Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë. He completed several heroic tasks, including slaying the Gorgon Medusa and rescuing Andromeda from a sea monster. Perseus married Andromeda and they had seven sons and two daughters together. Their descendants went on to rule Mycenae. According to Greek mythology, Perseus' story explains the origins of the constellations that bear his name and those of his wife and mother-in-law in the night sky.

1. Perseus

2. In Greek
Mythology

3. Symbol: Medusa's head
Consort: Andromeda
Parents: Zeus and Danaë
Children: Perses, Heleus,
Alcaeus, Sthenelus,
Electryon, Mestor,
Cynurus, Gorgophone,
Autochthe
Siblings: Ares, Athena,
Apollo, Artemis,
Aphrodite, Dionysus,
Hebe, Hermes, Heracles,
Helen of Troy, Hephaestus,
Minos, The Muses, The
Graces

5. There once was a king
named Acrisius, who
had a beautiful
daughter
named Danae. The
Oracle
of Apollo told Acrisius t
hat there would come a
day when Danae's son
would kill him; so he
locked Danae in a
bronze tower so that
she would never marry
or have children.
Acrisius
Danae
Delphi, the oracle

6. The tower had no
doors, except for one
very small
window. Danae was
very sad, until one
day, a bright golden
light came through
the small window;
a man appeared
holding a thunderbolt
in his hand and
although Danae knew
he was a god, she
didn't know which
one.

8. When king Acrisius heard
the baby , he cast his
daughter and grandson into
a wooden chest and set
them into the wild sea to
get drowned. However,
Zeus saw Danae and asked
Poseidon to calm the sea
water. Indeed, the sea
calmed down and after a
few days, Danae and son
landed on the island of
Serifos. There Dictys, a
fisherman and brother of
the island's king, found
them and took them to his
home, where they would
be safe.

9. Perseus grew up into a
fine young man under the
care of the kind fisherman
Dictys. In the meanwhile,
King Polydectes began to
be inflamed by passion for
Danae, who was still a
charming lady. Danae,
however, did not wish this
marriage. Polydectes
thought that the presence
of Perseus was an obstacle
for Danae and that is why
she didn’t wish to get
married. He set up a plan
to get rid of the man.
King Polydectes

10. He challenged Perseus to
dare a difficult task, to
kill the fearsome Gorgon
Medusa and bring back
her head. Gorgon
Medousa was a terrible
monster with snakes in
her head and she could
turn into stone everyone
that looked her face. By
killing Medousa, Perseus
would prove his
braveness, as fits to the
son of Zeus.

11. The Gorgons were
three monsters in Greek
mythology, daughters of
Echidna and Typhon, the
mother and father of
all monsters respectively. Their
names were Stheno, Euryale,
and the most famous of
them, Medusa. Although the
first two were
immortal, Medusa was not.

12. In his despair, a tall woman
and a young man with winged
sandals appeared and
introduced themselves as
goddess Athena and
god Hermes. Hermes said that
they were all siblings
as Perseus was in fact the son
of Zeus, so they would help
him in his quest;
so Hermes offered him
his winged sandals and the
sickle that was used
by Cronus to castrate Uranus;
while Athena gave him her
shield, so that Perseus would
not have to look straight
into Medusa's eyes.

13. When he cut Medusa’s
head off, from the drops
of her blood suddenly
appeared two offspring:
Pegasus, a winged
horse, and Chrysaor, a
giant or a winged boar.
It’s believed that those
two were Medusa’s
children with Poseidon.

14. Perseus,
Andromeda
and
Cetus

15. In Ethiopia

16. Andromeda
The desperate king
consulted the Oracle of
Apollo, who announced
that no respite would
be found until the king
sacrificed his daughter,
Andromeda, to the
monster. Stripped
naked, she was chained
to a rock on the coast.
Andromeda

17. Perseus was returning
from having slain
the Gorgon Medusa.
After he happened
upon the chained
Andromeda, he
approached Cetus
while invisible (for he
was wearing Hades's
helm), and killed the
sea monster.

18. Perseus and Andromeda had
seven sons: Perses, Alcaeus,
Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelus,
Electryon, and Cynurus as
well as two daughters,
Autochthe and Gorgophone.
Their descendants ruled
Mycenae from Electryon
down to Eurystheus, after
whom Atreus attained the
kingdom, and would also
include the great hero
Heracles. According to this
mythology, Perseus is the
ancestor of the Persians.

19. In some accounts,
the Greeks
imagined that
when Perseus,
Andromeda and
Cassiopeia died
their images
were put into the
night sky as
constellations or
groups of stars.