Medusa'sHead andPerseus and the Gorgon's Head

The Myths

Make the ConnectionTalk lt OverThe idea of fate is imoortant in this Greekmyth. Fate refers to a power that isbelieved to decide the future no matterwhat we do. You learn right away in thisstory that a king has received bad newsfrom an oracle (6r'a. kal)-a priest orpriestess who can foretell the future. Hehas learned that one day he will be killedby his own grandson.

Think about this situation for a fewminutes. Then, with several classmates,discuss what it would be like to knowwhat will happen in the future.

Literary FocusMtrthic HeroesWhat characters can f ly, become invisible,and call on other magical powers in thefight against evil? You'll probably thinkof modern comic-book characters, sucha5 Batman or Superman. In "Medusa'sHead" you'll meet an ancient mythichero, Perseus, who can do all thesethings-and more.

In the world of myth, heroes dothings we wish we could do and thingswe're glad we don't have to do. Heroesin myths represent the hopes and fearsof the people who created them.

Heroes in myths are often helpedby gods. Sometimes they are godsthemselves. These superheroes usuallyhave magical powers, and they alwaysface great difficulties and challenges

(like slaying a monster). Often ahero saves a whole society from ruin,

Reading Ski l ls.#,Dialogue with the TextAs you read this story lot down yourresponses to it. Ask questions aboutunfamiliar words, and try to predictwhat will happen next.

Vocabulary DevelopmentThese are the words you'll learn asread "Medusa's Head":

descended (d6.send'id) y.: moved tolower place; came down. Out of pitl,Zeus, king of the Greek gods,the imprisoned girl,

perplexity (par. plek'sa 't€) n.:bewilderment; confusion. ft hisPerseus turned to Athene.

perpetual (par. pedr'6.a1) ad1:permanent; constant. Medusa'sin a place of perpetual wilight,is neither day nor night.

recesses (rC'ses'az) n.: inner places.The sisters scrambled to the recesescave after Perseus stole their sight.

hovered (huv'ard) u: remainedin the air. Wearing the wingedPerseus hovered high above the rods

bn t sldlsldentify forms

of Jiction: myths.

Bc.dl.E SldlkDialogue with

the text.

350 Collection 4 / Forms of Fiction

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Ch.,[ing Acrisios (a.crC'sC'6s') of Argos (iir'giis'):

Argos was an ancient c i ty and kingdom insouthern Greece. Also spel led Acr is ius.

Pmitos(p16.e' tos): brother of King Acr is ios.Danae(dan'a 'C') : daughter of King Acr is ios.

She bears Zeus's son Perseus.Apllo: Greek god of light, medicine, poetry,

and prophecy. The oracle of Apol lo was apr iest or pr iestess through whom the god

was believed to spea k.hus (zds): king of the Greek gods.

DiOs (dic'tis): f isherman, brother of Poly-dectes. He and Polydectes live on theis land of 5er iphos. Also spel led 5er iphus.

hlydedes (pi i l '€ . dek' tcz): k ing of 5er iphos.hrseus (pur 'sd.as): son of Danae and Zeus.6orgons: three fearsome sisters with brass

hands, gold wings, and serpent l ike scales.

Medusa, the youngest Gorgon, hassnakes for ha i r and a face so terr ib le thati t turns to stone anyone who looks at i t .

Athene (a. the'n€): Greek goddess of craf ts,war, and wisdom. Her name is alsospel led Athena.

Phorcides ({6r 'sa'd6z): three sisters who l ivein a cave and have only one eye and onetooth between them.

Hermes (hur 'mCz') : messenger of the gods.

Cepheus GE'fe.as): k ing of Ethiopia.

Cassiopeia (kas'C.6.pe'a): queen of Ethiopia.Andromeda (an. d16m'a. da): daughter of

King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. Shehas been chained to a rock near the seato calm the anger of the god Poseidon.

Nereus (nir 'e.as): a minor sea god.

