Perseus and the GorgonPerseus, our valiant hero, embarks on a quest to destroy the wicked gorgon Medusa, who is so terrible that everyone who glances at her turns to stone.
King Polydectes of Seriphos was overjoyed with himself. He had finally gotten rid of Perseus. The boy was a bother. Perseus has defended his mother Danae against the King ever since they were stranded on Seriphos. Polydectes, who despised both, desired Danae as a slave. The King, determined to have his way, had spent years trying to discover a method to send Perseus to his death. He had finally succeeded.
"Perseus is a knucklehead!" Polydectes laughed with evil delight. "He walked right into my trap."
Polydectes' trap was easy. He extended an invitation to Perseus to a dinner. The guests were expected to bring a valuable present, but Perseus was so destitute that he had nothing to offer.
"You must annihilate this insult, Perseus!" Polydectes requested, appearing to be enraged. "You must bring me the Gorgon's head, swear you will!"
Perseus had no choice but to comply with the King's demands. Yet, the mission he vowed to complete was impossible!
"Perseus cannot kill Medusa without staring at her directly," Polydectes chuckled. "He will be transformed to stone the moment he does so!"
Perseus was desperate while King Polydectes was congratulating himself on his brilliance.
"What am I to do?" he wondered. "I don't want to be stoned, but I can't kill Medusa with my eyes closed!" Perseus knew the King wanted him dead, but he couldn't back down from his promise. That would be a terrible humiliation.
"I am doomed," Perseus concluded solemnly. "There is no way out!"
Fortunately, Perseus was incorrect. The Greek gods Athene and Hermes had witnessed and heard everything that had occurred. They were looking down from the Palace of Olympus, where the gods dwell in the skies.
"Perseus is in grave difficulty," Athene, the goddess of wisdom, murmured. "We have to assist him."
"Of course, we must," Hermes, the god's messenger, answered.
Hermes paused for a few moments to reflect. Finally, he exclaimed, "I have it! Come, Athene, and bring your mirror-like shield. I'll bring my winged sandals and my curved sword."
"Where are we going?" Athene inquired.
"Go see Perseus," Hermes said. "On the way, we'll visit Hades in the Underworld and borrow his invisibility hat. Next, we'll visit the Nymphs to borrow their magical pocketbook. Come on, Athene, we must hurry. There isn't time to waste."
A dazzling, golden light began to shine in front of Perseus, or so it appeared. It captivated Perseus. He gradually recognised the outlines of the tall, gorgeous Athene and the diminutive, thin Hermes.
"What is your name?" Perseus was perplexed by these golden-light-emitting creatures.
"We are powerful beings," Athene explained. "We can do things that people believe are impossible."
"Like murdering Medusa," Hermes continued a smirk on his face. "Or, at the very least, showing you how!"
Perseus smirked. "You're mocking me," he remarked suspiciously. "No one can kill Medusa without first turning to stone!"
"You are incorrect, Perseus! You're capable, "Hermes responded pleasantly. "These are the items you will require."
Perseus gaped in awe as Athene and Hermes presented him with Athene's shield, the helmet of invisibility, the magical wallet, and Hermes' curved sword and winged sandals. "What good are these things?" Perseus inquired.
"Listen!" Hermes exclaimed. His sandal wings flapped as he flew up to speak in Perseus' ear. Perseus' worried expression faded as he listened to Hermes. Perseus was exceedingly pleased by the time Hermes finished.
"Marvellous! Awesome! "When Hermes floated back to the ground, he screamed out.
"I can now kill Medusa and take her head!"
"All you need to know now is how to get to the Realm of the Dead, where Medusa and her two sisters live," Athene explained.
"Don't you realise it?" Perseus inquired, surprised.
"Only the Old Grey Ladies know that" Hermes explained. "They're weird creatures with just one eye between them, but it's so powerful it can see all the way to the end of the planet."
"What exactly are we waiting for?" Perseus shouted out in frustration. "Let us go ask them!"
Hermes placed his hands on Perseus' elbow. Perseus felt himself slowly rising into the air. The wings on his sandals were beating up and down like bird wings. Perseus had never before? He had never walked on his own before, and he stumbled at first. Eventually, he was flying as fast and as sure as Hermes.
They were flying over a seashore a few moments later when Hermes pointed to a big cave near the beach.
"There they are!" exclaimed Hermes.
When Perseus peered down, he saw three Old Grey Ladies emerge from the cave. He and Hermes plummeted downwards to settle on the beach. Hermes dashed behind a nearby shrub, signalling Perseus to do the same.
They were disputing furiously as the Old Grey Ladies approached.
"You've had the eye for a long time now, Sister," grumbled one Old Lady.
"Let me have it. I'd like to look around the world."
"No, it's my time," the Woman behind her argued.
The two blind women were stumbling around, but the woman with the eye avoided them. "You'll both have to wait," she explained. "I'm still working on the eye."
"They always argue like this," Hermes said quietly. "Wait until one of the others receives it from the Old Lady with the Eye. Then all three of them are blind. Here's what you need to do..."
Perseus waited until the Lady with the Eye withdrew it from the hole in her skull and started giving it to one of her sisters.
