The Rain of Gold

Acrisius, the King of Argos, had a daughter but no son. He asked a god how to get one. The god said: "Your daughter will have a son. That son will kill you."

Acrisius was afraid. He built a room of bronze under the ground and locked his daughter inside. Her name was Danaë. No man could come to her there. But Zeus, the king of the gods, came. He came down through the roof as a rain of gold. Danaë had a son and called him Perseus.

Acrisius learned about the child. He did not believe that Zeus was the father. He put Danaë and the baby in a wooden chest and threw it into the sea.

The sea carried the chest to the island of Seriphos. A man called Dictys found it on the shore and took them home. Perseus grew up in his house and became a strong young man.

Dictys had a brother, Polydectes, and Polydectes was the king of Seriphos. He wanted Danaë. But Perseus was a man now, and he protected his mother. The king wanted him far away.

So Polydectes made a plan. He called his friends to the palace, and Perseus with them. "I am going to marry Hippodamia," he said. "Each of you must bring me a horse, as a wedding gift for her."

Perseus had no horse. He had nothing at all. But he was young and proud. "Ask me for anything," he said. "I will bring it. I will even bring you the head of the Gorgon."

The other men brought horses. Perseus brought none. Then the king turned to him. "You have no horse," he said. "So bring me the head of Medusa."

But Perseus had help from the gods. Hermes gave him a sword that nothing could break. Then Hermes and Athena showed him the way to the Graiai, the Grey Sisters.

The Grey Sisters were three old women. They were old from the day they were born. Between them, the three had one eye and one tooth. They passed the eye from hand to hand.

Perseus waited. One sister took out the eye to give it to the next. At that moment, Perseus took it. He took the tooth, too.

"Give them back!" the sisters cried.

"First, show me the way to the nymphs," said Perseus.

They showed him. He gave back the eye and the tooth and went on.

The nymphs had three things, and they gave all three to Perseus. The first was a pair of sandals with wings. The second was a bag called the kibisis. The third was the cap of Hades, the god of the dead. Anyone who wore the cap became invisible.

Perseus put on the sandals and the cap and took the bag. Then he flew west, over the sea.

The Head of Medusa

Medusa was one of three sisters, the Gorgons. They lived far in the west, at the end of the world, near the land of Night. They had long teeth like a wild pig, hands of bronze and gold wings. Medusa also had snakes on her head instead of hair. Anyone who looked at them turned to stone. Two of the sisters could not die. Only Medusa could.

Perseus came near the land of the Gorgons. He passed men and animals of stone. They stood in the fields and on the road.

He found the three Gorgons. They were asleep.

Perseus did not look at Medusa. He turned his face away and looked into his shield. The shield was bronze, bright like a mirror. In it he saw her face and the snakes, sleeping on her head. Athena stood beside him and guided his hand. He struck once with the sword. The head came off.

From Medusa's neck came two children. One was Pegasus, a horse with wings. The other was Chrysaor, a man with a gold sword. Their father was Poseidon, the god of the sea.

Perseus put the head in the bag.

The two other Gorgons woke up. They saw their sister and flew after him. But the cap of Hades hid him. They looked and looked and saw nothing.

Perseus flew on. It was evening now, and he was tired. Below him was the land of Atlas, where the sun goes down.

Atlas was a giant, bigger than any man. He had a garden with trees of gold. The leaves were gold, the branches were gold and the apples were gold. A great snake watched the trees. Long ago a goddess said to Atlas: "One day a son of Zeus will come. He will take your gold." So Atlas built a high wall around the garden, and he let no stranger come near.

Perseus came down and stood at his door. "I am Perseus, the son of Zeus," he said. "I ask for a bed for one night."

Atlas remembered the old words. "Go away," he said. "Your father Zeus will not help you here. Your great stories are all lies." He pushed Perseus with his hands. Perseus was strong, but nobody was as strong as Atlas.

"You do not want me as a guest," said Perseus. "Then take a gift." He turned his face away and opened the bag. He held up the head of Medusa.

Atlas became a mountain. He was a giant, and the mountain was as big as the giant. His beard and his hair became forests. His shoulders and his hands became hills of rock. His head was the top of the mountain. His bones became stone. And the sky, with all its stars, came down and rested on him.

The Girl on the Rock

In the morning Perseus flew east. He came to Ethiopia, the land of King Cepheus.

The queen of Ethiopia was Cassiopeia. One day she said: "I am more beautiful than the Nereids." The Nereids were the nymphs of the sea. They heard her words, and they were angry. Poseidon, the god of the sea, was angry too. He sent the sea over the land. Then he sent a monster out of the sea.

King Cepheus asked the god Ammon for help. The god said: "Give your daughter to the monster. Then the sea will leave your land." The people of Ethiopia heard this. They made the king do it. So Cepheus tied his daughter Andromeda to a rock by the sea, with chains.

