The Story of Perseus BY: Emma M., Abbinav M, Adam K,

Brandon S, Athan J, JaredGroup 2

1st block

Heroic Qualities• Optimistic about

what he wishes to accomplish

• Clever and witty

• Bravery

• Cunning

• Perseverance

Heroic Flaws

• Constantly doing dangerous things without thinking it through beforehand.

• Close-minded (journey to Medusa)

• Foolish

Story Event 1 Acrisius the King of Argos,

father of Danae His daughter Danae would have

a son and would kill him Acrisius didn’t want to kill his

daughter so he imprisoned her. Then Zeus came from the sky

and made love with Danae After a few months came

Perseus Acrisius found out and sent her

and Perseus away at sea in a box

Acrisius, King of Argos

Story Event 2 As daylight faded and time

passed by Zeus decided to bring them to safety

When Danae and Perseus hit shore they were taken in by Dictys

Dictys took great care of them

They stayed with Dictys for many years

Then Dictys brother shows up and his name is Polydectes

Polydectes wanted only Danae and her alone

Story Event 3 Polydectes created a plan to get

rid of Perseus Polydectes proposes to Danae

and invites everyone to the wedding even Perseus

Perseus had no gifts to give them but had an idea of what Polydectes said before

So Perseus set his mind to go kill a gorgon named Medusa

Perseus traveled across the land in search for the location

Story Event 4 He went to a place called

Dodonna, the land of the oak trees

There is where he found out about the two gods that were watching over Perseus

Their names are Hermes and Athena

Hermes appears before Perseus and tells him to be equipped

Hermes then decided to help Perseus out himself with the nymphs

Story Event 5 Hermes then gives Perseus a sword that

would not be bent nor broken to attack the gorgons

Athena then comes in and gives Perseus a shield to use as a mirror to fight the gorgon

Perseus then encounters the Gray Women and snatches the third eye out of one the three sisters

The women then reveal the nymphs of the North's location

Story Event 6 Hermes then helped Perseus to fly over

the location and there was the three gorgons.

Standing beside him was Athena who told him which was Medusa because the other two were immortal

Knowing that Perseus used his shoes that Hermes provided to fly above Medusa

Perseus then Strikes with the sword as Athena Guided his hand and cuts her head right off

Story Event 7 The other two gorgons then awoken from

their sleep and searched for Perseus Perseus had on the cap of darkness and

so they were unable to find him After wards he meets a beautiful lady

named Andromeda and fell in love instantly

But there was a snake that was going to kill Andromeda

Perseus stood by her side and slayed the snakes head off like Medusas

Story Event 8 He then took Andromeda home and

asked her hand in marriage and they gladly gave it to Perseus

On his way home he finds Dictys wife dead and no one to be found in the house which he grew up in

Dictys and Danae were in a refuge in a temple because Danae had refused to marry Polydectes

Perseus then hears that Polydectes is holding a banquet for all the men who favored him

Story Event 9 Perseus attends to the banquet and reveals

Medusas head and turns everyone into stone Everyone on the island was finally free from

Polydectes Perseus then hears about an athletic contest

that King Larissa is holding Acrisius attends to this contest to meet the

King Perseus entered to participate in the Discus

throwing and ends up throwing it straight to Acrisius not knowing who he was

Story Event 10 After Acrisius their troubles are

no more. Perseus and Andromeda lived

happily ever after Their son, Electryon, became

the grandfather of Hercules Athena was given Medusas head

and Zeus’s shield to carry for him

Motifs and Themes• The basic theme of this

story is determination conquers all. With Perseus’s confidence and wit, he was able to do the impossible.

Motifs• Courage• Perseverance• Determination

• Self- reliance• Confidence• Assertive• Headstrong

Major Archetypes• The Hero – Perseus rescues Andromeda, Zeus also brought the

two to safety at shore• The Villian – King Polydectes (or Medusa)• The Wise Old Man – Dictys helped Perseus and Denae to shore

and took care of them• Damsel in Distress – Danae when put in refuge by Polydectes

and Andromeda when rescued from the snakes by Perseus• The Innocent – Perseus began as just a boy but developed into

a hero much larger• The Helpful “Animal”- Hermes and Athena helped supply

Perseus with supplies to shield him and kill Medusa• The Temptress- Andromeda could also be known as this,

distracts Perseus from getting the head of Medusa to Polydectes

Major Archetypes (cont.)

• Trickster – Perseus, without thought, went against what was safe in order to do what he thought he should

• The Sea – symbolized a measure of time that Perseus and Danae were in the box

• Islands – Dodonna, island of Medusa• Supernatural Intervention – Zeus,

Athena, and Hermes coming to the demi-god, Perseus’s, rescue

Story SummationBecause of Perseus’s strong will and confidence in himself, he was able to conquer the unthinkable with the help of the gods watching over him. With determination came conquer in his actions. He was able to deliver the Medusa head back to the evil King Polydectes, stone him to death, rescue Andromeda, and free the people of the land from Polydectes.

Cultural ValuesThe Basic Lesson, or cultural value, of the story of Perseus was with a lot of determination and confidence, you can conquer all. Because gods treasure the trait of obedience very much and because of Polydectes evil task given to Perseus, Zeus and his helpers assisted Perseus in his journey to get the head of Medusa, fulfilling his fate as a true hero.