However, he preferred a much humbler and simpler life than his brother.
Perseus’ mortal father was Danaos and his mother was Danae, the daughter of Akrisios (or Acrisius), the king of Argos.

When one of them was about to give the eye and the tooth to one of the others, Perseus grabbed them and blackmailed the Graeae to aid him. On his way back to Seriphos, Perseus encountered the Titan Atlas and turned him into a stony mountain; afterward, he killed the sea-monster Cetus and, thus, earned the hand of the Aethiopian princess Andromeda, who was supposed to be sacrificed to him. The task seemed an impossible one, but here Perseus received guidance from the gods. The King of Argos, Acrisius, visited the oracle of Delphi, in the hopes of having a male heir. Cartwright, M. (2012, October 21).

However, Zeus, seeing Danae and stirred by her beauty, disguised himself as a shaft of golden sunlight and impregnated her.

The only way to appease the god and forestall disaster was to sacrifice Andromeda to the coming monster. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Polydektes immediately challenged Perseus to make good on his promise and if he failed, then the king would take possession of his mother Danae. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. So, he went to Megapenthes who ruled at Tyrins and made an exchange with him, surrendering Argos into his hands and getting Tyrins in return. Naturally, the Graiai wanted their eye back, so Perseus got what he wanted and in addition, Hermes gave him a special sickle (harpe) of adamantine to do the deadly deed. Fully aware that Medusa’s head was still potent, Perseus quickly thrust it into his magic bag and, using the power of his winged sandals, managed to escape the golden-winged Gorgons, who disgruntledly returned to their lair to mourn their sister. "Perseus." Perses was the Titan god of destruction.

Cartwright, Mark. Guided by the goddess, Perseus raised the sickle and violently struck off Medusa’s head. In some accounts the hero wanted to know the whereabouts of Medusa, in other versions he asks the Graiai where he could find the nymphs who had the cap of Hades, which made its wearer invisible, and winged sandals or boots so that he might fly. By this time, Perseus was done with his obligations to fate, but fate didn’t seem done with her obligations to him. The next day, Polydectes held a feast.

He will be killed by his grandson.

He was wed to Asteria (daughter of Phoebe and Coeus).

He famously slew the dreaded Gorgon Medusa whose gaze could turn men to stone, an exploit he swiftly followed up with the daring rescue of the princess Andromeda from a monstrous sea-creature sent by Poseidon to terrorize the kingdom of Ethiopia. Unable to bear ruling Argos and perhaps haunted by memories of his past, Perseus swapped his kingship for that of Tiryns from where he went on to found the nearby city of Mycenae.

Having no choice but to oblige, the Graeae informed Perseus that he should go and visit certain nymphs of the north, who not only knew the location of the Gorgons but also owned winged sandals and a kibisis, probably something akin to a magic, impenetrable bag. To his utter amazement, a golden-sworded soldier and a winged horse sprung out of her neck – Medusa’s two unborn children, conceived during her union with the sea god Poseidon at a time when she was still a beautiful mortal. Most of their descendants became great kings, the greatest of them all being Heracles, their great-grandson, the most famous of all Greek heroes. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Polydectes exiled him and ordered him to return only upon killing the only mortal Gorgon, Medusa, and bring back her head as a gift. More than furious, Perseus stormed to Polydectes’ palace, and, upon finding the king and his attendants feasting all together, he raised Medusa's head “and all who beheld it were turned to stone, each in the attitude which he happened to have struck.” After making Dictys king in the place of his petrified brother, Perseus returned the divine items he had held in his possession, gifting the Gorgon’s head to the goddess Athena who subsequently put it in the center of her shield, aegis, to be its most recognizable emblem forevermore. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 21 Oct 2012. Greek Mythology iOS Volume Purchase Program VPP for Education App. Cartwright, Mark. Perseus’ later exploits included accidentally killing his grandfather with a quoit whilst competing in a sporting competition at Larisa in Thessaly. The three Gorgons were born from Gaia and Okeanos and of the three sisters - Sthenno, Euryale, and Medusa - only the latter was mortal. Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë, the daughter of Acrisius of Argos. His name is derived from the Ancient Greek word perthō (πέρθω – "to sack", "to ravage", "to destroy"), the fact of which may have given scholars the impression that Perses was perhaps the Titan god of destruction.

The three old witches shared one tooth and one eye between them and Perseus stole the eye, promising to return it only if the Graiai told him certain facts which would help him on his perilous mission.

Zeus did not abandon his filial duties, though, and a quiet word with Poseidon ensured sufficiently calm seas, so that the chest washed up safely on the shores of the Aegean island of Seriphos and was found by Diktys, a fisherman who took them in and cared for the castaways. Perseus swiftly dealt with this obstacle by showing the head to Phineus which turned him to stone, too. In the mid-6th century BCE a Chalcidian amphora shows Perseus receiving his hat, sandals, and bag, various scenes appear of Perseus with Andromeda and in the 5th century BCE, Attic vases commonly depict Danae and Perseus in the wooden chest and scenes with Perseus and the Graiai. It appears on pottery, sculpture, shields, and monumental architecture, and one of the most celebrated representations of a Gorgon comes from the pediment of the Temple of Artemis on Corfu (c. 580 BCE). Polydectes, furious upon the hero's return, ordered him to present the head as a wedding gift. Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter's son. In ancient Greek art, Perseus, wearing his hat, winged sandals, and the kibisis over his shoulder, first appears with Medusa on pottery in the late 7th century BCE. Enraged by this boast, Athena promptly changed the beauty into an awful Gorgon. Before Perseus traveled to the island of the Gorgons, he first went to the land of Hyperborea where he received three special items: a magic wallet (to place Medusa's severed head in once she's vanquished), a pair of winged sandals (to travel back to his home), and an invisible cap (to hide himself from her immortal sisters, Euryale and Sthenno ).