseus, vn. Herodotus claims to have traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book, almost all of which covers territories of the persian empire. Perseus is not intimidated by the grey women and their eyeball, or by hermess complicated directions, or by medusa, or by a winged horse sprouting out of medusa.
In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae and of the perseid dynasty. The myth of perseus and medusa, according to pindar and. Perseus is determined to rescue andromeda, even though it means facing the hideous gorgon, medusa, whose glare turns warriors to stone perfect for children whose reading ability and confidence allows them to tackle longer and more complex stories. When perseus oer medousa medusa the third of those fell sisters launched. But it is shorted than the other books and loaded with lots of different civilizations.
Athenian, heraklion, lycian, aegean, lacedaemonian, persian, dorian, and thousands more that leave one in a mish mashed world of history, superstition and fantasy. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. The greek poet hesiod, who lived between 750 and 650 bce, is the first to mention the gorgons and medusa in his book theogony. Suidas medusa there is a story told in hellas that before xerxes set forth on his march against hellas, he sent a herald to argos, who said on his coming so the story goes, men of argos, this. Greek text with facing vocabulary and commentary, 2nd ed. If you have read the first seven books then you pretty much know what to expect. Perseus, andromeda and the slain seamonster grecoroman mosaic from zeugma. Perseus on pegasus slaying medusa perseus presents medusa s head to athena sargent 192225 stairway of the museum of fine arts, boston. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In greek mythology, medusa was a monster, a gorgon, generally described as a winged. Jan 01, 2009 a concise, stylised and dynamic version of the perseus and medusa myth. Unlocking its secrets, claiming its power by mary valentis and anne devane. Medusa was beheaded by the hero perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn.
He is shown in early illustrations1 as a nude youth wearing the talaria, or winged sandals, with a light scarf thrown around his body, holding in his left hand the gorgoneion, or head of medusaguberna, the mortal one of the gorgons, and in his right. She loses the frightful teeth and beard, but is still recognizable 20. Book seven of herodotus histories ended with a greek defeat, but in book eight we will hear about greek successes. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages. We will fight against him without ceasing, trusting in the aid of the gods and the heroes whom he has disregarded and burnt their houses and their adornments. The myth of perseus and the medusa the story of perseus and the medusa is featured in the book entitled greek gods, heroes and men by caroline h.
Surrounded by spears, swords and shields, perseus stood quite still. At the beginning of the histories, herodotus sets out his reasons for writing it. Apollodorus, the library book 2 theoi classical texts library. Fearing that, he hid his daughter danae in a chamber underground. Perseus then flies away with medusa s head packed in the kibisis. Theseus was the mythical king and founderhero of athens. Herodotus, the histories, book 1, chapter 1, section 0. Once upon a time, on the island of seriphus there was an evil king named polydectes. At the time of the shipwreck off mount pelion he had recovered for the persians a great part of what they lost. Dionysius of halicarnassus, antiquitates romanae, books ixx, book 1, chapter 32.
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