āThe Perseus myth is attested as early as the Iliad, where Zeus tells Hera that he is inflamed by her beauty even more than when he loved āDanaĆ«, fair-ankled daughter of Acrisius, who gave birth to Perseus, conspicuous among all menā, as well as in Hesiodās Theogony, which refers to Perseusā beheading of Medusa and the consequential emergence of Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus. In each case the brevity of the reference indicates the familiarity of the tale. ā¦ A fragment of Alcaeus or Sappho reads āinto the kibisis ā¦ he putā; the only other pre-Hellenistic occurrence of the unusual word Īŗį½·Ī²Ī¹Ļ²Ī¹Ļ² denotes the pouch into which Perseus stashes Medusaās head, so this might point towards a reference to the myth in the Aeolic poetic tradition too.
The clash with Medusa appears in art from the seventh century. A Proto-Attic neck amphora from Eleusis, dating to c. 670ā660 and attributed to the Polyphemus Painter, and found in a grave, containing the skeleton of a child, depicts Perseus escaping with Medusaās decapitated head, pursued by her Gorgon sisters (behind whom lies her headless body), and protected by Athena, who interposes herself between him and his foes. A painted terracotta metope from the temple of Apollo at Thermon (c. 630ā620) shows him with cap, winged sandals, and sword, carrying the Gorgonās head, which is in his pouch but partly visible. ā¦ A painted clay relief from Syracuse, dated to the second half of the seventh century, depicts Medusa with Pegasus tucked under her right arm, a clear allusion to the myth of her decapitation. The actual moment when she loses her head is portrayed on a Cycladic relief pithos from the same period, found at Thebes, probably in a grave: Perseus has the pouch slung over his shoulder and his cap on his head, as he swings his sword at Medusa, whose body combines those of a woman and a horse. The hero looks away as he deals the fatal blow, indicating that the artist knew the petrifying power of the Gorgonās gaze. The same episode seems to have appeared on another pithos from this period, although only Perseus can now be seen on it; and on a fragmentary Protocorinthian cup from Aegina.
Perseusā encounter with another foe, the sea-monster from which he rescues Andromeda, has a single, rather later, archaic attestation, on a Corinthian black-figure amphora dating to the second quarter of the sixth century: the monster is on the left, confronting Perseus, who is flinging rocks at it, wearing a cap, winged sandals, and carrying the pouch, while Andromeda stands behind him, her hands probably tied.
By the sixth century we encounter the first literary description of Perseus of any length, in the epic Shield attributed to Hesiod but actually composed long after his death. The poem describes an image of Perseus on the shield which gives the work its title; called the son of DanaĆ« and armed with a sword, he is carrying the Gorgonās head in his bag (specified as the Īŗį½·Ī²Ī¹Ļ²Ī¹Ļ²), and is wearing winged sandals and the cap of Hades, while the other Gorgons pursue. ā¦ Another hexameter poem from this period wrongly attributed to Hesiod, the Catalogue of Women, provides the first attestations of two figures who play an important part in Perseusā life: āDictys and godlike Polydectesā, the sons of Magnes, brother of Macedon and son of Zeus and Thyia, Deucalionās daughter. Acrisiusā wife, named Eurydice, also features; DanaĆ« is said to be their daughter, and Perseus her son, though of his conception nothing is mentioned, the poem returning to Acrisiusā brother Proetus and his offspring. A tiny fragment from the same papyrus containing the word āgold(en)ā has been conjectured to come from a description of DanaĆ«ās impregnation with Perseus by Zeus in the form of a shower of rain, a story familiar from later sources; it is however futile to build an interpretation on a single unexceptional word from an unknown context. A more convincing Hesiodic reference occurs in a different papyrus, which mentions Acrisius, followed by Perseusā being sent into the sea in a chest, then Zeus, then āgoldenā. This, the earliest attestation of Perseusā unusual voyage, implies other aspects of the myth again known thanks to subsequent accounts: Acrisiusā anger at DanaĆ«ās pregnancy, the oracle telling him that his daughterās son would kill him, the eventual rescue on Seriphos. Given the adjective, now crucially contextualised, the golden shower might be mentioned too. This papyrus is probably not from the Catalogue, but may be from the Megalai Ehoiai, which may have included Perseusā gift of the Gorgonās head to Athena.
