Perseus

The myth of Perseus and Andromeda, as illustrated on the peristyle (colonnade) of a building in Pompeii, Italy, around AD 50–79.

In Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Danaë. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa, watching the reflection in his shield to avoid being turned to stone. Having rescued and married Andromeda, he later became king of Tiryns. He used the Gorgon's head, set on his shield, to turn the tyrant Polydectes and, in some traditions, the Titan Atlas, to stone.

Birth Danaë had been imprisoned by her father Acrisius, king of Argos, whose death at the hands of her future son had been foretold by an oracle. Zeus transformed as a shower of gold, penetrated the roof of her chamber and fathered Perseus. When Acrisius learned of his birth, he put mother and son into a chest and set them adrift in the Aegean, but Zeus caused the chest to run ashore at Seriphos, where they were found by a fisherman and taken to King Polydectes.

Slaying of Medusa Polydectes, having fallen in love with Danaë and wishing to be rid of her son, sent the young man to fetch the Gorgon's head. Guided by the deities Athena and Hermes, Perseus visited the Gorgons' sisters, the Graeae, three hags who possessed only one eye and tooth between them. Perseus snatched these precious objects, and would not restore them until given directions to the nymphs who possessed a pair of winged sandals, a magic wallet, and Pluto's helmet of invisibility. Armed with these artefacts, and the gifts of a sickle from Hermes and mirror from Athena, Perseus flew to the lair of the Gorgons. Finding them asleep, he cut off Medusa's head with the sickle, guiding his actions by the mirror to avoid being turned to stone, and put the trophy into the wallet on his back. The helmet rendered him invisible as he fled, pursued by the other Gorgons.

Killing of Polydectes During his return to Seriphos, Perseus rescued Andromeda from a sea monster in return for her hand in marriage. When Perseus arrived at Seriphos, he found that Danaë had taken refuge from Polydectes in a temple. The hero petrified the king and his guests, and presented the Gorgon's head to Athena before proceeding to Argos, accompanied by Danaë and Andromeda.

Death of Acrisius Learning of the hero's feats and imminent arrival, Acrisius remembered the oracle and escaped to Larisa in Thessaly. Perseus followed him in disguise, meaning to persuade his grandfather to return, but on arrival he took part in some games and accidentally killed Acrisius with a discus. He left the kingdom of Argos to his cousin Megapenthes, and received in exchange the throne of Tiryns.

Perseus

A bright constellation of the northern hemisphere, near Cassiopeia. It is represented as the mythological hero; the head of the decapitated Gorgon, Medusa, is marked by Algol (Beta Persei), the best known of the eclipsing binary stars. During the second half of July and the first half of August the Perseid meteor shower radiates from its northern part.

Perseus lies in the Milky Way and contains the Double Cluster, a twin cluster of stars called h and Chi Persei. They are just visible to the naked eye as two hazy patches of light close to one another.

Every August the Perseid meteor shower radiates from the constellation's northern part. The meteor shower is a remnant of Comet 1862 III.

Perseus (c. 213/212–c. 165 BC)

Last king of ancient Macedonia. He succeeded his father, Philip V, in 179 BC. The resurgence of Macedonian power under Perseus led to the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) with Rome. Perseus was defeated by Lucius Aemilius Paulus at Pydna 168 BC. He marched in Paulus's victory procession and died two years later in honourable captivity.