King Acrisius of Argos had an incredibly beautiful daughter, Danae, but when he consulted the oracle at Delphi in search of a son, he not only received a negative answer, but was also told that his son would one day kill him. As soon as she returned to Argos, she locked her in a bronze tower that only had a very small window, but one morning a ray of sunlight passed through this narrow gap and, transforming into golden rain, the divine Zeus himself appeared. A few months later the princess gave birth to a child, Perseus and therefore Acrisio locked mother and son in a box and threw them into the sea that later reached the island of Seriphos. There the fisherman Dictys welcomed them and they lived with him and his wife for years until one day, King Polidectes saw Danae and wanted to marry her. Deciding to get rid of Perseus, he organized a great party and asked his guests to bring a gift that the young man could not and the king, anticipating this moment, told Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa. This monster had cheeky claws, golden wings, a boar’s tusk, and snakes protruding from its head instead of hair, while one look in its eyes would turn anyone to stone.
In this search, Hermes and Athena helped Perseus locate the Graeae, three old women who lived in a land of perpetual darkness without a moon or stars. They had only one eye that they constantly fought for and Perseus waited for one of them to tear out his eye to give it to the other. When they all went blind, he snatched it from them and when they proposed a deal, they reluctantly told him how to find the Nymphs of the North. Later, these Nypmhs received Perseus with great joy and gave him the winged sandals and the Cap of Darkness that had the power to make the wearer invisible along with the magic wallet that took the form of what it contained. When they reached the island of the Gorgons, the hideous creatures were asleep and Hermes showed him which of the three was Medusa. Raising the sword of Hermes Persues he pointed looking at the monster through the reflection in Athena’s shield. He beheaded Medusa and threw her head into the bag the Nymphs had given him, but when the two Gorgons decided to pursue him, Perseus remained invisible with his helmet.
On his return trip, Perseus flying over Ethiopia rescued the king’s daughter, the beautiful Andromeda, from the monster that ravaged his country. After marrying the princess, Perseus set sail for Seriphos where bad news awaited for his mother Danae and Dictys had to hide in the temple to escape the king’s wrath. The king was holding a banquet when Perseus entered the palace and pulled Medusa’s head out of the bag and the Gorgon’s eyes met those of the king and his courtiers turning them to stone. Thus, Perseus saved his mother and liberated the land from the tyrant by enthroning Dictys, who was actually the brother of the ancient king.
As Danae wanted to reconcile with his father, the three headed to Argos, but Acrisius, hearing the arrival of his grandson, took refuge with his friend, the king of Larissa. The latter was organizing funeral games for the death of his father that attracted young people and Perseus participated in them. During the event, King Acrisius was among the spectators and in the discussion launch, Perseus accidentally killed his grandfather thus fulfilling Apollo’s prophecy. Refusing to ascend to the throne, Perseus changed it to that of Tiryns where he founded Mycenae; from him and Andromeda descended the kings of Mycenae in previous generations to the family of Atreus.