ā¦
In the visual arts depictions of Perseusā escape from Medusaās pursuing sisters continue to be attested in sixth-century black figure pottery, far more so than images of the killing of Medusa. Both scenes are attested in other media across the Greek world: for example, the cedar Chest of Cypselus (c. 590ā570) in the temple of Hera at Olympia depicts Perseus escaping from Medusaās sisters as they fly after him; the throne at Amyclae carved by Bathycles of Magnesia in second half of the sixth century portrays the killing of Medusa; and a late-sixth-century limestone metope from Temple C at Selinus shows Perseus cutting off the head of Medusa (who is holding a winged horse, i.e. Pegasus), with Athena standing by him as a supporter (as often on vases too). From the end of the century the clash is depicted on red-figure vases. Medusa is often presented as a beautiful woman, making the encounter more like an erotic abduction than the dispatching of a monster. But of Perseus after his return from his quest no trace remains from this period.ā
- Euripides and the Myth of Perseus. Two Lost Greek Tragedies Illuminated by a New Papyrus by P.J. Finglass
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Perseus was one of the most celebrated heroes of Greek mythology.
He was the son of the Argive princess Danae who was locked away in a bronze chamber by her father Akrisios who lived in fear of a prophecy that he would one day be killed by her son. The god Zeus, however, infiltrated her prison in the guise of a golden shower and impreganted her. When Akrisios discovered the child, he placed the two in a chest and set them adrift at the sea. They were carried safely to the island of Seriphos where they were offered refuge by the kindly, fisherman Diktys.
When Perseus was fully grown, King Polydektes commanded he fetch the head of Medusa. With the help of the gods, Perseus obtained winged sandals, an invisible helm and a magical sword. He then sought out the ancient Graiai and stealing their single eye compelled them to reveal the location of the Gorgones. Perseus approached Medusa as she slept and beheaded her with eyes averted to avoid her petrifying visage.
On his journey back to Greece, Perseus came across the Ethiopian princess Andromeda chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea-monster. He slew the beast and brought her with him back to Greece as his bride.
Perseus was the ancestor of the royal houses of Mykenai, Elis, Sparta, Messenia, and distant Persia. His most famous descendant was Herakles.
So while reading this book about the recently found summaries of Euripides' āDiktysā and āDanaeā plays, I came across two interesting accounts.
One in which Hermes and Athena are sent by Zeus to help Perseus. Pindar, Dithyramb 4 = fr. 70d.14ā18, 35ā43 SāM:
āā¦ was planning/planting for ā¦ mother ā¦
ā¦ and the bed of compulsion ā¦ trickery ā¦
āāāāāā¦
ā¦ The son of Cronus nodded assent ā¦ by necessity ā¦
ā¦ and the road of the immortals is long ā¦
āāāāāā¦
ā¦ was of concern to his fatherās mind,
ā¦ him, in his highest counsels.
and from Olympus he dispatched to him Hermes of the golden wand ā¦
and the Grey-Eyed one, protector
āof cities. He brought it, and they saw things not to be seen
ā¦ For indeed he brought about their utmost
transformation; and they were manifested as stones instead of humans.