"Now! Hurry! "Hermes exclaimed.
Perseus jumped up, dashed over to the Woman, and grabbed the eye. The women screamed in terror.
"Who is there?" they exclaimed. "Someone has taken our eye!"
"Your eye is perfectly safe," Perseus remarked. "I've got it!"
"Please return it! Give it back right now!"
"Not until you tell me how to get to where the Gorgons live!" Perseus said plainly.
The Old Grey Ladies grumbled and lamented, but they knew they were useless without their sight. They eventually caved. One of the Old Ladies fiercely told Perseus what he desired to know.
"Now," the Old Lady growled when she was through. "Give us our eye back!"
Perseus inserted the eye in the Old Woman's forehead who had spoken to him. She tried to scratch him with her long, black fingernails as soon as she could see again. Perseus fled by flying through the skies on his winged sandals. Hermes accompanied him.
"We have to part here," Hermes stated. "Perseus, farewell. Remember what you need to do when you arrive in Gorgon territory."
Hermes flew into the clouds, disappearing. Perseus went westward, as the Old Women had advised, past all the shores and oceans that they indicated led to his destination.
The Ground beneath him appeared like a multicoloured carpet as he flew. The dark green of the woodlands and grasslands was present. The gold of the sand on the beach contrasted with the blue of the lakes, rivers, and oceans.
Yet, after a while, Perseus could only see black rocks and grey barren mountains. Perseus realised he was getting close to his target. Finally, he noticed a gigantic black island below. Three shapes were found on the rocks along the shore. They resembled enormous, winged dragons.
"It's the Gorgons!" Perseus sobbed, terrified and excited at the same moment.
They all appeared to be sleeping. Perseus shuddered in fear as he stared at them.
The Gorgons were the most terrifying creatures he had ever encountered. Two white tusks sprouted from their cheeks. Their claws were composed of brass and were long. Two Gorgons were covered from head to toe in dragon scales. Instead of hair, the third Gorgon's head was a swarm of writhing snakes.
"It must be Medusa," Perseus exclaimed.
He was in a rush. The Gorgons could awaken at any time. Perseus floated through the air, wearing the helmet of invisibility.
He opened the magical wallet slung about his waist and took Hermes' weapon in his right hand. Perseus then gently moved Athene's mirror-like shield with his left hand until he could see Medusa's reflection in it.
Perseus descended slowly towards the rock where Medusa lay, always keeping her reflection in the shield. He was almost there, lower, lower, lower. Perseus was hovering above Medusa's head.
Now! he thought, and he lowered the curved blade with a single fast stroke. As it slashed through Medusa's neck, its point clanged on the stones. Perseus swooped down, the shield acting as a mirror to show him what to do. Perseus quickly gripped Medusa's head and yanked it from the sand where it had fallen. He slid it into the wallet and tightened the clasp.
The other two Gorgons had just awoken. They screamed and howled in terror as they saw Medusa's headless body lying on the rock. Yet they couldn't figure out who had murdered her. It was guaranteed by Perseus's invisibility helmet.
It was time to flee. The wings on Perseus' sandals beat quickly, and he soared into the air, leaving the two Gorgons wailing and clawing at the air in vain.
Perseus set out on his long journey back to Seriphos. Finally, he landed on the shore near Polydectes' Palace.
Perseus marched into the palace a few minutes later. He threw back the doors of the banquet hall, where Polydectes was feasting with his nobles before anybody could stop him. Everyone was taken aback.
Polydectes turned pale with fright when he noticed Perseus had returned. "I have the Gorgon's head, Polydectes," Perseus declared confidently. "I fulfilled my pledge."
Polydectes laughed despite his dread. "Come on, Perseus!" he exclaimed. "How did you kill Medusa and come back alive?"
The nobility of Seriphos had also recovered from their surprise by this point.
"You're lying, Perseus!"
"What are you talking about?
"It's not possible!" Cries broke out from throughout the hall.
Polydectes then signalled to one of his servants. "Go, collect the mother of this idiotic boy!" said the King. "Bring Danae here and show her that her son is a liar!"
Perseus struggled to recognise Danae when she entered the hall. Polydectes had made her do all the grubby work in the palace cooks. She appeared to be aged and weathered.
Danae's eyes welled up with tears of pleasure when she saw Perseus. Perseus, on the other hand, was horrified to see how the King had mistreated her.
"Keep your eyes on the ground, Mother," Perseus advised Danae. "Do not look at what I'm about to do!"
Danae followed Perseus' instructions. Perseus then returned his attention to King Polydectes. "Would you like proof that I killed Medusa?" he demanded.
"You don't have any proof!" exclaimed Polydectes.
"Well, have a look at this!" Perseus responded by removing Medusa's head from the magical wallet.
King Polydectes and his nobles instantly turned to stone. Some people's mouths were gaping in awe. Others were raising their hands to hide themselves from Medusa's frightening gaze. It was pointless. In an instant, they all turned into solid grey stone.
Perseus reinserted Medusa's head inside the bag and shut it. He wrapped his arms around Danae and hugged her. She was taken aback by the hall filled with statues.
"We are no longer subject to the terrible King," Perseus declared. "He'll never bother anyone else again!"
