Perseus

Acrisius, a king had a daughter named Danae. An oracle told him that Danae's son would overthrow him, so he imprisioned Danae. But Zeus, drawn by her beauty, married her. Danae then had a son named Perseus. Acrisius locked Danae and Perseus in a chest, and threw it into the sea, hoping they would drown. But Zeus steered and landed the chest on an island where a fisherman took Danae and her son in. Danae was so beautiful that the king of the island wanted her to be his bride but Perseus protected her. Perseus offered his services to the king instead, so the king came up with a life threating task of slaying the monster Medusa.

All living creatures who looked at Medusa would turn to stone. Since Perseus was Zeus' son, Zeus sent Hermes and Athena to help Perseus in his quest. Athena gave him her shield which reflected as clear as a mirror. Hermes gave Perseus his sword which could cut through the hardest metal. They also gave him instruction on how to find the nymphs of the north who could give him three magic things that he needed in order to kill Medusa. First Perseus went to the three Gray Sisters to get directions to find the nymphs of the north. He took the one eye they shared between them, and they were forced to tell him the way. The nymphs of the north recived him kindly, and gave him a pair of winged sandals that would make him fly; a cap to make him invisible; and a magic bag which could hold anything.

Perseus flew to the west where Medusa lived. By looking into the polished shield, Perseus was able to slay Medusa in her sleep. Into the bag he was given by the nymphs, Perseus put Medusa's head. On his way home, he saw Andromeda, a beautiful maiden chained to a rock. Andromeda's mother had bragged that Andromeda was lovelier the the Nereids, which made Poseidon mad. Poseidon was going to send a sea monster to kill Andromeda, and ravage the kingdom to get even. When the monster came, Perseus killed it with Hermes' sword. Andromeda became his wife, and together, they returned to Perseus' home on the island. When Perseus entered the palace, the king and his subjects looked up. Perseus pulled Medusa's head from the bag and the king and his subjects turned to stone.

Perseus wanted to return to his grandfather and claim his kingdom. When Acrisius heard that Perseus was comming to see him, he fled with the oracle warning in thought. One day when Perseus was competing in the Olympic games, a gust of wind changed the course of his discus and killed an old man watching. That old man turned out to be Acrisius, therefore, the oracle came true.