Perseus saving Andromeda. Andromeda and Perseus

After a long journey, Perseus reached the kingdom of Cepheus, which lay in Ethiopia on the shores of the Ocean. There, on a rock, near the seashore, he saw the chained beautiful Andromeda, the daughter of King Cepheus. She had to atone for her mother, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia angered the sea nymphs. Proud of her beauty, she said that she, Queen Cassiopeia, was the most beautiful of all. The nymphs became angry and begged the god of the seas, Poseidon, to punish Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Poseidon sent, at the request of the nymphs, a monster like a gigantic fish. It surfaced from the depths of the sea and devastated Kefey's possessions. The realm of Coffee was filled with weeping and groans. He finally turned to the oracle of Zeus Ammon and asked how to get rid of this misfortune. The oracle gave this answer:
- Give your daughter Andromeda to be torn to pieces by a monster, and then the punishment of Poseidon will end.
The people, having learned the answer of the oracle, forced the king to chain Andromeda to a rock by the sea. Pale with horror, Andromeda stood at the foot of the cliff in heavy chains; with inexpressible fear she looked at the sea, expecting that a monster was about to appear and tear her to pieces. Tears rolled from her eyes, horror seized her at the mere thought that she should die in the bloom of beautiful youth, full of strength, without having tasted the joys of life. Perseus saw her. He would have mistaken her for a marvelous statue of white Parian marble, if the sea wind had not blown her hair and large tears had not fallen from her beautiful eyes. The young hero looks at her with delight, and a powerful feeling of love for Andromeda lights up in his heart. Perseus quickly went down to her and affectionately asked her:
- Oh, tell me, beautiful maiden, whose country is this, tell me your name! Tell me, why are you chained here to the rock?
Andromeda told for whose fault she had to suffer. The beautiful maiden does not want the hero to think that she is expiating her own guilt. Andromeda had not yet finished her story, when the depths of the sea began to gurgle, and a monster appeared among the raging waves. It raised its head high with a huge open mouth. Andromeda screamed loudly in horror. Mad with grief, Kefey and Cassiopeia ran to the shore. They weep bitterly, hugging their daughter. She has no salvation!
Then the son of Zeus, Perseus, spoke:
- You will have a lot of time to shed tears, little time just to save your daughter. I am the son of Zeus, Perseus, who killed the gorgon Medusa entwined with snakes. Give me your daughter Andromeda as my wife, and I will save her.
Cepheus and Cassiopeia happily agreed. They were ready to do everything to save their daughter. Cepheus even promised him the whole kingdom as a dowry, if only he would save Andromeda. The monster is close. It quickly approaches the rock, cutting through the waves with a wide chest, like a ship that rushes along the waves, as if on wings, from the flapping of the oars of mighty young rowers. Not further than the flight of an arrow was a monster when Perseus flew high into the air. His shadow fell into the sea, and with fury the monster rushed at the shadow of the hero. Perseus boldly rushed from a height to the monster and plunged a curved sword deep into his back. Feeling a heavy wound, the monster rose high in the waves; it beats in the sea like a wild boar surrounded by a flock of dogs with furious barking; then it sinks deep into the water, then it rises again. The monster furiously hits the water with its fish tail, and thousands of sprays fly up to the very tops of the coastal cliffs. The sea was covered with foam. Opening its mouth, the monster rushes at Perseus, but with the speed of a seagull he takes off in his winged sandals. He strikes blow after blow. Blood and water gushed from the jaws of the monster, struck to death. The wings of Perseus's sandals are wet, they barely keep the hero in the air. The mighty son of Danae quickly rushed to the rock that protruded from the sea, grabbed it with his left hand and plunged his sword three times into the wide chest of the monster. The terrible battle is over. Joyful cries rush from the shore. All praise the mighty hero. The fetters are removed from the beautiful Andromeda, and, triumphant in victory, Perseus leads his bride to the palace of her father Cepheus.

