Upper left: Perseus and Athena with the head of Medusa. Apulian red figure krater ( Taporley Painter). 400-385 BCE. MFA—Boston. Upper right: still from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (2010). Lower left: Perseus, by Benevuto Cellini, 1554. Loggia dei Lanzi (Florenc) Lower right: terra-cotta relief of Perseus, Gorgon-head, and Minerva. Roman, 36-28 BCE. Temple of Apollo Palatinus. Palatine Museum. The Quest Hero: Introduction to Perseus Some Greek heroes, like Heracles and Theseus, undertake a number of difficult labors throughout their lives. Other Greek heroes are best known for one great exploit or accomplishment, which requires them to embark on a journey into the unknown. These heroes are known as quest heroes, and their myths sometimes share common elements and plot points. In fact, some scholars have argued that the quest myth follows a predictable narrative pattern, sometimes called the “monomyth” or “one and only myth. One of the most ancient quest heroes is Perseus, the son of Zeus and grandfather of Heracles. © K. De Boer (2018) Conception & Birth Perseus is (according to mythological chronology) the oldest Greek hero. He is the son of Zeus by the mortal woman Danaë. Danaë’s father had heard a prophecy that his grandson would be his undoing, so he locked his daughter in a tower to keep her from conceiving a child. Zeus, however, was able to enter the tower as a rain of gold coins.When Danaë’s father discovered she had born a child, he locked them both in a chest and set it adrift on the ocean. Miraculously, both mother Zeus impregnating Danae. Boeotian red-figure bell krater, and infant survive. c. 450-425 BCE. Louvre. The story of Perseus’ conception and infancy recalls other Greek myths of conflict between generations: like Ouranos, Kronos, and Zeus, Perseus’ grandfather tries to forestall a threat from the younger generation by controlling female reproduction. We might also recall the hero Oedipus, exposed at birth to foil a prophecy that he would kill his father. Perseus’ birth- narrative is therefore part of a larger pattern in Greek mythology. Left: the chest being prepared for Perseus and Danae. Athenian red-figure hydria, c. 5th c. BCE. MFA—Boston. The miraculous survival of the infant hero is also a frequent motif in heroic stories: we might recall Heracles (who survives the snakes sent by his jealous stepmother Hera) or even Superman/Kal-El (the only survivor of Krypton). Another stage of heroic narratives is the “Call to Adventure.” In Perseus’ case, this comes when a wicked king challenges him to undertake an impossible task: he must retrieve the head of the Gorgon Medusa. The king’s demand is really a plot to get rid of Perseus so he can marry Danaë against her will. Perseus undertakes the quest both to save his mother and to win glory (Greek: kleos). Perseus and Medusa Medusa is the only mortal of the three Gorgon sisters. Their name comes from the word meaning “dreadful,” and their faces were believed to be so hideous that they turned viewers to stone. The “Gorgoneion,” or Gorgon’s head, is therefore often placed on objects and buildings as an apotropaic symbol (from the Greek word “turning away,” meaning that it was meant to deflect enemies). Gorgons are also often depicted with various other monstrous features, including wings, claws, and tusks. Most dramatically, Gorgons have venomous snakes instead of hair. Before he can face the Gorgon, Perseus must first overcome other obstacles. Athena advises him to find the Hesperides, three nymphs who can help him defeat Medusa. In order to find the Hesperides, Perseus must first visit the Graeae (“Gray Sisters”), three immortal old women who share a single eye and tooth. Perseus steals their eye and ransoms it in exchange for information about the location of the Hesperides. The presence of female helpers is another common element of heroic journeys. Gorgoneion on Athenian red-figure hydria, 5th c. BCE. British Museum. Who is Medusa? Early Greek myth imagines Medusa and her sisters as hideous monsters. Yet in later versions, they came to be depicted as beautiful but deadly. The Roman mythographer Ovid relates that Medusa was an extraordinarily beautiful young woman who was raped by Neptune (Poseidon) in the temple of Minerva (Athena). Unable to punish a fellow god for the desecration