Iliad book 9 perseus and medusa

Not even death, however, could quell medusas power, and perseus had to keep her. The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to homer. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. Mylonas is right and a tale about perseus, king of mycenae around 50 bc, was sung already in the mycenaean palaces. Ovids account of medusa s mortality tells that she had once been a woman, vain of her beautiful hair. The other two gorgons chase him, but perseus escapes with the help of hades helmet of invisibility a. Creeping closer, perseus saw the reflection of the monster and thack medusa.

Homer, iliad, book 9, line 328 perseus digital library. He was the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside cadmus and perseus, before the days of heracles, and his greatest feat was killing the chimera, a monster that homer depicted with a lions head, a goats body, and a serpents. Perseus finds medusa sleeping and chops off her head. Perseus with the head of medusa is a bronze sculpture made by benvenuto cellini in the period 15451554. In ancient times, the greek gods would have children with mankind. Books 9 10 although the episodes in books 9 and 10 take place during the same night, providing a break from the fighting, little continuity exists between them. Like the teeming sea in turmoil when northerlies and westerlies that blow from thrace suddenly rise, piling the dark waves swiftly in crests. Hector was the best warrior in troy and the son of priam, the king of troy. The hero puts on hades helmet of invisibility and escapes the crazy snake ladies.

Perseus was the undesirable grandchild of the king acrisius, who wanted him deadbut accidentally just left him alive to float to a new beach. In late myths, medusa was the only one of the three gorgons who was not immortal. When perseus a son of zeus killed medusa by cutting off her head theogony. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Common core editions and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system. Perseus used the winged shoes and flew to the gorgons lair to find many stone men. Even as two winds stir up the teeming deep, the north wind and the west wind that blow from thrace, coming suddenly, and forthwith. Looking into the shield, perseus saw medusa walk slowly near him. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Asked in greek and roman mythologies how were the parents of perseus. According to book 1 of the iliad, when agamemnon was compelled by apollo to give up his. The sculpture stands upon a square base with bronze relief panels depicting the story of perseus and andromeda, similar to a predella on an altarpiece.

Medusa was a monster of legend, with hair turned to serpents and eyes that killed with just a glance. Perseus is tricked into bringing back the head of the gorgon medusa but you dont need me to tell you how this particular quest will pan out. Hesiod, a greek poet who was writing about 700 bc, makes a passing reference to perseus cutting off medusa s head in theogony. He takes the head of medusa to the kings court and while the king is surprised that he survived his quest perseus pulled out the head of medusa. So, the trojans kept watch while the greeks were gripped by panic that accompanies freezing fear, and all their leaders despaired. In the poem perseus finally musters up the courage to kill medusa and then is. Medusa, the dreadful monster, is mentioned three times. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make.

Homer, iliad, book 9, line 1 perseus digital library. Iliad, the loeb classical library 1 of 2 translations. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book 12. Known for precisely one adventure, perseus also carries the distinction of being the only greek hero without an obnoxious character flaw none of herculess rages, jason or theseuss wifely. A concise, stylised and dynamic version of the perseus and medusa myth. Twelve cities of men have i laid waste with my ships and by land eleven, i avow, throughout the fertile land of troy. When odysseus, ajax, and phoenix visit achilles to negotiate her return in book 9, achilles refers to briseis as his wife or his bride. I feel canon is definitely a judeochristian concept because of the single book. With eyes averted, perseus showed polydektes the head of medusa. Medusa in ancient greek art essay the metropolitan museum of. They are rescued by a fisherman, and young perseus grows up, unaware of his royal birth. Perseus hid the medusa s head in his leather bag and strode into the great hall.

Start studying mythology final homer s iliad, apollodorus, clash of the titans, vergils aeneid. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. This video tells about the original myth of perseus which was adapted differently in percy jackson movies. So perseus set out to retrieve the head of the gorgon, medusa. In it hartland demonstrates that the legend appears in many other anthologies of european fairy tales that were published during the nineteenth century. Suddenly, perseus heard the faint sound of hissing snakes. Perseus found his mother and the kings brother diktys hiding at the altars. The iliad deeply considers the role of justice and how unfair it is. Medusa remains a popular image on later architectural components, but her. Perseus is the only greek hero that i am aware of who does not fit the story pattern of the. In fact, though no fault of mccaughrean herself this is one of the inevitable weaknesses of the book. One of my favorites is the medusa story, sometimes referred to as perseus and the gorgon medusa.

Perseus and medusa summary conclusion he saves andromeda from the dreaded sea monsters and takes her to his homeland of serifos. Then, after defeating the monster, he marries andromeda and, at the wedding feast, he tells the story of how he defeated the gorgon medusa and took. Mythology final homers iliad, apollodorus, clash of the. Perseus has got medusa s head, which is certainly a kind of reward. Perseus plops medusa s head in the kibisis and starts make his getaway. She was a creature hated by the world, and her story spread far and wide, transmitting across time as well as space to reach the ears of the modern era. King polydectes sent perseus to kill medusa in hopes of getting him out of the way, while he pursued perseus s mother, danae. Perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book 12 kindle edition by holub, joan, williams, suzanne, phillips, craig. These halfbloods were known as demigods, and they were the greatest heroes of thei. Polydectes held perseus to his rash promise and demanded the head of the only mortal gorgon, medusa, whose gaze turned people to stone. Perseus had no horse to give, so he asked polydectes to name the gift. Perseus could safely cut off medusa s head without turning to stone by.

A study of tradition in story custom and belief by edwin sidney hartland was first published in 1894. Some of these myths relate that perseus was armed with a scythe from hermes and a mirror or a shield from athena. Perseus and medusa when you left perseus, he had just struck a bargain with andromedas parents king cepheus and queen cassiopeia, but now he has to battle the sea monster. When in book 9 his friends urge him to return, offering him loot and his girl, briseis. They admired jason and his quest for the golden fleece, and perseus, the killer of medusa, but their finest heroes come from homers iliad. Take a journey with the legendary hero perseus as he slays the snakehaired medusa and rescues the princess andromeda. We get a little about perseus from homer in the iliad, his famous story of the trojan war, written in the 7th or 8th centuries bc.

Him and medusa are the only two characters mentioned in the poem. The myth of perseus and medusa is one of the best thrillerlike tales in greek mythology. Perseus and medusa summary by ryan maclennan on prezi. Perseus and the monstrous medusa heroes in training book. Perseus confronted polydektes and his comrades in the palace. With a promising plot that gets more complicated as the story progresses, this myth has a typical hollywoodlike scenario with the main character not being born yet at the moment when his destiny was determined. The heroic tale of perseus includes many elements of the classic greek epicsibling rivalry, a prophecy, an unexpected birth, lust, revenge, a quest, and the inescapable nature of fate. In the ancient legends perseus first kills the medusa witch. Before he can claim his heritage, the hero is ordered to slay a hideous monster named medusa, whose gaze turns men into solid stone. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Surrounded by spears, swords and shields, perseus stood quite still. The mission to achilles tent occurs early in the evening, while the mission across the trojan line occurs quite lateduring the third watch, according to odysseus, or around 3 a. At this point medusa s sisters, stheno and euryale, wake up, and they are not happy.