Perseus珀尔休斯.doc

Perseus The adventures of Perseus Perseus was one of the great heroes, but his tale begins before he was born. There was once a king called Acrisios of Argolis who was warned by a prophecy that one day his daughter Danae would give birth to a male child that would grow up to kill him. Acrisios loved his beautiful daughter very much but decided that if the prophecy were to be prevented from coming true that she must never marry. He had her locked in a tower specially built out of bronze where she could have no contact with men. But although proof against mortal men the tower could not withstand the gods and one night Zeus the lord of Olympus came to Danae in a shower of golden rain, leaving her with a child. When the baby Perseus was born Acrisios was mortified and would have killed both his daughter and his grandson but for her tearful pleading which melted his angry resolve. Eventually he decided to exile them both and cast them adrift in a small wooden boat, hoping that the winds and the sea would end their lives. But the gods watched over Danae and her infant and they finally landed on the island of Serifos where they were taken in by Dictis the brother of the king, Polydectes. Polydectes, a headstrong but cunning ruler, was immediately stricken by the innocent beauty of Danae and lusted after her. But the daughter of Acrisios did not enjoy his attentions. She felt he was not a man to be trusted and she disliked the way he was forever slyly watching her when he thought she was not aware of him. At meals with his brother Dictis his gaze lingered upon her even when he was talking with others, making her uncomfortable. In time Polydectes declared that he wanted Danae for his wife but she rejected his overtures as she felt no love for him and had a young son to raise. Used to getting his way Polydectes would sooner or later have taken Danae by force were it not for her son Perseus. The sheer physical presence of the young man was like a stone wall barring Polydectes