Perseus and Medusa
Perseus Stop 1 of 2
In brief
- Perseus, grandson of the king of Argos, was sent to bring back the head of Medusa, a Gorgon whose gaze turned people to stone.
- With gifts from the gods (winged sandals, a mirrored shield, and a cap of invisibility) he approached her while she slept and struck without ever looking at her directly.
- He later used Medusa's severed head as a weapon, turning enemies to stone with a single glance, before it was given to Athena.
An oracle warned King Acrisius of Argos that his daughter Danaë's son would one day kill him. To prevent it, he locked Danaë away, but Zeus came to her as a shower of gold, and she bore a son, Perseus. Acrisius set them both adrift at sea rather than risk killing them outright.
Years later, a king seeking to be rid of Perseus sent him on what he assumed was an impossible errand: bring back the head of Medusa, a Gorgon so hideous that anyone who met her eyes turned instantly to stone. The gods took pity on him and armed him for the task: Hermes lent winged sandals, Athena a polished bronze shield, and Hades his cap of invisibility.
Perseus found the Gorgon's lair and approached while she slept, watching her only as a reflection in his mirrored shield so her gaze could never meet his own. He struck true and severed her head in one blow, sealing it away in a satchel without ever looking at it directly.
The head remained lethal even severed, and Perseus used it more than once: most famously to turn a sea monster to stone and save the princess Andromeda. He eventually gave the head to Athena, who set it into her shield, the aegis, so that Medusa's gaze would go on protecting Greece long after her death.