After a long journey, Perseus reached the kingdom of Cepheus, which lay in Ethiopia on the shores of the Ocean. There, on a rock, near the seashore, he saw the chained beautiful Andromeda, the daughter of King Cepheus. She had to atone for her mother, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia angered the sea nymphs. Proud of her beauty, she said that she, Queen Cassiopeia, was the most beautiful of all. The nymphs became angry and begged the god of the seas, Poseidon, to punish Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Poseidon sent, at the request of the nymphs, a monster like a gigantic fish. It surfaced from the depths of the sea and devastated Kefey's possessions. The realm of Coffee was filled with weeping and groans. He finally turned to the oracle of Zeus Ammon and asked how to get rid of this misfortune. The oracle gave this answer:

- Give your daughter Andromeda to be torn to pieces by a monster, and then the punishment of Poseidon will end.

The people, having learned the answer of the oracle, forced the king to chain Andromeda to a rock by the sea. Pale with horror, Andromeda stood at the foot of the cliff in heavy chains; with inexpressible fear she looked at the sea, expecting that a monster was about to appear and tear her to pieces. Tears rolled from her eyes, horror seized her at the mere thought that she should die in the bloom of beautiful youth, full of strength, without having tasted the joys of life. Perseus saw her. He would have mistaken her for a marvelous statue of white Parian marble, if the sea wind had not blown her hair and large tears had not fallen from her beautiful eyes. The young hero looks at her with delight, and a powerful feeling of love for Andromeda lights up in his heart. Perseus quickly went down to her and affectionately asked her:

- Oh, tell me, beautiful maiden, whose country is this, tell me your name! Tell me, why are you chained here to the rock?

Andromeda told for whose fault she had to suffer. The beautiful maiden does not want the hero to think that she is expiating her own guilt. Andromeda had not yet finished her story, when the depths of the sea began to gurgle, and a monster appeared among the raging waves. It raised its head high with a huge open mouth. Andromeda screamed loudly in horror. Mad with grief, Kefey and Cassiopeia ran to the shore. They weep bitterly, hugging their daughter. She has no salvation!

Then the son of Zeus, Perseus, spoke:

“You will still have a lot of time to shed tears, little time just to save your daughter. I am the son of Zeus, Perseus, who killed the gorgon Medusa entwined with snakes. Give me your daughter Andromeda as my wife, and I will save her.

Cepheus and Cassiopeia happily agreed. They were ready to do everything to save their daughter. Cepheus even promised him the whole kingdom as a dowry, if only he would save Andromeda. The monster is close. It quickly approaches the rock, cutting through the waves with a wide chest, like a ship that rushes along the waves, as if on wings, from the flapping of the oars of mighty young rowers. Not further than the flight of an arrow was a monster when Perseus flew high into the air. His shadow fell into the sea, and with fury the monster rushed at the shadow of the hero. Perseus boldly rushed from a height to the monster and plunged a curved sword deep into his back. Feeling a heavy wound, the monster rose high in the waves; it beats in the sea like a wild boar surrounded by a flock of dogs with furious barking; then it sinks deep into the water, then it rises again. The monster furiously hits the water with its fish tail, and thousands of sprays fly up to the very tops of the coastal cliffs. The sea was covered with foam. Opening its mouth, the monster rushes at Perseus, but with the speed of a seagull he takes off in his winged sandals. He strikes blow after blow. Blood and water gushed from the jaws of the monster, struck to death. The wings of Perseus's sandals are wet, they barely keep the hero in the air. The mighty son of Danae quickly rushed to the rock that protruded from the sea, grabbed it with his left hand and plunged his sword three times into the wide chest of the monster. The terrible battle is over. Joyful cries rush from the shore. All praise the mighty hero. The fetters are removed from the beautiful Andromeda, and, triumphant in victory, Perseus leads his bride to the palace of her father Cepheus.

