Greek mythology - why did Perseus the Brave cut off Medusa's head ?

 Perseus the Brave

Long, long ago, king acricius ruled over the kingdom of Argolis in Ancient Greece. Although he had a daughter, whose name was Danae, he had no sons to succeed him to the throne. So the worried king decided to consult the Oracle.

The Oracle was a spirit who could tell the future, and a special temple had been built for him in Greece. Anyone who wanted to know his future could go to this temple and ask the Oracle to tell him what the future would bring. Although no one could see the Oracle, a voice would answer the questions that were asked.

The Oracle told king Acricious that he would never have any sons. Furthermore, his end would come at the hands of his own grandson, the son of Danae.

The king was so upset when he heard this that he immediately put the innocent Danae in prison to prevent the Oracle's prophecy from coming true. Before long, however, Danae gave birth to a beautiful male child. king Acricus, who was a cruel and selfish man, felt no pity for his daughter or the  new born baby. he gave orders that Danae and her child were to be put into a wooden box and set a drift in the sea. The king was sure that they would not survive the elements for long and they would soon die.

But they did not die, for fate had other plans. The box floated on. The child slept peacefully, and after a while, Danae too, faint with hunger and grief, fell into a deep sleep. When she awoke, she found that the box had been washed ashore an island.

Dictys was a simple and honest fisherman who lived on the island of seriphos. One morning, as he was walking along the shore, he heard the crying of a baby. He was astonished to see a drooping young girl with a tiny baby in her arms, and he immediately went to their help . Danae told him her story and begged him to help her.

Dictys was moved by her plight and Danae, ''I'm old and grey. My wife and I have no children to bring happiness into our home. Come with me and you shall be our daughter and this baby shall be our grandchild.''

Dictys took them home and took good care of them. Danae and her son, now called Perseus, thus came to live on the island of Seriphos.

Year passed and Perseus grew into a tall, strong lad, a head taller than all the other boys on the island. He was brave and truthfully, gentle and highly skilled in sports and music. The good Dictys had trained him well. Perseus was loved by everyone in Seriphos.

The king of serphos was Polydectus, the brother of Dictys. Unlike his brother, Polydectus was greedy cunning and cruel. He became jealous of Perseus and wanted to get rid of him. So he drew up an elaborate plan. He made arrangement for a great feast. 

Every man on the island was invited to attend the feast and bring a gift for the king as a sign of respect.

As Perseus was only a poor fisherman, he was unable to bring a present for the king. The King and his courtiers made fun of Perseus for coming to the feast empty - handed. Perseus felt humiliated by this treatment. Unable to put up with the jeering of the king and his courtiers, he cried out, ''I shall bring you a present that no man has ever received."

This was exactly what Poldectus had hoped for.

"Then bring me the Gorgon Medusa's head," he said. "Never appear again on this island without it. Until then, your mother will be my slave."

In his anger, Perseus rashly promised to bring Poldectus the head of Medusa, the Gorgon.

The Gorgons, of whom Medusa was one, were three terrible sister with tusks like board, hands made of brass and wings like those of a bat. They lived far away, in a land of stony hills and dark valleys. Medusa was the worst of the Gorgons. She had live snakes growing out of her head instead of hair. Anyone who looked into her wicked face was instantly turned into stone by her magic.

Perseus knew that he had fallen into a trap. Still, he left without a word, as he was bound to keep his promise. He wandered down to the seashore and sat thinking. First, he would have to find out where the Gorgons lived.

Meanwhile, the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus had heard that Perseus was setting off on an adventure for the sake of his mother. They decided to help the brave boy. As Perseus sat looking out into the sea, he saw a cloud floating down from the skies till it reached the cliffs. The cloud parted, and in the bright light stood the gods Hermes and Athena.

" Perseus," said Athena, the goddess of wisdom, as Perseus bowed low to the gods, "think well before you set out on this journey. It will take you seven long years to carry out this task."

But Perseus would not change his mind.

The gods then explained to him what he had to do. They also gave him gifts - a highly polished magical shield, in which he could see the reflection of Medusa's face without looking at her; a pair of winged sandals to help him fly across the sea; a magical helmet which would make its wearer invisible and a magic sword to cut off Medusa's head.

Then they wished him luck, bade him goodbye and told him to fly to the land of the Grey ladies, who would tell him where the Gorgons lived. When the gods had disappeared, Perseus strapped on the sandals, put the helmet on his head and buckled the shield on his arm. He took a step forward and he found himself flying. He flew on for many days until he reached a country that was dark and cold.

