Myths of Ancient Greece. Who killed the gorgon (Medusa)

Myths of Ancient Greece had a huge impact on the formation of European literature, and for scientists these works of collective folk art are still a source of knowledge of the evolution of human psychology. In addition, they are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists, poets and musicians. In particular, many painters of the Renaissance painted paintings on the theme of myth, in which Perseus kills the gorgon Medusa.

Myths: the beginning of the beginning

According to the myths of Ancient Greece, at first there was only Skotos in the universe, which personified Mglu. Then Chaos emerged from it. Uniting, they gave rise to Night, Darkness and Love (Nictu, Erebus and Eros).

These major gods became the parents of the Earth and Heaven (Gaia and Uranus), as well as deities personifying the elements, hekatonhair, titans and titanides. The latter included Ray and Kronos, from which the Olympic gods originated. The latter became the protagonists of ancient Greek myths and gave a vast offspring, including demigods and demigods, in which the divine nature was combined with the human.

Olympus

The ancient Greeks believed that their main deities live on the highest mountain of the country, the top of which is always shrouded in clouds. Real Olympus is located in the northeast of modern Greece, and in ancient times along the ridge of this mountain range there was a border with Macedonia. There lived:

• The supreme god Zeus - the lord of heaven, lightning and thunder - and his wife Hera, patronizing marriage and family love;
• The ruler of the kingdom of the dead Hades;
• Goddess of agriculture and fertility of Demeter;
• The Lord of the Sea Poseidon;
• Goddess of the hearth of Hestia.

Then the god-father Zeus gave birth to 4 sons and 3 daughters who joined the host of Olympic gods. They were Athena, Ares, Persephone, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis and Dionysus.

The demigods

Olympians, and very rarely Olympians, did not hesitate to enter into a love affair with mortals. It was from this kind of love that the demigods Achilles, Hercules, Jason, Hector, Pelop, Theseus, Orpheus, Bellerophon, Odysseus, Foroneas, Aeneas and Perseus took place. The latter became the one who killed the gorgon Medusa and freed the beautiful Andromeda. All the demigods were heroes with supernatural powers, which they often used, coming to the aid of other people. In this case, unlike their fathers, they were mortal.

From whom occurred Perseus - the hero who killed Medusa-Gorgon

Do you remember how in the fairy tale of Tsar Saltan the queen and the baby are put in a filthy barrel and thrown into the abyss of water? So this story Pushkin borrowed from the myth of the hero Perseus. It was believed that the father of the young man was Zeus himself, who entered the tower to the daughter of King Argos, Akrisia Danae, in the form of a golden rain. Grandfather Perseus once predicted death by the hand of his grandson, so he, without hesitation, got rid of the princess and her newborn son, putting them in a box and throwing them into the sea at the mercy of Poseidon.

Medusa Gorgon

This maiden-monster, turning all living things gaze into stone, was one of the three gorgons - the daughters of the sea deities of Forky and Keto. She was very beautiful, so Poseidon fell in love with her. He chose to comfort the temple of Athena, thereby defiling the sanctuary. The wrath of the vengeful goddess had no limit, and she turned Medusa into a monster. The unfortunate maiden hated the whole world and moved to a solitary island, where she waited for the travelers, whom she turned into stone statues. Her sisters followed her and themselves became terrible monsters. However, they did not possess her terrible power.

Fight with Gorgona

According to the myth, Perseus was brought up in the house of Diktis. His brother fell in love with the hero's mother, Dana, and decided to get rid of her son. He sent the young man behind the head of Medusa-Gorgon, but Athena began to patronize Perseus, and Hermes and Hades gave him winged sandals, a sickle and an invisibility helmet.

On the advice of the celestials, the young man first visited the three sisters of Grai, who had one eye for three. Perseus stole it and returned it only after they showed him the way to the island of the gorgon. Arriving at the dwelling of Medusa, the young man entered into a fight, during which he looked not at her, but at the reflection in the mirror shield. He managed to cut off the head of the monster adamantovym sickle, and on the advice of Athena, he hid it in a bag. Sisters of Medusa wanted to take revenge on the hero, but he used an invisible cap, thanks to which he could escape from the island unnoticed.

After that, everyone in Hellas found out who killed the gorgon Medusa. Perseus became famous as a hero, and Athena finally quenched her revenge. She informed the demigod that he had powerful weapons in his hands, since the severed head is able to come to life and make all living things harden, what it will look at. However, the goddess warned that it would be possible to use the power of Medusa only once, since then she would petrify.

Andromeda

At that time in the city of Joppa (Ethiopia) ruled King Cafey and his wife, Queen Cassiopeia. They had a daughter Andromeda, eclipsing the beauty of sea maidens of neris. Driven by envy, they turned to Poseidon for help, and he sent a cruel beast to the city, and also ordered the oracle to declare that Joppa would be saved only if Andromeda was sacrificed to a sea monster. The God of the Seas could not have supposed that the one who had killed the Gorgon Medusa would come to the aid of the unfortunate virgin. However, everything turned out differently from what the neerids had planned.

Whom Perseus killed by the head of Medusa-Gorgon

On the way to the island of Serif, the hero was in the vicinity of Joppa. Walking along the shore, he saw the beautiful Andromeda tied to the cliff. The girl was there, as the townspeople forced the tsar to give his child a monster. They hoped that, after tearing Andromeda, the monster would return to the sea and no longer disturb the inhabitants of Joppa. They did not suspect that the one who killed the gorgon Medusa would be next.

Perseus fell in love with Andromeda at first sight and promised to save her if she marries him. The girl promised, and the hero struck the monster with the look of Medusa. Thus Perseus lost the ability to rule the whole world, keeping mortals in fear of the power of the gorgon. But he won the love of Andromeda.

The further destiny

The one who got the head of the Medusa-Gorgon and killed the sea monster was a demigod, and therefore mortal. Having accomplished his feat, he went to Serif and learned that his mother had been persecuted. This provoked his anger, and he dealt with King Polydect and his entourage. Then the hero built the city of Mycenae, where he reigned with Andromeda, who gave birth to his daughter and six sons.

Once Perseus, along with Danai decided to visit his grandfather. Akrisii remembered the prediction and refused to accept his daughter and grandson. A few more years passed and once a guest was invited to throw a disk at the hero. He did not refuse, but there was an unforeseen and a shell killed one of the audience. As it turned out, it was Akrisii, who could not deceive fate.

At the end of his life Perseus fought for a long time with the king Argos Pret and killed him in a fierce battle. When the son of the murdered ruler Megapenf grew up, he persuaded the hero to exchange kingdoms with him, and then killed him during the fight. Thus ended his life Perseus - the son of Zeus, whom the Hellenes glorified as the founder of one of the most powerful and wealthy policies of the Ancient World.

Now you know which hero killed Medusa-Gorgon, as well as familiar with the main characters of ancient Greek myths.