He also wrote a tragedy, now shed, called Phorcides wherein he explained Perseus’ quest to hunt down and eliminate Medusa.
This angered Poseidon, the supreme god of The ocean. To punish Cassiopeia, Poseidon sent a sea monster (named Cetus in some resources) to ravage the shore of her and her spouse’s kingdom.
Phorcys, among the list of “aged Adult men of The ocean,” was commonly imagined like a wizened sea god. He was The daddy of varied monsters who dwelled within the terrifying depths of The ocean, and was occasionally represented to be a merman-like creature himself. As among the list of lords of your deep, he danced beneath the waves with one other sea creatures.[3]
More information over the Graeae—including the job with the Graeae in misplaced functions of literature—are available in later commentaries, like the scholia produced or compiled from the Byzantine period and the Middle Ages. For further more references, see the notes.
Homer: Medusa is not really named within the eighth-century BCE epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, but whenever Athena marches into battle, she is alleged to carry the head with the Gorgon on her armor.
The etymology of Perseus’ identify is obscure. An historic people etymology linked the name “Perseus” With all the Persians, as he was often claimed to have been their ancestor.[one]
As Perseus designed his way home, he passed via Ethiopia. There, he witnessed an odd and horrible scene: a wonderful youthful Female was sure bare to the rock, looking forward to a sea monster to emerge through the depths and devour her. Cassiopeia, the queen of Ethiopia, had boasted that she was much more gorgeous in comparison to the fifty daughters of The ocean deity Nereus.
Bellerophon understood he would never ever stand a chance versus the Chimera without the need of some kind of divine help. In certain traditions, Bellerophon’s father, Poseidon, gave him Pegasus that can help him in his battle Along with the Chimera.
Pausanias, a geographer who lived in the next century CE, wrote that in his individual time the most important sanctuaries to Perseus were in Seriphos and Athens. He also explained an altar to your hero over the street from Mycenae to Argos.
He then made use of her severed head like a weapon for the duration of his travels, turning his enemies to stone. Medusa’s head was lastly specified for the goddess Athena, getting A part of the armor she wore into fight.
He also had the head of Medusa, which turned all people that appeared upon it to stone. Using this arsenal he was ready to get rid of The ocean monster and rescue Andromeda.
In accordance with Ovid, the corals of the Red Sea have been formed when Perseus established Medusa’s head down while in the seaweed following preserving Andromeda. Medusa’s blood induced the seaweed to harden and develop into stunning coral.[twenty]
And being a inadequate woman heaps dry twigs spherical a blazing brand name … and the flame waxing wondrous terrific with the tiny brand consumes the many twigs jointly; so, coiling round her coronary heart, burnt secretly Adore the destroyer; as well as hue of her comfortable cheeks went medusa gummies and arrived, now pale, now crimson, in her soul’s distraction.[fifteen]
To pressure the Graeae to reveal The situation, Perseus stole the one particular eye they shared amid on their own: given that the Graeae ended up exchanging the valuable organ, Perseus darted in and snatched it away. He then refused to give it again right up until the sisters instructed him what he needed to know.[28]
The Argonauts’ remaining wrestle was their face with Talos, the large guardian of Crete. Crafted from solid bronze, Talos’ only vulnerability was a single vein that ran from his neck to his ankle.