Greek Heroes » Perseus, the founder of Mycenae
Perseus was the founder of Mycenae and the Greek hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa. Greek pronunciation English pronunciation Statue of Perseus. Vatican Museum, Rome, Italy Family of Perseus The Birth of Perseus The Fight with the Medusa Perseus and Andromeda

Family of Perseus

Perseus was the son of Zeus and the princess Danaë, daughter of the mythical king of Argos Acrisius.

The Birth of Perseus

According to a prophecy, Danaë child would be so strong that would kill the king of Argos, so Acrisius decided to imprison his daughter in a dungeon to prevent any man from approaching her. But Zeus, the king of the gods, madly fell in love with Danae, so he transformed himself into a shower of golden rain and penetrated into the dungeon.

Danaë and Zeus gave birth to a child and called him Perseus. When Arcisius found out, he put Danae and her son inside a chest of wood and threw them into the sea. The wind guided Danae and Perseus to the island of Seriphos, where the fisherman Polydectes discovered them and offered them hospitality. Perseus was raised up secretly in Seriphos and soon he became a very strong and courageous man... time had come for Perseus to be challenged on a very dangerous feat: the feat of delivering the head of the Gorgon Medusa.

The Fight with the Medusa

The Gorgon Medusa was a monstrous, yet mortal creature with glorious hair that had the power to turn anyone who looked at her into stone. Messenger of the gods Hermes borrowed Perseus his winged shoes and Athena borrowed her shield, and with these weapons Perseus succeeded in defeating the Medusa.

Perseus and Andromeda

On his way back to Seriphos, Perseus fell in love with Andromeda of Aethiopia and they married.Together, they went to city of Larissa, where the funeral games were being held, and Perseus participated. While he was competing in a game, he threw the discus so far, that it struck his grandfather Acrisius fatally, fulfilling this way the prophecy once been told.

Struck by fate, Perseus founded the city of Mycenae in a small distance from the city of his grandfather.