{Perseus

By: Scottie Finanger, Nadia Neman, Autumn Yarmosh, Sami Pardo, Gayathri Das

Heroic Qualities Flaws

• Bravery- Perseus shows bravery on his task to find and get Medusas head. He was also brave in reaching out to rescue Andromeda from the sea

• Clever- Perseus is very clever in the way he kills Medusa, Perseus has to stick to a clever plan made by Hermes and Athena to be very precise in how he cuts off her head so he doesn’t look at her and get turned into stone.

• Perseverance- Despite all the barriers in Perseus's way he still continues on his way even when it seemed impossible to deliver Medusas head to the king he trudged on and accomplished his mission.

• Prideful- Perseus was led by “angry pride” to make the decision to go get Medusa’s Head and really could have put him in danger if it weren't for the 2 gods, Hermes and Athena who watched over him in the killing of Medusa. He constantly has to rely on the gods in the story to save him.

• Naïve – Perseus is the only one without a gift at the wedding so he says he will bring the head of medusa the biggest prize of all putting him on the journey. Since Perseus is naïve and doesn’t know much going on his journey he gets into trouble by being curious and naïve. Luckily for Perseus he has 2 gods looking over him to guide the way and they keep him from dying.

Journey to find the Grey Women The Grey Women alone knew where to find

the Nymphs abode Finds the 3 Grey Women who share only 1

eye between them Perseus takes the eye, says he won’t give

it back until they tell him where to find the North Nymphs

Journey

Quest to get Medusa’s Head Perseus arrives at Polydecte’s marriage celebration gift less Is thoroughly embarrassed- vows to bring the head of Medusa Realizes he doesn’t know how to do this Athena and Hermes intervene

Hermes tells Perseus to find the Grey Women to figure out where the abode of the North Nymphs is

Gifts from the Nymphs of the North Nymphs give Perseus 3 gifts- winged sandals, a cap that made

the wearer invisible and a magic wallet that always became the right size

JOURNEY: Finding the Grey Women Uses sandals to reach the Island of Medusa and her sisters Beheads Medusa by looking at her reflection in his shield and

cutting off her head Escaped the wrath of her sisters with the help of the magic cap Returns to Polydecte’s palace with Medusa’s head- turns everyone

to stone

Quest

Fate Will Prevail- Even though King Acrisius did all he could to keep Perseus from fulfilling fate and killing him, he ended up dying at his hand(though it was unintentional).

Karma- Polydectes tried to trick Perseus into getting himself killed by a Gorgon, but in the end was ironically killed with Medusa’s head himself.

Rags to Riches- Perseus went from being nobody, abandoned with his mother by his grandfather, to powerful and well respected because he got the head and killed the evil king. He also, of course, got the girl.

Motifs and Themes

In Greek culture, prophecy will always prove to be true and vile deeds will always result in a severe consequence.

King Acrisius was indeed killed, and Polydectes (with the help of the gods) was DEFINITELY severely punished.

Cultural Conclusions

The Sea: represents danger/unknown Perseus and his mother Danae were set into the sea

with no idea where they were going; could have ended up anywhere with anyone

Perseus found Andromeda chained by the sea; danger soon arrived in the form of a sea serpent

The Island: represents isolation Dictys lived on an island by himself; was isolated in

the sense that his brother the king didn’t acknowledge his existence

Medusa and her sisters lived on an island; isolation represents danger because of their separation from mortals

Major Setting Archetypes

Supernatural Intervention- Athena & Hermes helped him along on his way. Hermes told him that he must find the nymphs of the North and gave him a sword that could not be bent or broken by the Gorgon’s scales. Athena gave him a reflective shield to look into as he attacked Medusa. They were both at his side as he did the deed, and guided him through it. Zeus was also the father of Perseus.

Major Archetypes

Serpent: the relevance of the serpent that was going to kill andromodea is evil and destruction. If it had killed her then perseus couldn’t have been with her.

Black: the purpose of this color: in describing where the ammerians were, is to portray that the mystery of what might happen and the evil we would find in the monster.

Major Archetypes (Symbols)

The story of Perseus is an inverse fairytale. This means that the story resembles a classic fairytale, but with a

twist. Perseus resembles the fairytale Cinderella, but unlike Cinderella,

Perseus is a boy. The story of Cinderella resembles Perseus in many ways. Both come from dysfunctional families; Perseus’ grandfather sent

him out to sea to die. Perseus, like Cinderella, has a “rags to riches” transformation; he

comes from nothing yet returns triumphant with the head of Medusa in the end.

Perseus is also naïve and inexperienced like Cinderella, but after he journeys with the gods to slay Medusa, he gains wisdom and knowledge.

Cinderella had a fairy godmother that provided her with a beautiful dress and carriage to go to the ball and Perseus had two powerful gods, Hermes and Athena. They provided the materials necessary for slaying Medusa.

In the end good overcomes evil for both heroes. Like Cinderella, Perseus is triumphant and lives happily ever after.

Story Summation

Perseus is about the fate of the gods. Perseus’ grandfather feared an oracle that said his

grandson would kill him. He did all he could to prevent the birth of a grandson, but his attempts were futile and Perseus born.

The grandfather sent Perseus and his mother out to sea, hoping they would die, but they didn’t.

In the end the grandfather is accidently killed by Perseus. The message of this story is that no matter how hard you

try to escape your fate you can’t. You can’t change or ignore the fate that the gods have assigned to you. You must accept it.

Story Summation (continued)

The End