Acrisius

Simplified Heracles and Perseus Genealogy

Acrisius (gr. Akrisios, Ἀκρίσιος) was a mythical king of Argos, and a son of Abas and Ocalea. He quarrelled constantly with his twin brother Proetus, inventing bucklers in the process, and in the end expelled him to Tiryns.

His daughter, Danae, was prophesied to have a son that would kill him, so Acrisius locked her in a bronze tower (or a cave) when she became fertile. Zeus had intercourse with her in the form of a shower of gold. She became pregnant with Perseus. Acrisius put the child and Danae in a chest and threw it in the sea. Zeus asked Poseidon to calm the water; he did and Danae and Perseus survived, washing up on the island Seriphos. A fisherman named Dictys found the pair and took care of them.

Carpenter prepares a chest for Danae and Perseus

Perseus grew up to be a hero and kill Medusa and rescuing Andromeda.

Perseus and Danae returned to Argos but King Acrisius had gone to Larissa. When Perseus arrived in Larissa, he participated in some ongoing funeral games and accidentally threw a discus at Acrisius, killing him and accomplishing the prophecy.

But the sons of Abas, the son of Lynceus, divided the kingdom between themselves; Acrisius remained where he was at Argos, and Proetus took over the Heraeum, Mideia, Tiryns, and the Argive coast region. Traces of the residence of Proetus in Tiryns remain to the present day. Afterwards Acrisius, learning that Perseus himself was not only alive but accomplishing great achievements, retired to Larisa on the Peneus. And Perseus, wishing at all costs to see the father of his mother and to greet him with fair words and deeds, visited him at Larisa. Being in the prime of life and proud of his inventing the quoit, he gave displays before all, and Acrisius, as luck would have it, stepped unnoticed into the path of the quoit. Pausanias 2.16.2

Ovid IV, 613

Danae and the infant Perseus cast out to sea by Acrisius, Giorgio Ghisi

Greek Mythology

See also : Greek Mythology. Paintings, Drawings

Mythology Images

Greek Mythology Index

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M -
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Α - Β - Γ - Δ - Ε - Ζ - Η - Θ - Ι - Κ - Λ - Μ -
Ν - Ξ - Ο - Π - Ρ - Σ - Τ - Υ - Φ - Χ - Ψ - Ω

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License