of her temple, Minerva punished Medusa instead, cursing her with her snaky hair and petrifying gaze. Rihanna as Medusa on the cover of GQ. December 2013. Facing Medusa The Hesperides gave Perseus a special knapsack for Medusa’s decapitated head. He also received (whether from the Hesperides or other divine helpers) a curved sword (harpē), the winged sandals of Hermes, and Hades’ helm of invisibility. Athena gave him a mirrored shield so he could see Medusa without facing her deadly gaze. Using these tools, Perseus is able to slay the Gorgon and take her head. He presents it to Athena, who wears it on her breastplate or shield (aegis) Perseus pursues Medusa. Attic black figure kyathos, attributed to the Theseus painter. ever afterward. ca. 510-500 BCE. Getty Museum. Perseus absconds with the head of Medusa. Athena looks on. Athenian red figure hydria, ca. 5th c. BCE. British Museum. The etymology of Perseus’ name is difficult. It may be so ancient What’s in that it derives from a pre-Greek language. However, some scholars derive Perseus from the Greek word πέρθειν (perthein), meaning a name? “to ravage” or “to destroy.” Perseus would therefore mean something like “the destroyer.” Perseus and Andromeda On his way home from defeating Medusa, Perseus spots a beautiful young woman chained to a cliff. Her name is Andromeda, and she has been left as a sacrifice to a deadly sea monster. Perseus uses Medusa’s head to turn the monster to stone and rescue Andromeda. He is then offered her hand in marriage—but it turns out Andromeda is already engaged to another man: her uncle Phineus. The jilted fiancé descends on the wedding feast of Perseus and Andromeda and attempts to reclaim his bride. Perseus again uses the Gorgon’s head and turns Phineus and his men to stone. Perseus thus not only overpowers Medusa, but turns her into a weapon, which he then uses to destroy his enemies and win his bride. Defeating the monstrous feminine, he becomes master of her deadly gaze. Like many heroic narratives, both ancient and modern, Perseus’ myth ends with romance and wedding. Left: Andromeda chained (upper register); Perseus faces the sea monster (lower register). Apulian red figure loutrophoros. 340-330 BCE. Getty Museum. Right: Andromeda by Gustave Doré, 1869. Private collection. Perseus interacts with four distinct types of women: Danaë Women of the (mother), Athena (virgin), Medusa (monster), and Perseus myth Andromeda (wife). His story may therefore be considered a myth about male experience of the feminine. Limestone sarcophagus with Chrysaor and Pegasus emerging from Medusa holding Pegasus and Chrysaor. Terracotta altar Medusa’s neck. Cyprus, c. 475-460 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art. from Gela. Mid-6th c. BCE. Museo Archeologico Regionale. Medusa and Female Sexuality The founder of modern psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, saw Medusa as the embodiment of threatening female sexuality. He argued that her terrifying head (surrounded by snakes) represented the vulva (surrounded by pubic hair). Further, the sight of her turns men to stone (i.e. makes them hard), which Freud saw as a way of representing the male fear of vulnerability in the face of female sexuality. Although this may seem far-fetched, Freud’s thesis finds support in the story that the decapitated Medusa produces offspring from her severed neck: Chrysaor (“Golden Sword”), an anthropomorphic male born with a sword in his hand, and the winged horse Pegasus. The idea that Medusa can reproduce even after death—and that she reproduces from the stump of her head—suggests that she does embody an overwhelming fertility and that her head, rather than her genitals, is her site of reproduction. As a sexual monster, Medusa would represent the opposite of Andromeda, Perseus’ eventual bride: Medusa embodies monstrous, threatening female sexuality, while Andromeda embodies anthropomorphic female sexuality, tamed by marriage and directed toward normative heterosexual reproduction. We might also recall that Perseus’ defeat of Medusa benefits Athena (who receives her head as an apotropaic talisman) and Danaë (who is rescued from marriage to the evil king). Perseus destroys the monstrous feminine to benefit three representatives of human femininity: virgin (Athena), wife (Andromeda), and mother (Danaë)..