Perseus saw her from the air. He thought she was a woman of stone. But the wind moved her hair, and tears ran down her face. He almost forgot to move his wings. He came down beside her.

"Why are you here, in chains?" he asked. "What is your name?"

At first she did not answer. Then she told him her name and her country. She told him about her mother's words.

She was still speaking when a great noise came from the sea. A monster was coming out of the water, with its head high. It came fast, like a ship. Andromeda screamed. Her father and mother were there on the shore. They cried, but they could not help her.

Perseus turned to them. "You will have time for tears later," he said. "Now there is no time. I am Perseus, the son of Zeus. I killed the Gorgon. Give me your daughter as my wife, and I will kill this monster too."

They agreed at once. They promised him their daughter and their kingdom.

The monster was close now. Perseus jumped into the air. His shadow fell on the water, and the monster attacked the shadow. Perseus came down from the sky like a bird and drove his sword into its right shoulder. The monster rose high out of the water. Then it went under. Then it turned, like a wild pig when the dogs are all around it. Perseus flew around it. He struck again and again: the back, the side, the tail. Water and blood came out of the monster's mouth. The water fell on Perseus. His sandals were wet and heavy now. He could not trust them. He saw a rock. Its top was just above the water. He stood on the rock and held it with his left hand. Then he drove the sword into the monster three times, four times. The monster died.

There was shouting on the shore. The king and queen came to Perseus and called him their son. He took the chains off Andromeda.

That night there was a wedding feast in the palace of Cepheus. There was music and wine, and the doors stood open. Perseus sat with the king and queen. The guests asked him about the Gorgon, and he told them his story.

Then one of the guests asked: "There were three Gorgons. Why did only Medusa have snakes for hair?"

"She was very beautiful once," said Perseus. "Many men wanted her. Her hair was the most beautiful thing about her. Then Poseidon wronged her in Athena's temple. Athena turned her face away and hid it behind her shield. After that, she changed Medusa's hair into snakes."

Men of Stone

Perseus was still speaking when the hall filled with noise. A man came in with a spear in his hand. Behind him came many men with swords. His name was Phineus. He was the king's brother, and Andromeda was promised to him before Perseus came.

"I am here for my bride," said Phineus. "Your wings will not save you. Your father Zeus will not save you."

He lifted the spear. Cepheus stood up. "Brother, what are you doing?" he said. "The monster was here. Andromeda was in chains. Where were you then? You did nothing. You watched. Now you want her back."

Phineus did not answer. He looked at his brother, then at Perseus. He did not know which one to kill. Then he threw the spear at Perseus. It missed and went into the wooden seat. Perseus jumped up and threw it back. Phineus hid behind the altar. The spear hit another man in the head, and he died.

Then the hall was full of fighting. Men fell on both sides. Perseus killed many with the sword that nothing could break. But more and more came against him. At last he stood with his back to the wall. Phineus and his men were all around him.

"You chose this," said Perseus. "Now I will ask my enemy for help. Friends, turn your faces away!" He opened the bag and held up the head of Medusa.

One man laughed. "Find someone else for your tricks," he said. He lifted his spear to throw it. He stayed like that, a man of stone with a stone spear in his hand. Two hundred men looked at the head. Two hundred men became stone.

Phineus looked around. His men stood on every side of him, stone, with their stone swords up. He called their names. Nobody answered. He touched the nearest one. It was cold. He turned his face away from Perseus and held out his hands.

"Perseus, you win," he said. "Take that head away. I did not fight you because I hate you. I did not want your kingdom. I fought for a woman. Give me my life. Keep all the rest."

"My sword will not touch you, Phineus," said Perseus. "You will not die. You will stay in this house for ever, a man of stone. And Andromeda will see your face every day."

Then he moved the head in front of Phineus. His neck became hard. His eyes became hard. He stood there, a stone man with his hands out and fear on his face.

Perseus went back to Seriphos with his wife. He found his mother and Dictys in the temple. They were hiding there from Polydectes.

Perseus went to the palace. Polydectes was there with his friends.

"I have brought your gift," Perseus said. He turned his face away and took the head out of the bag.

The men looked. Polydectes turned to stone. His friends turned to stone with him. Each man stayed exactly as he was in that moment.

Perseus made Dictys king of Seriphos. He gave the sandals, the bag and the cap to Hermes, and Hermes took them back to the nymphs. He gave the head of Medusa to Athena. She put it on the front of her shield. It is still there today.

Then Perseus went to Argos with his mother and his wife. He wanted to see Acrisius, his grandfather. But Acrisius remembered the words of the god. He left Argos before Perseus came and went to the city of Larissa.

The king of Larissa held games for his dead father. Perseus went to the games. He threw a heavy disc. It flew into the crowd and hit an old man on the foot. The man died. His name was Acrisius.