Perseus and Andromeda, whose legend, having survived the centuries, inspired many outstanding artists and sculptors, are among the most popular heroes of Greek mythology. Their meeting, which took place under very dramatic circumstances, became a link in a chain of amazing events that once happened on the shores of ancient Hellas.

Return from distant wanderings

The legend tells that Perseus, the son of Zeus and the daughter of the Argos king Acrisius, Danae, returning from a long journey, by the will of the gods, ended up in the kingdom of the Ethiopian king Kefei. On his back he carried a bag with the head of a defeated monster - the terrible Gorgon Medusa, at the mere glance of which people turned to stone.

The hero sat on the winged horse Pegasus, born from the blood of this very gorgon, and on his feet were magic sandals-planes, which, if necessary, allowed him to soar above the ground. A sword on his belt, a beautiful appearance and fearlessness in his eyes - all this was present in him, according to the laws of the genre.

Beauty chained to the rock

So he appeared before the young princess Andromeda (also, of course, beautiful - it doesn’t happen otherwise), chained on the seashore to a rock to be devoured by a monster that threatened to destroy the whole kingdom if the royal daughter was not served to him for dinner. As you can see, there are such fantasies. Andromeda and Perseus fell in love at first sight, but before calling the guests to the wedding feast, the groom had to defeat this terrible gourmet. The serpent was not slow to appear in the waves.

The moment of the meeting of lovers was captured on his immortal canvas by the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. Perseus and Andromeda are depicted surrounded by a host of Cupids - messengers of the goddess of love Aphrodite. Here you can also see the winged horse, and the reflection of the head of Medusa in the shield of the hero, and the monster itself, which sailed for an exquisite dinner.

From the jaws of the monster - to the wedding feast

Of course, the sea serpent had no chance to dine - in fairy tales, after all, good always triumphs over evil. Filled with unearthly courage, the hero rushed at the enemy and, flying over him in his magic sandals, time after time plunged his sword into the scales shining in the sun until the monster disappeared forever in the depths of the sea.

Andromeda and Perseus hugged, after which he said to her about the same phrase as the mosquito Muhe-Tsokotuhe in Chukovsky's fairy tale: "... and now, soul-maiden, I want to marry you!" The young princess, who had not yet fully recovered after the miraculous deliverance from the monster and was finally smitten by the news of her imminent marriage, Perseus freed from the shackles and, accompanied by her parents - King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia - led to the palace.

New challenge and long-awaited reward

Everyone around congratulated the young, but, as it turned out, somewhat prematurely. Wanting to test the strength of their love, the gods prepared another test that Perseus and Andromeda had to go through. This story began even before the bride was chained to the rock. The fact is that the brother of the king named Fenei was betrothed to her, but, having learned about the claims of the sea monster, cowardly retreated. Now, when the danger had passed, he appeared at the wedding feast, accompanied by warriors, and laid claim to Andromeda.

His insidious calculation was based on the fact that the groom alone would not be able to resist his detachment, but Fenei did not know about some secret weapon that Perseus possessed. Fighting off the attackers, the hero was pressed against a marble column, which made his position seem hopeless. But then, unexpectedly for everyone, he took out the head of the Gorgon Medusa, who had been defeated by him, from the bag, at the sight of which all the enemies, together with their leader, turned into stone statues.

After that, Andromeda and Perseus continued the wedding feast with their guests, and at the end of it they departed for the island of Serif, where the mother of the newly-made spouse, Danae, lived. There, Perseus had to accomplish another feat - that's why he is a hero. The fact is that his mother was not accidentally on Serif, but rather curious circumstances brought her there.

Chest in the sea waves

According to legend, Danae was the only daughter of a certain king Acrisius, who was predicted to die at the hands of his own grandson. In order to protect his daughter from possible suitors and thereby protect himself, the king placed her under lock and key, but the supreme god Zeus, struck by the beauty of the girl, penetrated to her. The future hero Perseus became the fruit of their secret love.

