Name:______Date:______Period:______
Perseus
Identify the following characters.
Acrisius Athena Danae Gray (Gorgon) Sisters Polydectes Perseus Medusa Zeus
1.Acrisius King of Argos who heard from the oracle that he would be killed by a boy
2.Zeus Lord of all the gods
3.Danae Beautiful woman who was thrown into a chest in the ocean with her young son
4. Polydectes Man who wanted to marry Danae
5.Gray Sisters Fooled into telling Perseus how to find Medusa
6.Medusa A gorgon who turned people into stone with one look
7.Athena Goddess who gave Perseus a shiny shield
8.Perseus Half man and half god who cut off the head of Medusa
9. Describe Perseus’ conflict.
Perseus experienced several conflicts. He was feared by his grandfather and so spent his early years locked in a room with his mother. Later he and his mother were tossed into a chest in the sea. Once on the island, he had to deal with the greedy Polydectes who wanted to get rid of him and marry his mother. The central conflict of both the short story and the movie was Perseus’ quest to bring back the head of Medusa.
10. What obstacles did Perseus face in solving this conflict?
Perseus faced several obstacles in his attempt to slay Medusa. First, he needed to locate Medusa. He also needed three magical things that were owned by the nymphs of the North, but he didn’t’ know where the nymphs lived. He also needed to make certain that he didn’t look at Medusa or else he would die.
11. How did Perseus overcome these obstacles? (Give 3 specific details)
Perseus overcame his many obstacles with help of the gods and goddesses as well as determination. Hermes showed Perseus where Medusa lived and helped him get there with winged sandals. Perseus discovered the location of the nymphs by taking the one eye of the Gray Sisters and refusing to give it back until they told him the location of the nymphs. Perseus obtained the three magical things from the nymphs because they wanted him to kill Medusa. Finally, he was able to kill Medusa by skillfully remembering to use his shield, a gift from Athena to protect himself from gazing at Medusa.
12. Identify words or actions that demonstrate how Perseus persevered.
Killing Medusa was an impossible task. “No man who had ever set out to kill Medusa had come back, and the king was sure that now he was forever rid of Perseus.” Yet, Perseus succeeded in this task even though it required many challenges. Perseus also persevered by traveling far away. “He went over land and over sea…” He persevered when confronting the three Gray sisters. He showed determination when he told the sisters, “You will never get it back unless you tell me the way to the nymphs of the north.” When rescuing Andromeda, he didn’t hesitate to strike the sea monster or use the head of Medusa to kill Andromeda’s suitor and his warriors.
13. Compare and contrast the short story and the video clip. Give 2 similarities and 2 differences.
The short story provided more background information about before Perseus was born as well as additional information about how Perseus rescued and married Andromeda and the appearance of Pegasus, the winged horse. Yet, Perseus’ encounter with Atlas was in the video but not in the short story. There were slight changes in some of the names as well. Danae is called Danaus in the short story and the Gray Sisters are called the Gorgon Sisters in the video. Both the short story and the video include the slaying of Medusa as the main conflict in which Perseus succeeds with much determination and support from the gods and goddesses. Perseus is portrayed as a hero in both versions. Last, a happy ending is included in both versions.