Before he can claim his heritage, the hero is ordered to slay a hideous monster named medusa, whose gaze turns men into solid stone. During the whole thing, he uses athenas shield to see where he is going. Learn more about the traditional story of perseus in this article. In what fierce spasms upgathered on the plainmedusas headless corpse has quivering sunkwhile all the limbs of that undying trunk. Perseus on pegasus slaying medusa perseus presents medusas head to athena sargent 192225 stairway of the museum of fine arts, boston. Gale, myth and poetry in lucretius cambridge university press. Perseus takes the reflective bronze shield from athena and holds it up to use as a mirror to locate medusa. Perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book 12. Lacuscurtius diodorus siculus book iii chapters 49. Historically, the myth of the gigantomachy as well as the titanomachy may.
This is the last part of a threepart series on perseus and medusa. For a more detailed description of the contents of each book, please consult the. While little is written of her life, probably because no one survived an encounter with her, we do have the story of her death. On a boast, perseus sought medusa out to vanquish her once and for all. Perseus, in greek mythology, the slayer of the gorgon medusa and the rescuer of andromeda from a sea monster. Kind polydectes sent perseus to bring him the head of the only mortal gorgon, medusa. The jealous king sends him on an impossible quest to bring in the head of the gorgon, medusa. Andromeda was free and safe, in the arms of her adored and adoring hero. Bound was the paradigm of greek literature for humbert, just as lucretiuss.
Perseus cuts off medusas head in her sleep perseus swoops in on his winged sandals, cuts off medusas head, puts it in his magical wallet, and flys away with the help of his invisibilty cap. Perseus confronting phineus with the head of medusa getty. Lucretius and epicurean philosophy following democritus atomic theory of the universe argue that nature. On winged sandals perseus flew to the oneeyed witches lair.
Zeus comes to her and devours the dogs, and soon perseus is born. Furthermore, when perseus returned home, he insisted that king polydectes should no longer harass his mother. May 12, 2011 actually very little of the story of perseus adventures takes places on seriphos. Perseus gets by with a little help from his friends. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology.
They are rescued by a fisherman, and young perseus grows up, unaware of his royal birth. His mother was princess danae, the beautiful daughter of king acrisius of argos. Perseus launched one final attack and the monster was dead. Books two and three deal mainly with the finer details of the zodiac. We may compare an earlier passage in the first book of the poem, in. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology with a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. King acrisius of argos had only one child, a daughter, danae. A concise, stylised and dynamic version of the perseus and medusa myth. The lightning thief perseus the invincible chimera in herman melvilles mobydick, melville writes, every one knows the fine story of perseus and andromeda. One night, athena, the goddess of wisdom, appears before him. Perseus triumphant the hero is shown with the winged cap, the sandals of mercury and the sword which had been given to him in order to complete this task. Perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book 12 kindle edition by holub, joan, williams, suzanne, phillips, craig. Benvenuto cellini, perseus with the head of medusa giambologna, abduction of a sabine woman venice browse this content giorgione the tempest three philosophers the adoration of the shepherds titian pastoral concert noli me tangere assumption of the virgin madonna of the pesaro family bacchus and ariadne two portraits of pietro aretino venus of. During a banquet with king polydectes, perseus pulled out medusas head to prove that he did kill medusa, which petrified king polydectes.
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. The main adventure is killing medusa and taking her head, though he also rescues ethiopian princess andromeda from a sea monster and then weds her. His novel the unbearable lightness of being is in reality a bitter confirmation of the. But his subject was not, as we might expect, war, love, myth or history. Medusa was a monster of legend, with hair turned to serpents and eyes that killed with just a glance. A prophecy states that the king of argos will be defeated by his infant grandson perseus, so the king throws perseus, and his mother, into the sea. Benvenuto cellini, perseus with the head of medusa. Perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book. This cycladic island, in the aegean sea, is just where he grew up, and after he had slain medusa he only returned to get rid of king polydektes which he achieved easily enough by showing the guy medusas face and to take his mother danai back to their original homeland of argolis. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Later, perseus gave the head of medusa to athena to put on the front of her shield. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3.
I was in the midst of reading yet another book that referenced lucretius on the nature of things and thought i should stop and read lucretius words for myself. In greek and roman mythology, the giants, also called gigantes were a race of great strength. Perseus with the head of medusa is a bronze sculpture made by benvenuto cellini in the period 15451554. Proem o thou who first uplifted in such dark so clear a torch aloft, who first shed light upon the profitable ends of man, o thee i follow, glory of the greeks, and set my footsteps squarely planted now. Such familiar legends as hercules, perseus and medusa, daedelus and icarus, diana and actaeon, and many. Walking backward towards medusa, perseus continues to hold the shield in the air to keep a clear view of medusa, making sure to only look at medusa in the shield.
I am amazed that someone who lived more than 2000 years ago could possess such a deep and complete understanding of our universe. Mar 18, 2015 the myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him selfsufficient. It seems that medusas fate was sealed once she was cursed. Perseus on pegasus slaying medusa perseus presents medusa s head to athena sargent 192225 stairway of the museum of fine arts, boston. Perseus was the son of zeus and danae, the daughter of acrisius of argos.
He was, alongside cadmus and bellerophon, the greatest greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of heracles. It was once prophesized that king acrisiuss grandson would kill him. It is located in the loggia dei lanzi of the piazza della signoria in florence, italy. Perseus may be determined and pretty clever, but hes still young and inexperienced when polydectes orders the young man to bring him medusa s head. Under the direction of gaspero bruschi, italian active florence, c. The myth of perseus and medusa was one the most powerful inspiration for many artists in the ancient times, but it hasnt lost its artistic significance to the present day either. This way, he could remain alone with danae and force her to marry him. The sculpture stands on a square base which has bronze relief panels depicting the story of perseus and andromeda, similar to a predella on an altarpiece. Perseus was fuming he was so angry that he went up to polydectes and held up the head of medusa and watched the man turn in to solid stone. As perseus crept closer to medusa, he wielded the sword that hephaestus had given him and beheaded the monster.