Upon learning of what had happened, Acrisius ordered that the young mother and her barely born child be placed in a wooden chest and put into the blue sea. Then everything is like Pushkin's - and a cloud walked across the sky, and a barrel, that is, a chest floated on the sea, until it was nailed to a certain island. But it was not called Buyan, but Serif, and the insidious and lustful king Pelidekt ruled on it.

Gorgon head hunt

Inflamed with passion for Danae, he immediately wished to marry her, which was refused, since the heart of the beauty belonged to her beloved Zeus. Not having the habit of hearing objections, the king tried to act by force, but Perseus stood up to protect his mother, who, while swimming in the chest, grew “by leaps and bounds”, and finally matured in the royal palace.

In order to deprive Danae of her intercessor, the king sent the young man to distant lands to perform a feat there and bring, as proof of his valor, the head of the Gorgon Medusa - a monster with bunches of snakes instead of hair, at one glance at which, as already mentioned, everyone turned into stone statues.

Interrupted Feast

Pelidekt hoped that the son of Danae would not return alive from this dangerous journey, but the gods of Olympus judged otherwise. Medusa and other enemy forces that met on the hero's path were defeated, after which Andromeda and Perseus suddenly appeared in his palace. Not believing the hero's words that the evil monster had been defeated, the king demanded proof and... got it.

Taking out the fatal head from the bag, Perseus raised it high up so that all the guests present (and this scene took place during the feast) could see it. The result was exactly what he had hoped for: King Pelidekt and all his drinking companions were instantly petrified.

By the way, why didn't witchcraft affect the hero himself? It turns out that, just as during his first meeting with Medusa, which ended so sadly for the evil gorgon, and later, when taking a severed head out of the bag, he used the smooth surface of the shield as a mirror, avoiding direct looks at the monster. The reflection did not have any magical power.

Prophecy Fulfilled in the Stadium

Perseus and Andromeda, the myth of which ended in such a happy way, did not want to stay on the island of Serif, and together with Danae returned to the city of Argos, where King Acrisius still ruled, who once sent his daughter and grandson to swim in the sea in a chest. The magnanimous Perseus forgave him and, despite the ominous prediction that gave impetus to all subsequent history, did not at all think of killing him. But once during the athletic competitions, so popular in Ancient Greece, he unsuccessfully threw a discus and, having hit them right on his grandfather's forehead, involuntarily fulfilled the prophecy.

Having thus inherited the throne, the hero ruled for many years together with his beautiful wife, who gave him numerous offspring. The children of Perseus and Andromeda did not drop the glory of their parents and also became the heroes of numerous ancient Greek myths.

A story that has survived centuries

In subsequent centuries, the legend, born under the sun of ancient Hellas, was reflected in many areas of world culture. Its individual episodes became the subjects of numerous paintings, the most famous of which was created by Rubens. "Perseus and Andromeda" - this is the name of this masterpiece, now stored in the Hermitage of Saenk-Petersburg.

Battles with dragons and the liberation of beauties formed the basis of countless medieval ballads and tales. By the way, the Christian Saint George the Victorious, who pierced the serpent with a spear, also performed his feat, saving the girl from the monster that settled in the lake near the Middle Eastern city of Eval.

Perseus and Andromeda (myth of ancient Greece)

Perseus flies high in the sky, but now the bright day is drawing to a close, and Helios sent his golden chariot towards sunset. The goddess of the Night is going to replace him, straightening her dark clothes. It's time for Perseus to think about rest. He descended lower to the ground and saw a city on the rocky shore of the Ocean. Here he decided to stay for the night.