Poseidon (p6.si 'dan): god of the sea.

.r'?a

Medusa's Head / Perseus and the Goroon's Head 351

ing Acrisios of Argos was ahard, selfish man. He hatedhis brother, Proitos, who laterdrove him from his kingdom,

he cared nothing for his daughter,His whole heart was set on havine

who should succeed him, but sinceyears went by and still he had only the

daughter, he senl a message to the oracleto ask whether he should have

children of his own. The answer of thewas terrible. Acrisios should have no

but his daughter, Danae, would beara grandchild who should grow up to

him. At these words Acrisios was besidewith fear and rage. Swearing that

should never have a child to murderhe had a room built undersroundlined all through with brass. Thither he

Danae and shut her up, bidding

Wnd the rest of her life alone.It is possible to thwart the plans of mortal

but never those of the eods. Zeus him-with pity on the unfortunate girl,

it is said he descended to her throuqhtiny hole that gave light and air to her

pouring himself down into her lapform of a shower of gold.

word came to the kins from thosebrought food and drink to his daughter

girl was with child, Acrisios wasand afraid. He would have liked best

both Danae and her infant son,but he did not dare for fear of the

anger at so hideous a crime. He made,a great chest of wood with bands of

about it. Shutting up the girl and herinside, he cast them into the sea. think-

they would either drown or starve.the gods came to the help of Danae,caused the planks of the chest to sivell

until they fitted tightly and let no water in.The chest floated for some days and was

cast up at last on an island. There Dictys, afisherman, found it and took Danae to hisbrother, Polydectes, who was king of theisland. Danae was made a servant in thepalace, yet before many years had passed,both Dictys and Polydectes had fallen in lovewith the silent, golden-haired girl. She in herheart preferred Dictys, yet since his brotherwas king, she did not dare to make herchoice. Therefore she hung always overPerseus, pretending that mother love left herno room for any other, and year after year asilent frown would cross Polydectes' face ashe saw her caress the child.

At last, Perseus became a young man,handsome and strong beyond the commonand a leader among the youths of the island,though he was but the son of a poor servant.Then it seemed to Polydectes that if hecould once get rid of Perseus, he could forceDanae to become his wife, whether shewould or not. Meanwhile, in order to lullthe young man's suspicions, he pretendedthat he intended to marry a certain noblemaiden and would collect a wedding giftfor her. Now the custom was that this giftof the bridegroom to the bride was in parthis own and in part put together from themarriage presents of his friends and rela-tives. All the young men, therefore, broughtPolydectes a present, excepting Perseus, whowas his servant's son and possessed nothingto bring. Then Polydectes said to the others,"This young man owes me more than anyof you, since I took him in and brought him

Vocabularydescended (dC.send'id) y.; moved to a lower place;

came down.

Medusa's Head

Medusa by Michelangelo Caravaggio (1573-1610).

Uffi2i, Floren(e, ltaly. O ftala/Art Resour(e, NY

up in my own house, and yet he gives menothing."

Perseus answered in anger at the injusticeof the charge, "I have nothing of my own,Polydectes, yet ask me what you will, and Iwill fetch it, for I owe you my life."

At this Polydectes smiled, for it was whathe had intended, and he answered, "Fetch

me, if this is your boast, the Gorgon's head."Now the Gorgons, who lived far off on the

shores of the ocean, were three fearful sisterswith hands of brass, wings of gold, andscales like a serpent. Two of them had scalyheads and tusks like the wild boar, but thethird, Medusa, had the face of a beautifulwoman with hair of writhing serpents, andso terrible was her expression that all wholooked on it were immediately turned tostone. This much Perseus knew of the Gor-gons, but of how to find or kill them, he hadno idea. Nevertheless, he had given hispromise, and though he saw now the satis-faction of King Polydectes, he was bound tokeep his word. In his perplexity, he prayed tothe wise goddess Athene, who came to him

