Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Perseus 3/4 (N1)


When Perseus finds the gorgon, Medusa, see is asleep. This way, Perseus easily kills her with his sickle sword, given to him by the nymphs. He decapitated Medusa, and put her head into the leather bag to prevent him from looking into her eyes and turning into stone.  In movies and other interpretations of Greek myth, it shows/tells that there was a battle between Medusa and Perseus. In those versions, Perseus uses his shield to be able to kill the gorgon. 

It is believed that when Perseus slays Medusa, a Pegasus flies out of her blood. A Pegasus is a mythical creature. It is a winged horse and Athena tells Perseus that it is the offspring of Medusa and the sea god, Poseidon. 

After Medusa’s killing, Perseus tells the gods, Athena and Hermes, that he can return home along. He tells them to wait for him at the island of Seriphus. Perseus eventually gets tired and wants to rest. He lands (he was flying on winged sandals) by Atlas, the Titan that was punished by Zeus and forced to hold up the sky.  Perseus asked Atlas if he could stay and rest in the garden, but Atlas refused. This was because before Perseus arrived, Atlas received of prophecy that foretold that a son of Zeus would come and steal his golden apples that his daughter protects. He kept the apples safe by creating enormous mountains and having a one hundred headed dragon guard it. 

Atlas refused to let him stay because he feared for the theft of his golden apples. Perseus then took Medusa’s head out of the leather bag where it was stored, and showed it to Atlas. When their eyes met, Atlas, predictably, turned to stone. This freed Atlas of his eternal punishment of holding up the sky, and allowed Perseus to stay and rest in the garden.

No comments:

Post a Comment