Greek myth · 声匠改编 · 4:22
Perseus and Medusa
To save his mother from a greedy king, young Perseus promises to fetch the head of Medusa, whose gaze turns people to stone. Luckily, the gods help.
Narrator
Perseus
Danaë
King Polydectes
Athena
Hermes
The Grey SistersOther languages · 2 languages
About this story
Perseus is one of the oldest Greek heroes. The fullest ancient account is in Apollodorus's Library, Book 2, a Greek handbook of myths from the 1st or 2nd century AD, and Ovid tells the Medusa story in Metamorphoses, Books 4 and 5. This retelling follows Apollodorus: Polydectes's trick, help from Athena and Hermes, the Grey Sisters' single eye, the nymphs' winged sandals, bag and cap of invisibility, the bronze-shield reflection and Pegasus springing out. It keeps the Medusa scene brief and gentle, mentions Andromeda only in passing, and leaves out the later tale of the prophecy coming true.
What it teaches
Keep your promises, even hard ones, and don't be too proud to accept help. Perseus wins not by strength but by thinking, listening to good advice and never looking where he shouldn't.
Suits
Ages 6–12
Tips for telling it
- Give your child a hand mirror or a shiny spoon to see behind them, the way Perseus uses the shield.
- Give the Grey Sisters squabbling voices and pass a pretend eye around the room.
- Ask: which gift would you choose, the winged sandals, the cap of invisibility or the shield?
Questions people ask
- How did Perseus kill Medusa?
- He found her asleep and looked only at her reflection in a polished bronze shield, so he never saw her face, then cut off her head with a curved sickle-blade from Hermes while Athena guided his hand. The Cap of Hades made him invisible, so the other Gorgons could not catch him.
- Who were the Gorgons?
- Three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale and Medusa, with golden wings, snakes for hair and a gaze that turned people to stone. Hesiod's Theogony says only Medusa was mortal, which is why Perseus went after her.
- What happened to Medusa's head?
- Perseus used it to turn his enemies to stone, including King Polydectes, then gave it to Athena. She set it in the middle of her shield, the aegis, where it frightened her foes.
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