The Deadly Power of Medusa

The Deadly Power of Medusa

This book tells about Perseus's voyage to capture the head of Medusa. It all started when King Acrisius went to see the oracle of Delphi and learned that his daughter, Danae, would have a son who would someday kill him. The king locked Dana in a bronze chamber to keep her from having any offspring. However, the god Zues came to see her and then their son, Perseus, was born. The king placed them (Danae and Perseus) in a chest and cast them off to sea. They ended up landing on an island and were rescued by a fisherman named Dictys who they lived with along with his wife. King Polydectes of the island wanted to marry Danae and knew he had to get rid of Perseus in orer to do so. He invited Perseus over for a feast where everyone was offering gifts. However, Perseus had no gift to offer. He said that he would do anything for the king. He was told to get the head of Medusa. The king knew that he would've brought no gift and planned this out so that he would die on the journey. With the help of the gods, Hermes and Athena, Perseus was given a curved sword and a bronze shield to look at Medusa with because looking at her directly would turn you to stone. Hermes traveled with Perseus as he used direction from the half bird/half women in the Land of Twilight to get to the Nymphs of the North in Hyperborea. Here he received a magical bag to put the head in, a cap of darkness to be invisible with, and winged shoes to fly with. When he went to fight Medusa, the worst of the three Gorgon sisters with snakes coming out of her head, he succeeded. He rescued the princess of Ethiopia on his way home, called Andromeda. Back at home, he showed the head of Medusa to the king, and everyone in the room was turned to stone. Dictys became the king of the island and Perseus eventually killed his grandfather, Acrisius, at a sports event in Greece when he had to leave his city. When they returned back home, Perseus and Andromeda had a son named Electryon, who would eventually become the grandfather of the Greek hero, Hercules, the head of medusa was given to the goddess Athena who welded it to her shielded so that it would help her in battle.