After a long search, he found the Grey ladies. They were incredibly old and had only one eye and one tooth among the three of them. In order to see anything, they had to borrow the eyes from one another and, when they wanted to eat, they had to borrow the tooth! Perseus was invisible as he was wearing the magic helmet. He went up to them and asked them politely where Medusa lived. The Grey Ladies were foolish and quarrelsome and did not want to help him. So Perseus snatched the eye and tooth from them and threatened to throw both into the sea unless they helped him. In a frightened voice, they instantly  told him where he could find the Gorgons. Perseus returned the eye and tooth to them and flew off to find Medusa.

The land of the Gorgons was even more terrible than the country of the Grey Ladies. There was nothing to be seen except long stretches of sand. Trees, flowers and animals had all been turned to stone. There were stone images of men everywhere. These were the people who had looked at the Gorgons and had been turned to stone as a result. Perseus knew he had to be very careful. He made sure that he was wearing the helmet which the gods had given him.

He found the dark cave in which the Gorgons lived and waited until they were asleep. As instructed by the gods, he used the polished shield as a mirror to find his way and did not look at anything directly. He saw the reflection of the sleeping Gorgons. He was able to recognise Medusa from the horrible snakes that grew on her head in place of hair. He cut off her head with a single blow and put it inside the beg he carried. Then, he flew swiftly away before the other two Gorgons could catch him.

As he flew across unknown lands, Perseus had many other exciting adventures. One day, as the sun was about to set, he stopped in the land of the Hesperides, where Atlas, a Titan, was guarding the city gates. Perseus was tired and asked Atlas if he could rest there for the night. Atlas refused. They began to argue and soon the argument turned into a fight. Finally, Perseus took out Medusa's head from his bag. Atlas looked at it and was immediately turned into stone.

Perseus continued his journey to Seriphos. He passed Chemmis (now Egypt) and Philistia ( now Israel) where he saw a beautiful girl chained to a rock near the seashore. Perseus was curious to know why the young girl had been chained to the rock. He came down and talked to the group of people standing there. They told him that she was Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus, king of the land.

''Why has she been chained in this way?'' Perseus asked them.

''Ah, that's a sad story ,'' said one of the men. ''Her mother, the queen, had boasted than the daughters of the sea. This angered Poseidon, the sea- god so much that he sent a sea monster to destroy the land. No one could kill the monster. The king then consulted an Oracle and people. The Oracle said that the monster would leave them alone if Andromeda was given to him as a sacrifice. That is why she must remain chained to this rock until the monster comes to devour her.''

''I cannot let an innocent maiden be sacrificed,'' said Perseus. ''I shall save her.''

Perseus faced the monster bravely when it appeared. After a long struggle, Perseus cut off the head of the monster with the same sword with which he had severed the head of Medusa. Andromeda was returned safely to her parents. There was great rejoicing and king Cepheus was so happy that he gave Perseus Andromeda's hand in marriage.

Perseus and Andromeda travelled back to Seriphos together. Polydectus was shocked to see Perseus alive. He refused to believe that Perseus had killed Medusa because he could not imagine that any mortal could remain alive after visiting the Gorgons.

''Is there anything to prove that you  have really killed Medusa ?'' he asked Perseus.

''Wait a minute and I shall show you the proof,'' Perseus replied.

He opened the bag and took out Medusa's head, keeping his own head turned away. But Polydectus was so eager to see the proof which Perseus had promised to show him that he forgot what would happen if he looked at the head of Medusa. In an instant, he turned into a stone statue!

Perseus made Dictys, who was good and kind, the king of the land. The people of Seriphos were happy to have Dictys as their king.

His task successfully completed, Perseus thanked the gods for their help and returned their gifts. Perseus gave Athena the head of Medusa, which she fixed on her shield.

Danae wanted to return to her old home in Argolis. Perseus went to Argolis with his mother and Andromeda. When they reached there, they found that special games and competitions were being held in that country. King Acricius was there too, watching the events.

Perseus decided to take part in the discus - throwing competition. He threw the discus as hard as he could. But unfortunately, the discus struck king Aricius in the foot, killing him instantly. The prophecy of the Oracle was thus fulfilled.

Perseus was greatly upset as he had not intended to hurt his grandfather. He went to Tiryns, where the people chose him as their king. Perseus lived to be a wise and well- loved king and built many great cities.