Greek Mythology Made Easy: Perseus and Medusa

Perseus was the son of Zeus and princess Danae. King Polydectes, who was in love with Danae, forced Perseus to find and kill Medusa the Gorgon for him. When he was on his way looking for Medusa, Perseus was helped by Athena and Hermes, who gave Perseus a reflective shield, a sickle, and a pair of flying sandals.  

Perseus found Medusa and used the shield to come closer to her without looking directly at her, and then used the sickle to cut off her head. After beheading Medusa, Perseus put her head in a bag. He avoided looking at it because he knew just one look at Medusa's head would turn him to stone. 

When he got back to the palace, king Polydectes forced Perseus to show him Medusa's head. He looked at it, and instantly turned to stone.

Perseus and his mother were safe, and they lived happily for a long, long time.

Later in life, Perseus became the founder of the city of Mycenae. 

The image above (fragment of an Ancient Greek vase painting of Perseus, beheaded Medusa and Athena, original at the British Museum) was found on a website called theoi.com (in Greek, "theoi" means gods).

It's a great site where you can read about Greek mythology and check out Ancient Greek art.

Click below to read more about Perseus at theoi.com:

https://www.theoi.com/Heros/Perseus.html

Watch "Perseus and Medusa. Ancient Greek Mythology Stories."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLePx0dH2Tc

WATCH "Mycenae. The Kingdom of the Lions. Drone" TODAY'S VIEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV7a5u8ebKI

WATCH "Mycenae Μυκήνες 3D SketchUp Model Reconstruction"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG9v6A0A9HQ&t=13s