ā¦ and he apportioned requital for passion
to the general.ā
Another one in which Perseus gives Polydektes the idea of sending him after the Gorgon, but unlike in Pherekydes or Pseudo-Apollodoros where Perseus randomly or offhandedly brings up the Gorgon's head in conversation with the king without actually saying that he intends to bring it, here he seems to promise this for some reason. Scholia to Pindar, Pythian 10.72a (ii 248.3ā15 Drachmann):
āāHe killed the Gorgonā; the story is as follows. When his grandfather Acrisius perceived that DanaĆ« had secretly conceived Perseus, then he locked her in a chest with the boy and cast her into the sea, and the chest was brought to the island of Seriphos, which Polydectes ruled. And then when he had come to manhood and was feasting at Polydectesā house, as different people made different contributions to the feast, he himself promised the Gorgonās head. Polydectes, taking his promise as an opportune excuse, demanded it from him, and drove him from the island to deliver the head. For he was in love with his mother. And he, having departed and having cut off the Gorgonās head, brought it into the feast, and turned everyone at the symposium into stone, including Polydectes himself.ā
The Mythology of Perseus in the Works of the Mythographers
āIn the case of the Perseus myth, the scholia to Apollonius of Rhodes helpfully attribute extensive accounts to [Pherekydes of Athens] by name in the three fragments below, where frr. 10 and 12 occur without a break: Pherecydes in Book 2 records that Acrisius marries Eurydice daughter of Lacedaemon; from them is born DanaĆ«. When Acrisius asked the oracle about a male child, the god at Pytho responded that he would not have a male child, but that one would be born to his daughter, and by him it was fated that he would die. On returning to Argos Acrisius makes a bronze chamber in the courtyard of his house, underground, where he brings DanaĆ« with her nurse, in which he guarded her, so that a child should not be born from her. But Zeus desired the girl, and flows like gold from the roof, and she receives it in her lap; and revealing himself, Zeus has intercourse with the girl. From them is born Perseus, and DanaĆ« and the nurse bring him up, hiding him from Acrisius. When Perseus was three or four years old, he heard his voice as he was playing, and after summoning DanaĆ« with the Nurse by means of his servants, he kills the Nurse, and takes DanaĆ« with the child to the altar of Zeus of the Hearth. Alone, he asks her from what source she had conceived the child. She said, from Zeus. He is not persuaded, but places her into a chest with the child; and after shutting it, he casts it into the sea. And they were carried along and arrive at the island of Seriphos. And Dictys son of Peristhenes draws them out when he is fishing with a net. Then DanaĆ« supplicates him to open the chest. And he, on opening it, and learning who they are, brings them to his home, and brings then up as if they were his relatives. For Dictys and Polydectes were children of Androthoe daughter of Castor, and of Peristhenes son of Damastor, son of Nauplius the son of Poseidon and Amymone, as Pherecydes says in Book 1. Pherecydes fr. 10 Fowler
While Perseus on Seriphos with his mother was spending his time at the house of Dictys and already growing into a young man, Polydectes, Dictysā half- on his motherās side, who was king of Seriphos, saw DanaĆ« and lusted after her, but was at a loss as to how to sleep with her. And having prepared a meal, he called together many people, including Perseus, When Perseus asked what was the price of the feast, and he replied, for a horse, Perseus said, āFor the Gorgonās headā. After the feast, on the next day, when the other feasters were bringing their horses, Perseus did so too. But he does not accept it, and requested the Gorgonās head according to his promise. If he did not bring it, he said that he would take his mother. He in pain goes away to the edge of the island, lamenting his misfortune. And Hermes was seen by him ā¦ [Quest narrative follows.] When Perseus arrives on Seriphos, he goes to Polydectes, and tells him to gather the people together so that he can show them the Gorgonās head, knowing that if they saw it they would be turned into stone. Polydectes gathered the people and tells him to show it. As he turned away, he takes it out of his pouch and shows it. They saw it and became stones. Taking the head from Perseus, Athena puts it into her own aegis. The pouch he gives back to Hermes, and the sandals and helmet to the Nymphs. Pherecydes tells the story in Book 2. Pherecydes fr. 11 Fowler
