Students who enjoy reading greek and roman mythology as part of their english classes have. She may be the same with philonis and leuconoe chione, daughter of callirrhoe, who was. A myth may explain a belief, a custom, or a force of nature. The story of how medusa was killed by perseus is one of the most thrilling stories in greek mythology. Atlas and perseus the myth of atlas and perseus the mythical story of atlas and perseus by thomas bulfinch. The story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. Adapted from the myths and legends of ancient greece and rome by e. You will need to research the following facts about your godess to complete your project.
Perseus returns to seriphos and turns polydectes to stone using the gorgons severed. Hers is a cautionary tale about pride that we can all learn from. He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek. Polydectes asked perseus to slay and behead the gorgon medusa and bring back her head as his gift. But acrisius had a streak of jealousy that ran through his soul and tainted everything that he touched. Perseus and medusa greek, issue 1 thors stolen hammer norse, issue 3 the hero twins mayan, issue 4 the midas touch greek, issue 8 theseus and the minotaur greek, issue 12 cupid and psyche roman, issue 17 ras secret name egyptian, issue 22 lesson ideas learn about how people lived in ancient greece. The bestknown greek creation myth is the one told by the renowned poet. Perseus returns to seriphos and turns polydectes to stone using the gorgons severed head. He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles. As an infant he was cast into the sea in a chest with his mother by acrisius, to whom it had been prophesied that he would be killed by his grandson. Edith hamilton students who enjoy reading greek and. As the great, scaly monster emerged below the rocks, perseus hovered in the air on his winged sandals, challenging the brute and guarding the beautiful hostage.
The adventures of perseus the national gallery, london. The hideous medusa has snakes for hair, terrifying tusks and a face that turns anyone that looks at it into stone. Perseus in greek mythology greek legends and myths. Perseus, the maiden medusa, and the imagery of abduction ascsa. Retelling of the greek myth describing the life of the hero perseus. So acrisius straightaway stuck daughter and infant into a chest and pushed it out to sea. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes spoken of in greek mythology, for perseus was the famed vanquisher of the gorgon medusa. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from the sea monster cetus. Th e rays of sunlight, which might sometimes be seen across a dark cloud, were apollos golden arrows. Greek mythology heros journey of perseus storyboard. After the wedding festivities, perseus sailed away with andromeda.
To please his king, warrior perseus agrees to slay the beast. Perseuss grandfather akrisios goes to the oracle to ask how long he has to live. Perseus is the first book in the early myths collection, a series of childrens picture books about greek myth. Sought to explain things people could not otherwise understand. Because the gorgons could turn anybody to stone by looking in their eyes, perseus cleverly looked in the shield, so that medusa couldnt look directly into his eyes. In greek mythology, perseus is the legendary founder of mycenae and of the perseid dynasty.
The story of perseus and andromeda derives from greek mythology and contains very deep wisdom on the interactions of male and female energy. Perseus gods and heroes of the ancient world pdf free. Favorite greek myths the light which comes from the sun, while helios was the god of the sun itself. But the god zeus got in, disguised as a shower of gold, with the result that perseus was born. Perseus achilles aphrodite apollo persephone pandora athena ares artemis demeter hermes hecate daedalus iris nike icarus hades please choose a greek god or goddess from the list for your project. The greek myth of perseus and medusa tells the story of how perseus used the gifts of the gods and his own courage to kill the monster medusa, rescue andromeda, and save his mother from an. Cassiopeia or cassiepeia is the name given to several characters in greek mythology. Perseus is one of the greatest heroes of greek mythology. However, one is prevalent in the myths of ancient greeks cassiopeia, the queen of aethiopia, was the wife of king cepheus, daughter of coronus and zeuxo. Perseus and andromeda the magical world of myth and legend. Theres very little to fear about the story of arachne, however. The story begins on the island of seriphus, the home of perseus and his mother, danae. I will go back to the earliest literature on the perseus myth and discuss how its. Wearing a helmet of invisibility, he sneaks up on medusa.
Once upon a time,king acrisius of argos was told by the oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. Acrisius eyes widened in horror as the ancient pythia priestess hissed, king of. The myth of perseus and medusa explained greek mythology. Each book tells the tale of a character from mythology and brings the story to life through the inspiration from art and literature.