Lucretius argues that the gods are not actively involved in life, so need not be appe. Acrisius, like any sane person, was not keen on being killed, so he locked his daughter up in a tower. The myth of perseus and medusa greek myths and greek. Lucretius refers to memmius by name four times in the first book, three times in the second, five in the fifth, and not at all in the third, fourth, or sixth. The story of perseus long ago, king acrisius of argos learned from an oracle that he would one day be killed by his grandson. Perseus confronting phineus with the head of medusa sebastiano ricci italian, 1659 1734 64. Lucretius has been credited with originating the concept of the threeage. The astronomica also known as the astronomicon, is a latin didactic poem about celestial.
All of the gods and heroes familiar to us are represented. Perseus is determined to rescue andromeda, even though it means facing the hideous gorgon, medusa, whose glare turns warriors to stone perfect for children whose reading ability and confidence allows them to tackle longer and more complex stories. Lucretius was born in 99 bc, and on the nature of things is his only surviving work. The sculpture stands upon a square base with bronze relief panels depicting the story of perseus and andromeda, similar to a predella on an altarpiece. The gods see the chest safely to the isle of seriphos where perseus grows into a local hero. In both lucretius and ovid, lightness is a way of looking at the world based on. Inachus, beginning with jupiters rape of io and reaching forward to perseus. Ovids account of medusa s mortality tells that she had once been a woman, vain of her beautiful hair.
There are three brief references to the gigantes in homers odyssey, though. Hades once again tells the truth about perseus and medusa. Even with his immense strength and courage, perseus cannot imagine how he will kill medusa without turning to stone. Harding, published in 1906 by scott, foresman and company. She was a creature hated by the world, with a story spread far and wide, transmitting across time as well as space for generations. This is a great source for all things ancient greek. On the relationship between perseus and medusa, we can learn something more from. Paintings and sculptures of the moment of beheading or medusas portrait itself are famous all over the world. The myth of perseus and the medusa the story of perseus and the medusa is featured in the book entitled greek gods, heroes and men by caroline h. An undeniable masterpiece of western civilization, the metamorphoses is a continuous narrative that covers all the olympian legends, seamlessly moving from one story to another in a splendid panorama of savage beauty, charm, and wit. Acrisius locks mother and baby in a chest and sets it afloat on the sea. Reading latin books is the best way to learn latin, so weve compiled a gallery of.
Its a good thing, then, that perseus gets some help from the gods. Book iii explores the nature of the mind animus or central consciousness and the soul anima or. Clash of the titans the most recent hollywood production loosely based on the story of perseus. The adventures of perseus part 2 greek mythology ep. One of my favorites is the medusa story, sometimes referred to as perseus and the gorgon medusa. Wax casts and molds by vincenzo foggini, italian active florence, 1692 1755. Perseus travels over land and sea trying to find her.
However, now that perseus had his beloved andromeda by his side, he feared nothing and noone. Fearing that, he hid his daughter danae in a chamber underground. Clash of the titans the 1980s take on the myth of perseus. Acrisius sent away danae and her son because he had heard a prediction that one day perseus would kill him. Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. This book adapts the myth of perseus and medusa, in the form of a ya. Perseus had no horse to give, so he asked polydectes to name the gift. Homer, odyssey, book 1, line 1 perseus digital library. The towers lone inhabitant didnt really enjoy it when it rained. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
In this story, perseus is sent out to claim the head of the only mortal gorgon, medusa. We continue the story about our hero with the myth of perseus and medusa the gorgon. Model by giovanni battista foggini, italian active florence and rome, 1652 1725. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book 12. One of the most known art work is the medusa shield. Polydectes held perseus to his rash promise and demanded the head of the only mortal gorgon, medusa, whose gaze turned people to stone. This statue was carved by antonio canova 17571822 in the space of a few months between the end of the year 1800 and the beginning of 1801. Luckily for our hero, goddess athena decided to help him she held a grudge against medusa. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Jan 01, 2009 a concise, stylised and dynamic version of the perseus and medusa myth. The poemwhich seems to have been inspired by lucretiuss epicurean poem.
Titus lucretius carus was a roman poet and philosopher. Lets talk about some classic greek mythology, the myth of the demigod perseus and the gorgon medusa, today. Benvenuto cellini, perseus with the head of medusa smarthistory. Apollodorus, library, book 1, chapter 1, section 1 perseus. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
Made by doccia porcelain factory, near florence, 1737 present. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. His aim was to free the roman world from its two great terrors. Then hermes whispered to perseus an idea, a little seed of an idea that soon took root. He was determined to fight for his happiness and andromeda. Ancient as time, wrinkled and stooped like three ragged crows, they sat, muttering and cackling. Perseus finds medusa asleep inside her cave and makes sure not to wake her. He beheaded the gorgon medusa for polydectes and saved andromeda from the sea monster cetus. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. The internet classics archive on the nature of things by. As an educator and counselor, i often use tales from classic greek mythology as a way of relating common themes that speak to the human condition. See more ideas about mythology, medusa and perseus and medusa. On the nature of things by lucretius, part of the internet classics archive.
She was beautiful above all the other women of the land, but this was small comfort to the king for not having a son. If you havent read the previous parts, do go and read part one and part two before you continue here. Ovid initially compares corinna with the heroines of greek myth, fearing that. Actually very little of the story of perseus adventures takes places on seriphos. Medusa cursed by athena and killed by perseus ancient. On perseus and medusa poem by richard chenevix trench.