In what follows he [i.e. Pherecydes in Book 2] speaks also about the death of Acrisius, that after the petrifaction of Polydectes and of the people with him by means of the Gorgonās head {on Seriphos}, Perseus leaves Dictys on Seriphos to rule over the Seriphians who were left, and he himself set sail for Argos with the Cyclopes, DanaĆ«, and Andromeda. On his arrival he does not find Acrisius in Argos, since in fear of him he had retreated to the Pelasgians in Larissa ā¦ [Story of his encounter with Acrisius follows.] Pherecydes fr. 12 Fowler
ā¦
A similar account is found in the later mythographer Apollodorus (second or third century ad); ā¦ Apollodorus describes how Abas, king of Argos, had twin sons by his wife Hypermnestra, Acrisius and Proetus. Having fought even in the womb, the brothers continued their conflict as adults, until Acrisius drove Proetus into exile (Bibl. 2.24); his brother became king of Tiryns, but Acrisius became king of Argos, and had a daughter, DanaĆ«, by his wife Eurydice (2.26). His narrative then proceeds: [34] When Acrisius consulted the oracle concerning the birth of male children the god said that his daughter would have a son that would kill him. Fearing this, Acrisius constructed a bronze underground chamber and guarded DanaĆ«. As some say, Proetus seduced her, from which dissension broke out between them; but as some say, Zeus turned himself into gold and, flowing through the roof into DanaĆ«ās lap, and had intercourse with her. [35] Subsequently perceiving that she had given birth to Perseus, he did not believe that she had been raped by Zeus, and, casting his daughter with her son into a chest, he threw them into the sea. When the chest was washed up on the island of Seriphos, Dictys took up the boy and reared him. [36] The king of Seriphos, Dictysā brother Polydectes, lusted after DanaĆ«, and, since Perseus had become a man and he was unable to have intercourse with her, called together his friends, including Perseus, saying that he was collecting contributions towards a wedding-gift for Hippodamia, daughter of Oenomaus. When Perseus said that he would not refuse even at the price of the Gorgonās head, Polydectes asked for horses from the others, but taking no horses from Perseus, set for him the task of fetching the Gorgonās head. [Perseusā adventures follow: he kills the Gorgon Medusa and appropriates her head, and rescues Andromeda from a sea-monster in Ethiopia.] [45] On returning to Seriphos and finding that his mother had fled to the altars together with Dictys because of Polydectesā violence, he went to the palace, where Polydectes had called his friends together, and, turning away, displayed the Gorgonās head. When they saw it, each was turned to stone in whatever pose each of them happened to have. [46] Having established Dictys as king, Perseus gave the sandals and bag and helmet to Hermes, and the Gorgonās head to Athena. Hermes gave the aforementioned items to the Nymphs, and Athena set the Gorgonās head in the middle of her shield. [Short excursus on Athena and Medusa.] But Perseus, with DanaĆ« and Andromeda, made haste to Argos to see Acrisius. He ā¦ [An account of Acrisiusā accidental death at Perseusā hands, Perseusā rule over Tiryns (rather than Argos), and his children by Andromeda.] Apollodorus, Library 2.34ā6, 45ā7 (2.45ā6 = Eur. Dictys T5 Karamanou)
...
The account provided by Theon, a grammarian of the first century bc, in his commentary on Pindarās Pythian 12, also belongs here, because of its similarity to that crucial point of Apollodorusā version: For as DanaĆ« was being forced by Polydectes, it transpired that she took refuge at the altar of ā¦ But Polydectes, taking care to send Perseus [to] cut off [Medusaās] head, with the intention that he should die and ā¦ Polydectes on seeing [the Gorgonās] head was turned to stone and DanaĆ« was saved. Theon, Commentary on Pindarās Pythians, on 12.13 = Eur. Dictys T4 Karamanou
ā¦
The account given in the Iliad D-scholia is also close to that of Apollodorus: DanaĆ« the daughter of Acrisius, having slept with Zeus, gave birth to Perseus. For when Acrisius consulted the oracle concerning the birth of male children the god said that a son would be born from his daughter that would kill him. Fearing this, Acrisius constructed a bronze chamber under the earth and guarded DanaĆ«. But she, as Pindar 87 and certain others say, was seduced by her fatherās brother Proetus, from which dissension broke out between them; but as some say, Zeus turned himself into gold and, flowing through the roof into DanaĆ«ās lap, had intercourse. Subsequently perceiving that Perseus had been born from her, Acrisius did not believe that his daughter had been raped by Zeus, and, casting her with the boy into a chest, threw them into the sea. When they were brought safely to the island of Seriphos, it happened that the boy was reared by Polydectes, or, as some say, by Dictys, Polydectesā brother. Later when Acrisius went into exile, Perseus took over the kingdom of the Argives.
