Myths of Ancient Greece: the myth of Perseus

Myths of Ancient Greece about Perseus, Orpheus, Theseus, the gods of Olympus and Hercules are known to the majority even better than the legends of their own people. They are perfectly preserved in the exposition of ancient philosophers. The illustrations to the legends are numerous statues - Greek and Roman, - as well as images on amphoras and bas-reliefs of temples. The myth of Perseus - one of the central in the assembly of ancient Greek legends. He was expounded in the pages of his writings by Hesiod, Ovid and other philosophers. He inspired many artists of Antiquity and the Renaissance to create masterpieces. Today we have the opportunity to compare different versions of the myth, as well as its numerous interpretations accumulated over several centuries.

The birth of a hero

Legends and myths of Ancient Greece about Perseus tell of a young man whose veins flow divine blood, but he is not endowed with any supernatural abilities. He performs his exploits with the help of his own mind and with the support of immortal relatives.

The story begins in Argos, where King Akrisiy ruled. He imprisoned his beautiful daughter Danae in the dungeon in the hope that she would never have children. According to the prediction, Akrisia had to kill her own grandson. However, Zeus fell in love with the beauty and penetrated to it, turning into a golden rain. Soon, Danae gave birth to a son. The appearance of the boy did not escape from Akrisia. Hoping to avoid the evil fate, he ordered to imprison the mother with the child in a wooden box and throw it into the sea.

Serif Island

Ancient Greek myths about Perseus in the best traditions of such narrations tell of the miraculous salvation of heroes. The wooden box, where Danae and Perseus were located, became entangled in the networks near the island of Serif. Diktis, the fisherman and brother of the king of these lands, drew him to the shore.

Polydectus, the ruler of Serif, left Danaiu with his son at court. The boy grew up and turned into a handsome youth, beauty, strength, intelligence and dexterity superior to all peers. Danae became the object of the Tsar's passion. Polidekt tried to achieve the desired power, but met a serious opponent in the face of the young Perseus. Then the ruler of the island and decided to send a young man behind the head of the Gorgon Medusa, to forever get rid of him.

Beautiful and terrible

The myth of Perseus and Medusa was one of the most popular in Antiquity. The most complete list of various versions of it is set forth in the works of Apollodorus. According to one of them, Medusa was a beautiful girl with luxurious hair. In the temple of Athena she was forcibly seized by Poseidon. An angry goddess punished a girl who desecrated the sanctuary, turning her hair into sizzling snakes.

In many retellings of the myth of Medusa appears a being of a double nature. She could turn all living things into stone with her gaze and was famous for her unsurpassed beauty. The blood from one part of her body was able to resurrect, and from the snake's body she killed like a poison. Her two sisters, Sfeno and Euryale, were immortal, but Medusa in this sense was no different from ordinary people. In one version of the myth, it is said that the body of monsters was covered with steel scales, and copper claws were placed on their hands. Gorgons could fly through the air with their golden wings. With such an opponent was to meet the hero.

Journey

Before the fight with Medusa, Perseus needed to overcome a considerable distance: the gorgons lived far to the west. The gods-Olympians came to the aid of the hero. Athena gave him her shield, in which everything was reflected, as in a mirror. Arms, however, capable of defeating Medusa, gave Perseus Hermes. The road to the goal of the hero also prompted the winged messenger of the gods.

Myths of Ancient Greece about Perseus tell about the meeting of Zeus's son with graylia, elder sisters gorgon. According to legend, they were born old and had three eyes and one tooth for three. Grai used them in turn. At the moment when one passed the other eye, everyone was blind. Grai knew the way to the gorgons and guarded him. Sly Hermes told the son of Zeus what to do with the old women. Perseus, according to his advice, stole a single eye and tooth. Blinded grails were ready to do anything to get their back. Perseus demanded to point the way to the gorgons. The old women had no choice but to agree.

On the way to his goal, Perseus was also met by a nymph (the road to them, according to one version, was indicated by the same grai). They endowed the hero with magic objects. The nymphs presented him with the helmet of the ruler of the kingdom of the dead Hades. The one who put it on became invisible. Perseus also received winged sandals, allowing them to fly high and fast, like a bird. The third gift was a bag in which you could fit anything: it expanded or narrowed. After thanking the nymphs, Perseus moved on.

Feat

Perseus found the gorgon the moment they slept. Hermes pointed him out to Medusa. The hero looked at the monstrous sisters through the shield of Athena. Perseus cut off the head of the gorgon, and the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor appeared from the blood of Medusa. According to one version of the legend, their father was the god of the seas Poseidon.

The body of Medusa fell into the sea, Perseus took his head in a magic bag. From the splashing of the waves the sisters gorgons woke up and began to search for the killer, but he had already disappeared, wearing Aida's helmet. According to Pindar, Athena, impressed by the groaning of the gorgon, created a flute on that day.

Drops of blood of Medusa fell into the sands of Libya, when Perseus flew over this country. According to legend, they turned into poisonous snakes and made the terrain deserted.

Atlant

Perseus, with the help of winged sandals, reached the country where the giant Atlant (Atlas), the brother of Prometheus, ruled. He guarded his herds of fine-wooled sheep and the entrance to a magnificent garden, where an apple tree grew with golden leaves and fruits. Atlant did not want to let Perseus go to his house: he was told that one day Zeus's son would steal his apples. The offended hero took the head of Medusa out of the bag and the giant turned to stone, turned into a mountain and from that time supports the firmament. And Perseus, having rested and seized a few golden apples, went on.

