Legends of the Stars

2

The Gorgon's Head

I n olden times Greece was not a unified country, as it is today. There were several kingdoms, and many of them were on bad terms with each other, so that wars were not at all unusual.

One of these kingdoms was Argos. Its ruler, Abas, was a great warrior, and he became so powerful that nobody even dreamed of disobeying him. Unfortunately he left not one son, but two. Protus and Acrisius were twins, and neither one would yield to the other. At first Protus was driven out, and made his way to King Iobates of Lycia (whom we shall meet again later).

'The land of Argos is mine,' said Protus proudly. 'My brother has no right to the throne. Give me an army, and I will be your friend for ever'.

King Iobates listened thoughtfully. He had no particular quarrel with Acrisius, but it would certainly be a good thing to have a friendly ruler next door to him; so he provided a strong force of men, and Protus led the way back into Argos. King Acrisius was ready for him, and there was a tremendous battle, in which so many soldiers were killed that both brothers saw that it would be senseless to go on fighting. They came to an agreement, by which they divided the land into two parts; Acrisius ruled one, and Protus the other.

King Acrisius had been badly frightened, and he knew that Protus would always be ready to attack him if possible.He needed a son to help him keep his country safe, but instead he had only a daughter, a beautiful girl named Danaë. So Acrisius did what he might have been expected to do; he went and consulted the Oracle.

When the gods of Olympus wished to talk to mortal men, they did so by means of an Oracle. The messages they sent were sometimes very muddled, but on this occasion Acrisius was given a straight answer to his question. No, he would never have a son; but he would have a grandson - and one day that grandson would kill him.

Acrisius was more frightened than ever, but for the moment there was nothing he could do except hope that Danaë would never have a child. Then, unhappily for herself, Danaë gave birth to a son. Acrisius looked at the baby boy, and was tempted to kill him there and then. He was a hard-hearted man, but even so he could not quite bring himself to kill his grandson at once. Instead, he shut both Danaë and the boy inside a wooden chest, and ordered it to be thrown into the sea, to drift wherever the ocean currents took it.

This was bad enough, and we can find no excuse for Acrisius, even though we may suppose that he felt ashamed of himself as he stood on the cliff and watched the wooden chest being carried farther and farther out to sea. At last he could glimpse it no more, and he turned back to his palace, feeling that he had made himself safe. It could not be long before the chest sank, taking Danaë and her boy to the bottom of the ocean.

What Acrisius did not know was that Jupiter, king of the gods, had been watching from above. Jupiter was able to control the sea - even though his brother Neptune was god of the waters - and he kept the ocean calm, so that instead of sinking the wooden chest drifted on. At last it was washed up on the beach of the island of Seriphos, where it was found by a fisherman named Dictys.

Dictys was surprised to see a wooden chest floating towards him, and even more surprised when he opened it and found a girl and a baby inside. Both were still alive, though they were exhausted and hungry, and Dictys at once took them to his house, giving them food and drink and promising to take care of them until they had fully recovered. 'What brings you here in this strange way?' he asked. 'Perhaps you have been shipwrecked? I am only a fisherman, but my brother Polydectes is king of this island, and if you wish I will take you to him.'

'I am a royal princess,' said Danaë proudly. 'My father is King Acrisius, of whom you have certainly heard. He must never know that I am alive, or he will send his men to hunt me down. Let us stay here, good Dictys, and live in peace.'

'That I will do,' said Dictys at once. 'My brother Polydectes must be told, but he is no friend of King Acrisius, and you will be quite safe. This is not a rich island, but at least there are none of your enemies here.'

So Danaë and her baby, who was named Perseus, lived quietly on Seriphos. As Perseus grew up, he became a tall, handsome boy who beat all his companions at running, and wrestling, and rowing; he was a musician too, and his good nature delighted all those whom he met. Acrisius, far away in Argos, had not the slightest idea that the grandson whom he had tried to kill had turned into one of the bravest and cleverest youths in all Greece.

Everything went well until Perseus was fifteen, but then he and Danaë were threatened with a new danger.

