Welcome to our walk through on Greek mythology. Read the chapters and learn more about this island and it's beginnings.

Perseus

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae . His grandfather king Acrisius, beliving a prophocey that his grand son would kill him set Danae and Perseus to sea. They were were taken in by Polydectes, the king of Seriphus. Polydectes who later conceived a passion for Danae, but was unable to force his attentions on her becauseshe was protected by her son Perseus. To rid Danae of this protection Polydectes sent Perseus on a quest to bring back the head of the Gorgon Medusa, a snake-haired maiden who turned all who saw her into stone.

Perseus accomplished his quest with the help of Hermes and Athena. He went first to the Gorgons' sisters, the Graeae, who had only one eye and one tooth which they shared among themselves. Perseus took the eye and the tooth, and agreed to give them back only if the Graeae helped him in his quest. They helped him acquire a pair of winged sandals, a wallet or satchel, and the cap of Hades; the sandals enabled him to fly, the satchel was to carry the Gorgon's head, and the cap giving invisibility to its wearer. Wearing the cap, he approached Medusa, only looking at her reflection in his shield, and he beheaded her.

Flying over Africa on his journey home, he encountered Atlas;and in the course of a struggle, he used the Gorgon's head to turn Atlas to stone thus forming the Atlas Mountains. He also dripped blood from the head onto the sands of the African desert, giving birth to the deadly vipers of that region. Later in the journey he saw the maiden Andromeda chained naked to a rock by the sea as a sacrifice to a sea monster. He fell in love with her and bargained with her father, Cepheus, for her hand in marriage. The price for this being that he slay the monster. He succeeded in slaying the beast, but at the wedding feast Phineus, a jilted suitor of Andromeda, angrily demanded the bride. In the battle which followed, Perseus used Medusa's head to turn Phineus and his followers into stone.

On his return return to Seriphus, he found that Polydectes was still persecuting Danae. He used the Gorgon's head once again, and turned Polydectes to stone. Giving the sandals, satchel and cap to Hermes; he gave the Gorgon's head to Athene, who emblazoned it upon the aegis which protected her in battle. Finally he returned to Acrisius' kingdom, where he fulfilled the prophecy by accidentally killing the king while throwing the discus.

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