21: Perseus

Question 1

who is danae’s father and his brother

Answer 1

• danaes father is Acrisius, king of argos, father of Danae
• Proteus: king of Tiryns and brother of Acrisius

Question 2

What was the oracle regarding Danae and the solution

Answer 2

danae’s child will kill Acrisius. His solution is to imprison Danae in an underground chamber said by Roman poet Horace as Brazen Tower

Question 3

Zeus and Danae

Answer 3

• Zeus falls for Danae and enters chamber as shower of gold
• he impregnates her and Perseus is born
• Danae is punished by Acrisius by denying her divine parentage
• Perseus and Danae sent away together

Question 4

Rescue of Danae and Perseus

Answer 4

• Dictys (‘Net-man’) on Island of Seriphos, rescues them and shelters them
• Polydectes, King of Seriphos and brother of Dictys falls for Danae but she rejects him
• to get rid of Perseus he requests him to bring Gorgon’s head

Question 5

divine assistants of Perseus

Answer 5

hermes and athena. earlier tradition was just Hermes

Question 6

perseus’ journey

Answer 6

1. Graeae (Gr. Graiai: ‘grey ones’) are the daugthers of sea god Phorcys and Ceto, sisters of gorgons
   * 1 eye and 1 tooth between them and perseus steals both
   * they reveal location of 3 nymphs
2. 3 nymphs give him cap of invisibility, winged sandals, and leather pouch (kibisis)
3. Hermes gives Perseus Scimitar
   * in artistic representations he has polished shied

Question 7

who were the gorgons

Answer 7

• 3 gorgons
• daugthers of Phorcys and Ceto: 2 immortal and 1 mortal (medusa)
• appearance so frightening they can turn anyone into stone
• gargoyl like

Question 8

What is Gorgonomachy

Answer 8

• perseus beheads medusa and athena guides him to look into polished shield
• he puts medusa’s head into leather pouch. she was pregnant by poseidon
• Chrysaor: ‘he of the golden sword’, who is the father of the monster: Geryon
• Pegasus: ‘winged horse’ whose hoof strikes Mt. Helicon
• Hippocrene: horse’s fountain as the source of poetic inspiration

Question 9

Who is andromeda and what was her story

Answer 9

• daughter of king cepheus and queen cassiopea in ethiopia or near east
• cassiopea boasts that shes more beautiful than nereids and as a result poseidon floods the kingdom and sends sea monster
• oracel of zeus ammon consulted and it said must sacrifice andromeda

Question 10

perseus and andromeda

Answer 10

• perseus defears andromeda’s husband, phineus
• perseus and andromeda have a child named Perses, the founder of Perseid dynasty and the ancestor of heracles/hercules
• other etiologies: libyan snakes, atlas mountains, coral

Question 11

perseus and danae

Answer 11

• perseus rescues danae by turning polydectes to stone
• perseus makes dictys the ruler of seriphos, danae is released, and all return to argos
• his magical implements are return ed to the gods:
  sandals, kibisis, and cap to hermes. Gorgon head to Athena, which is set on the shield. Shield with medusa head called Gorgoneion

Question 12

death of acrisius

Answer 12

• acrisius flees argos and hides out in larissa, thessaly
• perseus enters discus competition and a discus kills acrisius so the oracle is fulfilled
• perseus is the founder of mycenae, ancestor to heracles and eurystheus

Question 13

who is bellerophon and what happened ot him

Answer 13

• grandson of sisyphus, from corinth
• he is exiled because unintentionally kills brother, received by Proteus, King of Tiryns
• Sthenboea, wife of proetus, falls for him but he rejects his advances
• she accuses him of attempted seduction: potiphar’s wife motif

Question 14

bellerophon and chimera

Answer 14

• bellerophon is sent to lycia with sealed letter –> ‘kill bearer of letter’
• his quest is to kill chimera: lion head, serpent tail, goat midriff and aided by athena, who give him a golden bridle to tame –> pegasus

Question 15

bellerophon’s rise and fall

Answer 15

• he attempts ascent to mt. olympus on the back of pegasus
• zeus annoyed at his hubris so he sends gadfly which makes pegasus buck and he falls, he surives but gets crippled and pegasus by itself reaches olympus