The trouble this time came from King Polydectes, who was by no means as good a man as his brother Dictys. Polydectes' wife had died, and the king wished to marry Danaë, who was a beautiful woman, as well as being of royal blood. Danaë did not want to become the king's wife, and when Polydectes asked her to marry him she refused at once. 'I can never marry again,' she pleaded. 'All my love is kept for Perseus, my boy. Do not keep on asking me, I beg you; my answer will always be the same.'

Polydectes pretended to agree, but there and then he made up his mind to get rid of Perseus. Without a son, Danaë might well change her decision; besides, the king did not dare to carry her off by force so long as Perseus was nearby.

Polydectes thought long and hard, until at last he hit upon a plan. He told his subjects that, since Danaë would not become his queen, he meant to take another princess as a bride, and he asked all his people to bring him a gift so that he could offer the princess some handsome presents. 'I am not a wealthy man, even though I am your king,' he said, 'and I know that you will help me. One horse from each of you - that is all I ask.'

Polydectes then gave a great banquet, to which all his subjects were invited. Dictys and Danaë were there, of course, and so was Perseus, who stood out at once because of his tall figure, even though he was wearing rough sailor's dress. One by one the people brought Polydectes their presents, but when it came to Perseus's turn there was a sudden silence.

'I have no present for you, my lord,' said Perseus simply. 'I would have brought one, but I have no money or land.'

Polydectes scowled. 'This is a fine way to behave,' he said angrily. 'You have been made welcome here, and you have lived on my island since you were cast up on the shore many years ago. You show little gratitude, young man.'

'I am not ungrateful,' said Perseus, looking at Dictys uncomfortably. 'I would bring you any gift in the world, if it were within my power to do so.'

Polydectes paused, and a smile came to his thin lips. 'Do not be so boastful. I can think of many gifts which you would certainly not want to bring to me, and I fear that you are untruthful as well as ungrateful.'

Perseus drew himself up. 'That is a lie, my lord, and I will obey any command that you care to give me.'

Polydectes stood up on the steps of his throne, and thrust his head forward. 'Very well, young man, I will take you at your word. Go, then, and bring me back the head of Medusa, the Gorgon!'

At once there was a murmur from the crowd, and Dictys turned pale, while Danaë let out a cry of despair. All of them knew that Polydectes was asking for the most dangerous gift in the whole world. Medusa was one of the three sisters who lived in a far-off land; the Gorgons, as they were called, had the bodies of women but snakes instead of hair, while their glances were so terrible that a single look at them was enough to turn any man into a block of stone. Even to come within sight of the Gorgons meant certain death, and to creep up on them unseen was almost impossible. Perseus knew this quite well, but he was too brave and too proud to draw back.

'I accept your challenge, my lord,' he said in a bold, loud voice. 'Give me a little time, and I will be back, bringing with me the Gorgon's head. I will show you that I am neither a boaster nor a coward.'

Polydectes laughed, and so did his courtiers and friends, but Perseus did not care. He turned and strode out of the great hall, the king's laughter ringing in his ears. He was not afraid; he had given his promise, and he meant to keep it.

Yet where could he start? The Gorgons were far away, and to reach their land would be difficult enough even if he knew which route to take. 'It will mean going on a ship,' thought Perseus to himself, 'but that means I must have a crew, and who will dream of coming with me on an errand such as this?' Deep in thought, he made his way up to the top of the cliff which overlooked the sea-coast, and he stared out across the water towards the setting sun.

Suddenly he gave a cry of surprise. A tall, beautiful woman was standing close beside him, dressed in long blue robes and carrying a shield and a spear. Her expression was serious, and yet Perseus knew at once that she was to be his friend. There, too, was a young man hardly older than Perseus himself, who looked thorough cheerful and mischievous, and who seemed ready to burst out laughing at any moment. In his hand was a long staff, and Perseus could see that there were live snakes coiled around it.

'Who are you?' he asked fearlessly. 'I think you are not mortals, and that you come from Olympus.'

'Of course we're gods, which is lucky for you,' said the young man cheerfully. 'You should recognise Minerva, surely? Don't be put...