Perseus landed, took off his winged sandals and looked around. Suddenly he hears plaintive cries from the sea. The young man quickly ran there and saw such a picture. On the very shore of the sea, a girl of unprecedented beauty stands chained to a rock and cries bitter tears. Perseus approached the girl and asked her:
- Tell me, beautiful maiden, why are you so cruelly punished and what kind of country is this where I ended up?
The girl began to tell Perseus her bitter story:
– The country where you are now is called Ethiopia. Here I lived in the house of my parents, not knowing worries and sorrows. The girl fell silent, tears again gushed from her wonderful eyes. Having coped a little with herself, she continued her sad story, from which Perseus learned everything that had happened here.
Andromeda - that was the name of the girl - was the only daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. They lived in happiness and joy in their warm, fertile country, and this would have continued forever. But Queen Cassiopeia was very proud of her beauty and told everyone that there was no woman in the world more beautiful than she. Kefey agreed with his wife in everything and also considered her the most beautiful of all. The sea nymphs were angry with them for this and persuaded the god of the seas, Poseidon, to punish Cepheus and Cassiopeia.
Poseidon sent a terrible monster to the shores of Ethiopia, huge and terrible. A monster emerged from the depths of the sea and devastated the country of Kefei. Once happy and carefree Ethiopia was filled with crying and groans. People did not know how to save themselves from such a punishment, and they screamed plaintively, preparing for a terrible death.
Then Cepheus turned to the oracle of Zeus and asked him what they should do to escape this punishment.
“The punishment of Poseidon will end only if you give your only daughter Andromeda to be torn to pieces by the monster,” the oracle answered him.
Kefey was horrified by the answer and at first did not tell anyone about it. But the gigantic fish continued to devastate the country, people begged the king to save them, and then Kefei had no choice but to tell everyone what the oracle had told him. He hoped that people would take pity on Andromeda and not give her to be torn to pieces by a monster. But his hopes were not destined to come true. The people decided that the daughter of the king should atone for the guilt of her mother.
And now Andromeda, pale and trembling with horror, stands chained to a rock and awaits her terrible fate. Perseus's heart sank with pity for the beautiful girl. He fell in love with her as soon as he saw her, and now he was ready to do anything to save her from suffering.
Then the city gates were flung open, and the parents of the unfortunate girl came out of them with weeping and groaning. Perseus addressed them with the words:
- Now is not the time to shed tears, we must think how to save an innocent girl. I am Perseus, the son of Zeus. Give me Andromeda as my wife, and I will save her and your country from this punishment.
As soon as Perseus had time to utter these words, the sea stirred, and a huge monster appeared from the depths of the sea. It quickly approached the shore and already opened its terrible mouth, preparing to tear the unfortunate Andromeda to pieces. Andromeda screamed in horror, Cepheus and Cassiopeia rushed to their knees in front of Perseus:
“O glorious and fearless youth! We implore you, save our unfortunate daughter, and you will get her as a wife, and together with her we will give you the whole kingdom of ours as a dowry.
The sea is raging, salty streams of water overwhelm the legs of Andromeda, a terrible monster is already next to her. And at this moment, Perseus soars into the air, rushes from above to a gigantic fish and with a swing stabs the curved sword of Hermes into her back.
A monster shot up in a deadly throw, trying to get Perseus. But he manages to pull out his deadly sword and plunges it into the back of the mighty fish again. A wounded monster rushes about the sea, then goes deep into the abyss, then floats to the surface of the sea with noise, whips up water with its powerful tail, salt spray scatters in all directions. The winged sandals of Perseus got wet, he can barely stay in the air. The young man flew up to a high rock, grabbed it with one hand, and with the other he thrust a sword into the chest of a gigantic fish and finally killed it. In the last throw, she darted to the side, and then slowly began to sink into the depths of the sea.
Joyful cries resounded the seashore. People ran out of the city, removed her heavy shackles from Andromeda. And then Perseus came up. He took his beautiful bride by the hand and led her to Kefei's palace.

WHAT DID THE ANCIENT GREEKS TELL ABOUT BEARS?