in a vision and promised him her aid."First, you must go," she said, "to the

ters Phorcides, who will tell you the waythe nymphs who guard the hat ofthe winged sandals, and the knapsack whican hold the Gorgon's head. Then I willyou a shield, and my brother Hermes willgive you a sword, which shall be made ofadamant, the hardest rock. For nothingcan kill the Gorgon, since so venomousis her blood that a mortal sword, whenplunged in it, is eaten away. But when youcome to the Gorgons, invisible in your hatof darkness, turn your eyes away fromand look only on their reflection in yourgleaming shield. Thus you may kill themonster without yourself being turned tostone. Pass her sisters by, for they areimmortal. but smite off the head ofwith the hair of writhing snakes. Then putin your knapsack and return, and I will bewith you."

The vision ended, and with the aid ofAthene, Perseus set out on the longto seek the Phorcides. These live in a dimcavern in the far north, where nights anddays are one and where the whole earth isoverspread with perpetual twilight. Theresat the three old women mumbling to oneanother, crouched in a dim heap together,for they had but one eye and one toothbetween them, which they passed fromto hand. Perseus came quietly behindand as they fumbled for the eye, he put hisstrong, brown hand next to one of the

vocabularyperplexity (par.plek'sa.t€) n.: bewilderment

confusion.perpetual (par.pedr'6.a1) adl..' permanent

constant.

Collection 4 / Forms of Fiction

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like women, vet scaled from head toas serpents are. Instead of hands theygleaming claws like eagles, and their feetdragons'feet. Skinny metallic wings likewings hung from their shoulders. Theirwere neither snake nor woman, but

like faces in a nishtmare. Thesearm in arm and never stirred. Onlvsnakes still hissed and writhed

the pale, set face of Medusa, as thoughin sleep she were troubled bv an evil

She lay by herself, arms outstretched,more beautiful and terrible

man may bear. All the crimes andofthe world rushed into Perseus'

as he gazed at her image in the shield.stiffened his arm as he hovered overhis sword uplifted. Then he shut his

the vision and in the darkness struck.was a great cry and a hissing. Perseus

for the head and seized it by the limphair. Somehow he Dut it in hisand was up and off, for at the

scream the sister Gorgons had awak-Now they were after him, their sharp

ing against his silver shield. Perseusforward on the pathwav of the wind

and behind him the two sistersout the prey they could not

darted from their girdles," foamtheir tusk, and the great wings

air. Yet the wineed sandals were even$an they, and Perseus fled like thedeer with the speed of desperation.

the horrible noise srew faint behindhisine of snakes and the sound of

died away. At last the Gorgonshim no lonser and returned

By now, Perseus was over the Libyandesert, and as the blood from the horriblehead touched the sand, it changed toserpents, from which the snakes of Africaare descended.

The storms of the Libyan desert blewagainst Perseus in clouds of eddying sand,until not even the divine sandals could holdhim on his course. Far out to sea he wasblown, and then north. Finally, whirledaround the heavens like a cloud of mist. healighted in the distant west, where the giantAtlas held up on his shoulders the heavensfrom the earth. There the weary giant,crushed under the load of centuries, beggedPerseus to show him Medusa's head. Perseusuncovered for him the dreadful thing, andAtlas was changed to the mighty mountainwhose rocks rear up to reach the sky nearthe gateway to the Atlantic. Perseus himself,returning eastlvards and still battling withthe wind, was driven south to the land ofEthiopia, where King Cepheus reigned withhis wife, Cassiopeia.

As Perseus came wheeling in like a gullfrom the ocean, he saw a strange sight. Farout to sea the water was troubled, seethingand boiling as though stirred by a great forcemoving in its depths. Huge, sullen waveswere starting far out and washing inlandover sunken trees and flooded houses. Manymiles of land were under water, and as hesped over them, he saw the muddy sea lap-ping around the foot of a black, upstandingrock, Here on a ledge above the water's edgestood a young girl chained by the arms, lipsparted, eyes open and staring, face whiteas her linen garment. She might have beena statue, so still she stood, while the lightbreeze fluttered her dress and stirred herloosened hair. As Perseus looked at her and; blts or sashes.

