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Perseus: A Victim Or Villain?

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Perseus is one of the more well-known heroes of Greek mythology. Another son of Zeus, Perseus was is no way any less than his half-brother Heracles (Hamilton, 1942). Perseus is most well-known for two of his deeds; the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa, and the rescue of the princess Andromeda. Perseus’ maternal grandfather Acrisius was told that his daughter would birth a child who would be his cause of death. Afraid, he locked his daughter Danae up in a room, where supposedly Zeus heard her cries for help and appeared in front of her in a shower of gold, and subsequently impregnated her. Danae gave birth to her child in secret in that very room, but soon the cries of the baby reached Acrisius and Danae was caught (Hamilton, 1942). Murder and infanticide …show more content…

Although, she is widely touted as a villain, her story shows her as a victim turned monster (both literally and figuratively) by the gruesome turn of events in her life. According to legend, Medusa and her three sisters were priestesses of Athena and lived in one of her temples. Due to her immense beauty, Medusa was extremely well sought-after and had quite a few suitors. One of these suitors, unfortunately, turned out to be the sea god Poseidon (Freeman, 2013). It is one thing to reject a mortal, and a completely different one to reject an Olympian god. Poseidon, clearly have no sense of the word “consent”, raped Medusa at the temple of Athena, right at the foot of the goddess’ statue. One might think Medusa, being the victim, could have sook justice from the goddess she so devoutly worshipped. And indeed, Athena was enraged- but at the wrong being. Athena felt that the sanctity of her temple had been desecrated, and since she could not punish the god Poseidon, she turned her wrath on Medusa. Medusa’s two sisters chose to embrace the punishment along with her, and the three were turned into the dreaded gorgons, doomed to haunt the remains of the temple they once tended to. Although much isn’t said about her two sisters, there is an abundance of stories about Medusa, the most popular being that she could turn those into stone who looked her directly in the eye. Another one says that Medusa became pregnant

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The myth is the story of Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae. As a baby he and his mother were forced into a coffin by his grandfather, Acrisius, and were sent out into sea to perish. They didn 't drown, however, they floated to land until they were found by a king, Polydectes. The king fell in love with Perseus ' mother and wanted to wed her, her refused so she could spend time caring for her son. After Perseus had grown into a young man Polydectes sent him on a mission to kill Medusa in a hope it would bring Perseus ' death, the king thought that with her son gone the woman she loved would marry him.

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Poseidon saw the beautiful Medusa worshipping in the temple of Athena. Captivated by her sweet face and glorious, golden ringlets, Poseidon seduced and raped Medusa in the temple. The chaste Athena averted her eyes, but envious of Medusa's beauty and angered by the desecration of her temple, Athena enacted her revenge on Medusa by turning her face ugly and her curls to snakes. She cursed Medusa so that anyone looking upon her would be turned to stone.

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