ā¦
A third source for Pherecydes seems to be found in this account in the Pindaric scholia: āHe killed the Gorgonā; the story is as follows. When his grandfather Acrisius perceived that DanaĆ« had secretly conceived Perseus, then he locked her in a chest with the boy and cast her into the sea, and the chest was brought to the island of Seriphos, which Polydectes ruled. And then when he had come to manhood and was feasting at Polydectesā house, as different people made different contributions to the feast, he himself promised the Gorgonās head. Polydectes, taking his promise as an opportune excuse, demanded it from him, and drove him from the island to deliver the head. For he was in love with his mother. And he, having departed and having cut off the Gorgonās head, brought it into the feast, and turned everyone at the symposium into stone, including Polydectes himself. Scholia to Pindar, Pythian 10.72a (ii 248.3ā15 Drachmann)
Finally, the Roman mythographer Hyginus. His account of DanaĆ« offers a generally familiar tale, with some significant variations: DanaĆ« was the daughter of Acrisius and Aganippe. It was fated for her that her child would kill Acrisius; fearing that, Acrisius enclosed her in a stone-walled chamber. But Jupiter turned himself into a shower of gold and lay with DanaĆ«, and from that act of intercourse Perseus was born. Because of her sexual offence her father shut her in a chest and threw her with Perseus into the sea. Through the will of Jupiter the chest was brought to the island of Seriphos; when the fisherman Dictys found it, he broke it open and saw the woman with her child. He brought them to the king, Polydectes, who took her in marriage and had Perseus brought up in the temple of Minerva. When Acrisius discovered that they were staying with Polydectes, he set out to bring them back; when he arrived there, Polydectes made pleas on their behalf, while Perseus gave his to his grandfather that he would never kill him. While Acrisius was delayed by a storm, Polydectes died; while they were holding funeral games for him, Perseus killed him by casting a discus, which the wind directed onto Acrisiusā head. Thus because he had not willed the action, it was a deed of the gods; and when Acrisius was buried Perseus set out for Argos and took possession of his ancestral lands. Hyginus, Fabulae 63
ā¦
A different account in Hyginus gives a picture of Polydectes more closely aligned to the one found in Pherecydes and Apollodorus: Cassiope regarded her daughter Andromedaās appearance as superior to that of the Nereids. For this reason Neptune demanded that Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus, should be exposed to a sea-monster. When she had been exposed, Perseus, flying with the sandals of Mercury, is said to have come to that place and to have freed her from danger; when he wanted to abduct her, her father Cepheus, together with Agenor, whose betrothed she was, desired to kill Perseus secretly. The matter being discovered, he showed the Gorgonās head to them and they were all transformed from human appearance into rock. Perseus returned with Andromeda to his homeland. When Polydectes saw that Perseus possessed such great courage, he was afraid and wanted to kill him through treachery; but when the matter was discovered, Perseus showed the Gorgonās head to him and he was changed from human appearance into stone. Hyginus, Fabulae 64ā
- Euripides and the Myth of Perseus. Two Lost Greek Tragedies Illuminated by a New Papyrus by P.J. Finglass.