King polydectes tricks perseus into promising to bring back the head of medusa, one of the dreaded gorgons. Each book covers a character from mythology and brings the tale to life through illustrations and storytelling, with inspiration from ancient art and literature. Perseus and the legends of argos oxford university press. This readers theater literacy toolkit includes two readers theater scripts, as well as other activities and resources. But how a person arrived at his or her destiny was. He would become one of the great heroes in greek mythology because of his ability to behead the monster, medusa. The heroic tale of perseus includes many elements of the classic greek epicsibling rivalry, a prophecy, an unexpected birth, lust, revenge, a quest, and the inescapable nature of fate. Pegasus in greek mythology greek legends and myths. The short story and myth of perseus the myth about perseus is featured in the book entitled. The gorgons of ancient greek myth were three monsters, the sisters stheno, eurayle and medusa. He is best known for having slain the gorgon medusa, which resulted. The story of perseus begins in the greek kingdom of argos, at a. When he heard that perseus mother was a princess in the famous and rich citystate of argos, he was even more pleased. Perhaps he expected it to sink like a stone, but instead it floated quite nicely, fetching up on a beach on the island of seriphos.
The greek forces try to cut off the trojans supply routes and. Greek mythologyheroesperseus wikibooks, open books for. Greek myths famous stories, myths and legends of ancient. Many heroes have been mentioned to be the youngsters of gods, and positively they have been mentioned to be plenty greater than you or i. As you read this myth, look for examples of perseuss bravery. Their teeth were giant boar tusks, their hands were made of bronze and they had wings of gold. Perseus is the first book in the early myths collection, a series of childrens picture books on greek myth. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster.
Very beautiful and vain, she committed hubris by saying that she and her daughter andromeda were more beautiful that the daughters of the sea god nereus. Myth of prometheus a brief introduction when zeus, the king of the olympian gods, was young and trying to establish his rule, a long and terrible war ensued. Perseus was secretly raised on the island and became a courageous young man. The arachne is a creature from greek mythology, whose name was later used for words like arachnid and arachnophobia. The greek creation myth all creation myths the world over have a certain similarity to one another, in that they explore the efforts of early humans to explain the origin of the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars, and the creatures of the earth, including men and women. The story of medusa and the greek goddess athena a myth submitted to the site by shainuja many years ago there was a beautiful women called medusa. Perseus was a greek hero especially revered in argos where he was said to be. A myth is a traditional story that deals with goddesses, gods, heroes, and supernatural forces. Greek mythology is told through a large collection of written texts, and in greek representational arts, such as vasepaintings and sculpture. Perseus was born to the god, zeus, and mortal woman, danae, making him a demigod with great strength and intelligent ingenuity.
Known for precisely one adventure, perseus also carries the distinction of being the only greek hero without an obnoxious character flaw none of herculess rages, jason or theseuss wifely. Polydectes, the king of seriphus, wishes to marry danae, and plots to get rid of perseus because he may object. She was a very kind and she obeyed her greek gods and goddesses. Myth of perseus roman and greek gods and goddesses. The adventures of perseus have been told, and retold, over the millennia, and even today his story regularly appears on the big screen. The myth of atlas and perseus after the slaughter of medusa, perseus, bearing with him the head of the gorgon, flew far and wide, over land and sea. This engaging and detailed lesson enables students to gain a deep understanding of the greek myth perseus and medusa. Perseus, in the original greek myths, had no need to use pegasus, for he already had in his possession. As night came on, he reached the western limit of the earth, where the sun goes down. Perseus turned and watched the water ripple with the approach of the creature. After ten years of fighting, zeus and his fellow olympians defeated the enemy. When he heard that perseus was half god, and his father was the mighty zeus, the king of all the gods, the king gladly agreed to the wedding. She curses him and calls upon the gods to make sure theseus forgets to.
Medusas death was figured as a perversion of the erotic abductions common to many greek myths, and points out the beautiful gorgon s affinities with abducted. All the olympian gods joined against the titans, who were led by zeus father cronus and the mighty atlas. Perseus with the head of medusa by benvenuto cellini, wikimedia commons. Myth of atlas and perseus roman and greek gods and. The use of pegasus by perseus though was an interpretation of the myth that occurred in europe many hundreds of years after the original stories had been recorded. Their bodies were covered with impenetrable scales. Olympus in the form of a stream of gold, which poured through the roof of the chamber, and soon danae had a baby named perseus. Greek heroes on including achilles, actaeon, aeneas, atlanta, bellerophon, dioscuri, heracles, jason, meleager, odysseus, peleus, perseus etc. It is, in its way, a morality tale, for it demonstrates how evil begets evil and the consequences of holding oneself as grander or cleverer than the gods.