Banished from Argos right before he was born (due to an ominous prophecy), Perseus grew up over a distant island. When he came of age, he was sent to get rid of the Gorgon Medusa, a monster whose gaze turned all who looked on her to stone.
Iphicles was the son of Alcmene and Amphitryon and thus the half-brother of Heracles. Regardless of possessing distinct fathers, the two heroes had been deemed twins, conceived on precisely the same night time.
Medusa’s blood was in some cases believed to possess magical or medicinal Attributes. As outlined by Apollodorus, Asclepius been given a phial of her blood from Athena and utilized it to remedy the Unwell.[24] Medusa’s blood was also employed for witchcraft by some legendary figures.[25]
Perseus was assisted via the gods, who delivered him having a mirrored shield, winged sandals, a helmet of invisibility, an adamantine sword, plus a magical satchel which could have Medusa’s head.
When Perseus set out to get rid of the Gorgon Medusa, he first arrived into the lair of your Graeae. There, he stole the sisters’ one eye, rendering them blind so they'd support him on his quest.
Pegasus was generally imagined as an immortal remaining, and a lot of historical sources connected him using a constellation in the evening sky which was eventually named soon after him.
In one Model, Medea took Apsyrtus along with her when she left While using the Argonauts, then killed him, Minimize up his body, and threw the parts in to the sea.
Medusa was sooner or later killed by Perseus, considered one of Zeus’ heroic sons. With the assistance of various gods, Perseus tracked Medusa right down to her remote lair and beheaded her.
The venomous vipers of your Sahara ended up also from time to time claimed to are born from Medusa’s blood. With this myth, the vipers emerged in the droplets of Medusa’s blood as Perseus flew over the Sahara with the Gorgon’s severed head.[19]
There is a maiden, nurtured from the halls of Aeetes, whom the goddess Hecate taught to deal with magic herbs with exceeding talent all that the land and flowing waters deliver.
Andromeda was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, the king and queen of legendary Ethiopia. Andromeda and her mom Cassiopeia were renowned for their splendor; but Cassiopeia’s abnormal boasting soon angered the gods.
This accusation had brought about Bellerophon to shed the friendship of Stheneboea’s partner, Proetus, the king of Argos. As soon as he had Pegasus, Bellerophon tricked Stheneboea into read more using a ride with him, then threw her off because the winged horse was flying more than the sea.[10]
Finally, Bellerophon’s cruelty and arrogance brought about his (literal) downfall. During the frequent custom, Bellerophon was so proud of his successes that he decided he deserved to Stay Amongst the gods on Olympus. He tried to experience Pegasus to the mountaintop, nevertheless the horse buckled—some say Zeus despatched a gadfly to sting him—and threw Bellerophon.
Depictions of this Gorgon head ended up usually considered to become “apotropaic,” meaning they could keep at bay evil. Via the fifth century BCE, however, Medusa as well as Gorgons ended up more and more depicted as gorgeous Girls during the visual arts as in literature.[8]
While Bellerophon fell from grace, Pegasus ascended into the heavens and lived Among the many gods. Actually, according to Hesiod, Pegasus initially flew to Olympus quickly after he was born: “Now Pegasus flew away and remaining the earth, the mother of flocks, and came to the deathless gods: and he dwells in your home of Zeus and provides to sensible Zeus the thunder and lightning.”[fourteen]