The Mythology of Perseus in the Early Classical Period
āIn two poems from the 490s, and one more of unknown date, Pindar focuses on Perseusā actions after his return from his quest. ā¦
The first treatment appears in two of Pindarās epinician odes. Pythian 12 (490) describes the origin of the art which brought a pipe-player his victory ā an art which Pallas Athena once invented by weaving together the dreadful lament of the fierce Gorgons; she heard it pouring forth from under the maidensā unapproachable snaky heads in their labour, full of grief, when Perseus cried out, bringing the third part of the sisters as doom to sea-girt Seriphos and to its people. Indeed he blinded the awesome brood of Phorcys, and made wretched for Polydectes the feast, the strict enslavement of his mother, and the bed of compulsion, after cutting off the head of fair-cheeked Medusa ā even DanaĆ«ās son, whom we say was born from the flowing gold. Pindar, Pythian 12.11ā18 The emphasis on Medusaās beauty fits with a contemporary trend in visual art towards depicting her in that manner (p.ā 8 above). The description of Perseusā exploit is immediately followed by the earliest reference both to his return to Seriphos and to the punishment of Polydectes for raping his mother, and of the people of Seriphos as a whole, presumably for supporting him; the brief reference to āthe feastā (something explained in surviving literature only in much later sources) implies his audienceās deeper knowledge of the myth. This mention is followed by a reference to Perseusā origins, the first definite reference to the golden shower, ā¦
Previously, in Pythian 10 (498), on mentioning the Hyperboreans, a mythical people dwelling in the distant north, Pindar describes how Perseus once came to them: Not on ships, nor by going on foot, could you find the wondrous way to the assembly of the Hyperboreans. Among whom Perseus, leader of the people, once dined when he came to their house, encountering them sacrificing splendid hecatombs of donkeys to the god; at whose feasts and words of praise in particular Apollo constantly rejoices, and laughs as he sees the beastsā erect arrogance. āāāāāāāā¦āāāāāāāāāBreathing with his bold heart the son of DanaĆ« once came, and Athena was leading, to the gathering of blessed men. He killed the Gorgon, and came bearing her speckled head, with its locks of serpents, as stony death to the islanders. For me nothing that the gods have accomplished ever seems to be unbelievable so as to create wonder. Pindar, Pythian 10.29ā36, 44ā50
ā¦
A third Pindaric treatment appears in Dithyramb 4, a poem of unknown date but which probably comes after the odes discussed above, since they were composed in the 490s and his career extended until at least 446: ā¦ was planning/planting for ā¦ mother ā¦ ā¦ and the bed of compulsion ā¦ trickery ā¦āāāāāā¦ ā¦ The son of Cronus nodded assent ā¦ by necessity ā¦ ā¦ and the road of the immortals is long ā¦āāāāāā¦ ā¦ was of concern to his fatherās mind, ā¦ him, in his highest counsels. and from Olympus he dispatched to him Hermes of the golden wand ā¦ and the Grey-Eyed one, protector āof cities. He brought it, and they saw things not to be seen ā¦ For indeed he brought about their utmost transformation; and they were manifested as stones instead of humans. ā¦ and he apportioned requital for passion to the general. Pindar, Dithyramb 4 = fr. 70d.14ā18, 35ā43 SāM
ā¦
References to Perseus occur in four other Pindaric poems, none datable. One is the poem of unknown genre in which Pindar cites Proetusā rape of DanaĆ«, just mentioned; this indicates that he dealt with her life before her arrival on Seriphos, something well attested in other sources of this period. A description of Perseusā escape from the Gorgons is found in Dithyramb 1; although relatively brief in the preserved fragment, the introductory phrase (Ī»į½³Ī³ĪæĪ½ĻĪ¹ Ī“į½² Ī²ĻĪæĻĪæį½·, āand mortals reportā) may suggest a subsequent correction to the myth, and thus more than casual engagement with it. In Isthmian 5 Perseus is a pre-eminent hero of Argos, on a par with the Oeneidae in Aetolia, Iolaus in Thebes, and Castor and Polydeuces in Sparta; in Nemean 10 āthe deeds of Perseus concerning the Gorgon Medusaā would take long to relate, the poet declares, again in a context praising Argos.
