Perseus

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the only child of Acrisius, King of Argos. Disappointed by not having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter's son. Danaë was childless and her father ensured her chastity by imprisoning her in a bronze chamber open to the sky in the courtyard of his palace.

However, Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and impregnated her. Soon after was born their child Perseus— "Perseus Eurymedon for his mother gave him this name as well."

Fearful for his future , Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest. Mother and child washed ashore on the island of Seriphos, where they were taken in by the fisherman Dictys ("fishing net"), who raised the boy to manhood.

Overcoming the Gorgon

Later, Polydectes fell in love with Danaë, yet Perseus, knowing thatPolydectes had grim intentions, constantly protected his mother from him. Polydectes desired to remove Perseus from the island so he could have Danaë, so he therefore hatched a plot to disgrace him.

Gorgon

Polydectes announced a large banquet and requested that the guests bring horses, under the pretense that he was collecting contributions for the hand of Hippodamia, "tamer of horses". Perseus, the fisherman's protegé, had no horse to give, so asked Polydectes to name the gift.

Polydectes held Perseus to his rash promise, demanding the head of the only mortal Gorgon Medusa, whose very expression turned people to stone. Ovid's anecdotal embroidery of Medusa's mortality tells that she had once been a woman, vain of her beautiful hair, who lay with Poseidon in the Temple of Athena. In punishment for the desecration of her temple, Athena changed Medusa's hair into hideous snakes "that she may alarm her surprised foes with terror".

Invisibility Helmut

 

Athena instructed Perseus to find the Hesperides, who were entrusted with the needed weapons. From the Hesperides he received a knapsack kibisis to safely contain Medusa's head. Zeus gave him an adamantine sword and Hades' helmut of invisibility. Hermes loaned Perseus winged sandals to fly, while Athena gave him a polished shield. Perseus headed for the Gorgons' cave.

 

Pegasus

There he came upon the sleeping Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. By viewing Medusa's reflection in his polished shield, he safely approached and cut off her head. From her neck sprang Pegasus ("he who sprang") and Chrysaor ("bow of gold"), the result of Poseidon and Medusa's meeting. The other two Gorgons pursued Perseus, but under his helmet of invisibility he escaped.

 

Marriage to Andromeda

Andromeda and Perseus

On the way back to Seriphos Island, Perseus stopped in the kingdom of Ethiopia ruled by King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia, having boasted herself equal in beauty to the Nereids, drew down the vengeance of Poseidon, who sent an inundation on the land and a sea serpent, Cetus, which destroyed man and beast. The oracle of Ammon announced that no relief would be found until the king exposed his daughter Andromeda to the monster, and so she was fastened to a rock on the shore. Perseus slew the monster and, setting her free, claimed her in marriage.

Perseus married Andromeda in spite of Phineus, to whom she had before been promised. At the wedding a quarrel took place between the rivals, and Phineus was turned to stone by the sight of the Gorgon's head.Andromeda ("queen of men") became the ancestress of the family of the Perseidaethrough her son with Perseus, Perses.After her death she was placed by Athena amongst the constellations in the northern sky, near Perseus and Cassiopeia.

As Perseus was flying in his return above the sands of Libya, the falling drops of Medusa's blood created a race of toxic serpents. On returning to Seriphos and discovering that his mother had to take refuge from the violent advances of Polydectes, Perseus killed him with Medusa's head, and made his brother Dictys, consort of Danaë, king.

The oracle fulfilled

Medusa

Perseus then returned his magical loans and gave Medusa's head as a votive gift to Athena, who set it on Zeus' shield (which she carried). He had just invented the quoit and was making a public display of them when Acrisius, who happened to be visiting, stepped into the trajectory of the quoit and was killed: thus the oracle was fulfilled.

In Apollodorus' version,Teutamides, king of Larissa, was holding funeral games for his father. Competing in the discus throw Perseus' throw veered and struck Acrisius, killing him instantly.

August 12, 2010

August 12 is the 224th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 141 days remaining until the end of the year.

This day is known as the "Glorious Twelfth" in the UK, as it marks the traditional start of the grouse shooting season. Personally, I like Famous Grouse.

• 30 BC – Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last ruler of the Egyptian dynasty, commits suicide allegedly by means of an asp bite.
• 1099 – First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon – Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid forces under Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade.

• 1898 – The Hawaiian flag is lowered from Iolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the American flag to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawai`i to the United States.

• 1914 – World War I – Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary; countries of the British Empire are also included.
• 1943 – Alleged date of the first Philadelphia Experiment test on United States Navy ship USS Eldridge.

• 1953 – Nuclear weapons testing: the Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of Joe 4, the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon.
• 1953 – The islands of Zakynthos and Kefalonia in Greece are severely damaged by an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the richter.
• 1960 – Echo I, the first communications satellite, launched.

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All materials copyright 2010.