The myth of Perseus and Andromeda

The salvation of the beautiful Andromeda is a story that many famous masterpieces are dedicated to. According to legend, the girl was the daughter of the Ethiopian king Kefei and Cassiopeia. Andromeda's mother was handsome and extremely proud of it. Once she boasted that even marine nymphs can not compete with her in beauty. Offended Nereids complained to Poseidon and asked to take revenge on the proud woman. The sea lord sent a monster to Ethiopia, similar to his appearance with a giant fish. Keith (in earlier legends of Quito - the name of the sea goddess) began to ruin the coast of the country, to kill its inhabitants. Cafey went for advice to the oracle. He said that the only way to reassure the monster was to give him Andromeda, the only daughter of the king. Kefei and Cassiopeia had to send the girl to certain death.

Andromeda was chained to the rock with chains and left like this before the monster arrived. It was at this time that Perseus flew past Ethiopia. He saw a beautiful virgin and immediately fell in love with her. The hero sank to the rock and asked the princess about what had happened. Receiving an answer, he turned to the unfortunate parents who came up to the question of whether they would give Andromeda to him as a wife if she was saved. Cafeus and Cassiopeia promised Perseus her daughter and her whole kingdom if he defeated the monster.

Two versions

Further, the Perseus myth is usually described in one of two variants. In the first hero, Keith was defeated by the sword given to him by Hermes. Several times rising to the sky and swiftly descending on the enemy, Perseus inflicted a mortal wound on the monster and saved the beautiful girl and the whole country. According to the second version, the hero defeated a huge fish, taking the head of Medusa out of the bag. Kit turned into a rock. Ovid also writes that after the battle, Perseus put his weapon face down. The look of Medusa fell on algae, and they turned into corals.

Finey

Ancient Greek myths about Perseus, however, do not end there. The hero brought victims to Athena, Zeus and Hermes, and then decided to celebrate the wedding. The general merriment was disturbed by the appearance of an army led by Phineus, the former fiancé of Andromeda. He accused Perseus of stealing the bride and set out to kill him. The forces of the opponents were unequal. Phineas had known this region for a long time, and he brought many warriors with him. Seeing that he could lose, Perseus again used the head of Medusa, and all his opponents turned into stone.

For some time the hero stayed in Ethiopia. Then he went with Andromeda to the island of Serif, where his mother was waiting.

Death of Polydect

Danae Perseus found in the temple of Zeus, where she had to hide from the harassment of the king of Polydect. The hero immediately went to the palace to find the offender mother. Polydecta, he found during the feast. The king clearly did not expect Perseus: the hero was long considered dead. The son of Zeus announced that he had completed the task - he brought the head of Medusa. However, no one believed him. And already the already furious Perseus, as evidence, raised the gorgon's head high, and all those present turned into stone.

The power over the kingdom Perseus gave Diktisa, the brother of Polydect, who once saved the hero and his mother. He himself went to Argos.

The Recurring Prediction

The myth of Perseus ends with a narrative about his stay at home. Akrisii, learning about the arrival of his daughter and grandson, fled in fear. Perseus began to rule in Argos. He returned the magic gifts to their masters, and gave the head of Medusa to Athena. The goddess placed her on her armor on her chest (according to another version - on the shield).

Akrisii still could not escape the predicted. He was killed by the disc that Perseus threw during regular games. A sorrowful hero buried his grandfather and refused to rule in Argos. He went to Tiryns and dominated there for a long time.

Interpretation

To date, there are several interpretations of all known ancient mythological subjects. Sometimes it is assumed that behind the fantastic adventures lies the information about real historical events that were transformed by ancient poets into such vivid images. The meaning of the Perseus myth was also interpreted in this way. There are cases when such an approach is brought to the point of absurdity. And then Zeus becomes a major official, a golden rain, penetrated to Danae - bribery of the guards, and Atlas or Atlanta - an astronomer.

According to the philological theory, myths are the result of distortions in the language. The names of the gods are derived from the ancient names of such common phenomena as sunlight, wind, fire, rain and clouds. Supporters of the theory provide evidence of the existence in ancient times of a single language, which gave rise to Sanskrit and Latin. The basic ideas, laid down in the myths, were formed at a time when the ancestors of the future peoples lived together. Then, with changing languages, we began to form and familiar stories, in which, however, you can find a hidden original meaning.

The movement of the sun

Myths of Ancient Greece about Perseus in this theory are considered to be solar. The names of heroes and gods philologists reduce to the names of natural phenomena in Sanskrit. Danae is the desiccated earth or the dawn, generated by darkness (Acrisius) among the brightness (so you can translate the name of the city of Akros). She was the lover of heaven (Zeus) and gave rise to a bright day (Perseus). According to the prophecy, he will have to kill his grandfather, that is, darkness.

Medusa, according to theory, personifies a starry night - beautiful, but dying with the arrival of the day. The name Andromeda also comes down to the Sanskrit designation of the dawn, and Cassiopeia and Cafei represent darkness and night.

Thus, the ancient myths about Perseus tell of the victory of light over darkness, the change of night by a new day. Almost all legends of antiquity are treated in a similar way. Any myth - about Perseus, Orpheus and Eurydice, Theseus and Ariadne, the exploits of Hercules - appears in this theory in the form of a description of physical phenomena.

Whatever the meaning behind the poetic narrative, ancient legends continue to please with its imagery and colorfulness. The myth of Perseus inspired the creation of the great paintings of Delacroix, Rubens, Veronese, Titian. The famous sculpture of Cellini, who portrayed the hero with the severed head of Medusa in his hand, is still considered the most beautiful decoration of Florence. The works of great authors, one might say, are the best reviews about the myth of Perseus.