Tragedy, to be discussed in the next section, is also concerned with Perseusā activities after his return; so are the visual arts. A handful of vases show Perseusā confrontation with Polydectes. For instance, a red-figure pelike (wine-container) from Cerveteri, dating to c. 480 and signed by the painter Hermonax, shows Perseus revealing the Gorgonās head, standing in front of a seated Polydectes. On the name vase of the Polydectes Painter, found in Bologna and dating to 450ā440, the lower part of the seated Polydectes has already turned to stone as he sees the Gorgonās head, held aloft by Perseus, who is standing in front of him; behind Perseus stands Athena, staring at Polydectes. The rape of DanaĆ« is not depicted, however. The earlier part of the myth, before Perseusā quest to kill Medusa, also begins to receive attention during this period, as the golden rain, and the construction of the chest, make their first appearances in art; ... Rain and chest are linked on a calyx-crater from Cerveteri, dated to c. 490ā480 and attributed to the Triptolemus Painter, which on one side shows DanaĆ« (named) lying on a couch as the golden shower falls into her lap, while on the other she descends into the chest while holding Perseus. Acrisius (named) looks on from her left, meeting her gaze, a staff symbolising authority in his left hand, his right arm outstretched in a gesture of farewell, or command; a carpenter busies himself to her right. The juxtaposition reveals the consequences of the mysterious shower, namely pregnancy and imprisonment; the undeserved nature of DanaĆ«ās punishment, and her essential passivity, could scarcely be clearer.
Sometimes DanaĆ« faces Acrisius alone on these vases; at other times she has female support. On a red-figure stamnos from c. 490, found at Cerveteri and attributed to the Eucharides Painter, Acrisius stands on the viewerās left, the carpenter in front of him; on the far right stands a woman holding a baby, with one arm gingerly held out towards Acrisius, and in front of her, with both arms fully outstretched to implore the kingās mercy, stands another woman. The woman holding Perseus might be a nurse, the other one being DanaĆ«; alternatively, DanaĆ« holds Perseus, and her mother begs her husband on her behalf. This seems the more attractive interpretation, given both the strikingly direct manner in which the woman entreats the king, and the tendency for DanaĆ« in other depictions to carry her baby son. A similar arrangement, albeit with a less remarkable entreaty, occurs on a contemporary red-figure hydria from southern Italy or Sicily attributed to the Gallatin Painter. One vase on which two supporting women are present is another red-figure hydria, from c. 440ā430, from Cumae, name vase of the DanaĆ« Painter. Three figures stand on the left, facing the chest containing DanaĆ« and Perseus on the right: first Acrisius, then a woman, then a shorter woman, perhaps a girl. Whether the two women are DanaĆ«ās mother and a nurse, or whether they are simply anonymous supporters of DanaĆ«ās interposed between her and the cruel king to offer some feminine sympathy, is unclear.
A unique depiction on an oil-flask (lecythos) from c. 470 shows DanaĆ« and Perseus in a chest, birds flying about them. This same moment had been the subject of a long lyric poem of Simonides (active late sixth/early fifth centuries), of which a substantial fragment survives, describing that early episode in Perseusā life, through a speech delivered in his presence by his mother DanaĆ«, when they are shut up in a chest tossing on the sea. The next stage in the chestās adventure, its arrival on Seriphos, is the subject of four images from Attic red-figure vases from approximately 470ā450. A bell krater shows a man wearing a short chiton, probably meant to be a fisherman, lifting the lid of the chest, from which emerge DanaĆ« and Perseus, to be greeted by a different fisherman on the other side; a fragment attributed to the Karlsruhe Painter shows a man wearing a leather cap lifting a lid and looking at a female face; a fragment of a bell krater shows Polydectes on the left, wearing a cloak and carrying a sceptre, looking at Dictys, who assists DanaĆ« as she steps out of the chest, carrying Perseus; a fragmentary pyxis (box) attributed to the Wedding Painter shows DanaĆ« and Perseus being introduced by fisherman to Polydectes. ā¦ The mid-fifth century also sees a few depictions of Perseusā first encounter with Andromeda, though now not during the conflict with the monster, but either during or after Andromedaās binding.ā
- Euripides and the Myth of Perseus. Two Lost Greek Tragedies Illuminated by a New Papyrus by P.J. Finglass
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