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to the monster, which reared itsjaws yards high into the air. The

tail stiffened all of a sudden. theofthe water ceased, and only the

waves of the receding ocean lappeda long, gray ridge of stone. Thenfreed Andromeda and restored

her father and beautiful mother.with their consent, he married

scenes of tremendous rejoicing,widr his bride set sail at last for the

of Polydectes.had lost no time on the

of Perseus. First he had beggedto become his wife. and then he had

her. Undoubtedlv, he wouldgot his way by force if Danae had

in terror to Dictys. The two tookat the altar of a temple whence

did not dare drag them away.stood when Perseus returned.was enraged to see him, for heat least that Danae's most

protector would never return.seeine him famous and with

daughter to wife, he could nothimself. Openly he laughed at the

saying that the hero hadblled the Gorgon, only pretended to,

now he was claiming an honor hedeserve. At this, Perseus, enraged by

and by reports of his mother's per-said to him, "You asked me for thehead. Behold it!" And with that he

it high, and Polydectes became stone.Perseus left Dictys to be king of that

but he himself went back to the Gre-to seek out his grandfather,

First, however, he gave back to the gods thegifts they had given him. Hermes took backthe golden sandals and the hat of darkness,for both are his. But Athene took Medusathead, and she hung it on a fleece around herneck as part of her battle equipment, whereit may be seen in statues and portraits ofthe warlike goddess.

Perseus took ship for Greece, but his famehad gone before him, and King Acrisios fledsecretly from Argos in terror, since heremembered the prophecy and feared thatPerseus had come to avenge the wrongs ofDanae. The trembling old Acrisios tookrefuge in Larissa, where it happened the kingwas holding a great athletic contest in honorof his dead father.

Heroes from all over Greece, amongwhom was Perseus, came to the games. AsPerseus was competing at the discus throw-ing, he threw high into the air and farbeyond the rest. A strong wind caught thediscus as it spun, so that it left the coursemarked out for it and was carried into thestands. People scrambled away to right andleft. Only Acrisios was not nimble enough.The heary weight fell full on his foot andcrushed his toes, and at that, the feebleold man, already weakened by his terrors,died from the shock. Thus the prophecyof Apollo was fulfilled at last; Acrisios waskilled by his grandson. Then Perseus cameinto his kingdom, where he reigned withAndromeda long and happily.

To read about Olivia Coolidge, see Meet theWriter on page 252,

who was once again king ofArgos.

MedusalHcad 359

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Response ond Anolysis

lJl.t|.t gdlftAnalyze a myth.

Rcdhg skllltDialogue with

the text.

utrldttg SkllltWrite a short

story.

First Thoughts1. What do you think oJ Perseus?

Do we have heroes like him today?ReJer to your reading notes for yourresponses to the st ory. .4.

Thinking Cri t ical ly2. Why is Perseus a good example of a

mythic hero? (Think about how hehandles chal lenges and how thegods help him.)

3. How does this myth illustrate the ideathat no one can escape fate? What doyou think of the ancient Greek beliefthat eveqnhing that happens isdecided in advance by fate?

Extending Interpretations4, Modern stories of action heroes often

resemble ancient myths. What moviesor TV shows remind you of the storyof Perseus? Think about theseelements in the myth:

a. the hero threatened at birth

b. the beaut i fu l woman in danoer

c. the awful monster

d. the role played by magic

e. the perils faced by the hero

f. the people who help the herog. the tr iumph of good over evi l

WRIT!NGWriting a storyMake up a story about a character whocan become invisible. Jot down some ideas about the way thecharacter becomes invisible, the things he or she can do that visiblecharacters can't do, and the dangers that an invisible person wouldface. lf you wish, tellyour story in the form oJ a cartoon.

Collection 4 / Forms ol fiction