There are many legends about Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Here is one of them. Once upon a time, King Lycaon, who ruled the country of Arcadia, had a daughter named Callisto. Her beauty was so extraordinary that she dared to compete with Hera - the goddess and wife of the almighty supreme god Zeus. Jealous Hera eventually took revenge on Callisto: using her supernatural power, she turned her into an ugly bear. When the son of Callisto, young Arkad, one day returning from a hunt, saw a wild beast at the door of his house, he suspected nothing, almost killed his mother bear. Zeus prevented this - he held Arkad's hand, and Callisto forever took him to heaven, turning into a beautiful constellation - Ursa Major. At the same time, Callisto's beloved dog was also turned into Ursa Minor. Arkad did not remain on Earth either: Zeus turned him into the constellation Bootes, doomed to forever guard his mother in heaven. The main star of this constellation is called Arcturus, which means "guardian of the bear." Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are non-setting constellations, most visible in the northern sky. There is another legend about circumpolar constellations. Fearing the evil god Kronos, who devoured babies, the mother of Zeus Rhea hid her newborn in a cave, where he was fed, in addition to the goat Amalthea, by two bears - Melissa and Helika, who were subsequently placed in heaven for this. Melissa is sometimes referred to as Kinosura, which means "tail of the dog". In the legends of different peoples, the Big Dipper is often called a chariot, a wagon, or simply seven bulls. Next to the star Mizar (from the Arabic word "horse") - the second, or middle, star in the handle of the Ursa Major bucket - the star Alkor is barely noticeable (in Arabic it means "horseman", "rider"). These stars can be used to check eyesight; each star must be visible to the naked eye.

HOW PERSEUS SAVE ANDROMEDE

The names of the starry sky reflected the myth of the hero Perseus. Long ago, according to the ancient Greeks, Ethiopia was ruled by a king named Cepheus and a queen named Cassiopeia. They had only one daughter, the beautiful Andromeda. The queen was very proud of her daughter and once had the imprudence to boast of her beauty and the beauty of her daughter in front of the mythical inhabitants of the sea - the Nereids. They were very angry, because they believed that they were the most beautiful in the world. The Nereids complained to their father, the god of the seas, Poseidon, to punish Cassiopeia and Andromeda. And the mighty lord of the seas sent a huge sea monster - Kita - to Ethiopia. Fire shot out of Keith's mouth, black smoke poured from his ears, his tail was covered with sharp spikes. The monster devastated and burned the country, threatened the death of all the people. To appease Poseidon, Cepheus and Cassiopeia agreed to give their beloved daughter to be eaten by a monster. The beautiful Andromeda was chained to a coastal rock and dutifully awaited her fate. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, one of the most famous legendary heroes - Perseus - performed an extraordinary feat. He entered the island where the gorgons lived - monsters in the form of women who had snakes instead of hair. The look of the gorgons was so terrible that anyone who dared to look into their eyes was instantly petrified. But nothing could stop the fearless Perseus. Seizing the moment when the Gorgons fell asleep. Perseus cut off the head of one of them - the most important, the most terrible - the Gorgon Medusa. At the same moment, the winged horse Pegasus fluttered out of the huge body of Medusa. Perseus jumped on Pegasus and rushed home. Flying over Ethiopia, he noticed Andromeda chained to a rock, which was about to be grabbed by a terrible Whale. The brave Perseus entered the fray with the monster. This fight went on for a long time. Perseus' magical sandals lifted him into the air, he plunged his curved sword into Keith's back. The whale roared and rushed at Perseus. Perseus directed the deadly gaze of the severed head of Medusa, which was attached to his shield, to the monster. The monster petrified and drowned, turning into an island. And Perseus unchained Andromeda and brought her to the palace of Cepheus. The delighted king gave Andromeda as his wife to Perseus. In Ethiopia, a merry feast continued for many days. And since then, the constellations of Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus have been burning in the sky. On the star map you will find the constellation Cetus, Pegasus. So the ancient myths of the Earth found their reflection in the sky.