Polydectes planned to forcibly marry the beautiful Danae, but Danae hated the stern king Polydectes. Perseus stood up for his mother. Polydectes was angry and from that time on he thought only of one thing - how to destroy Perseus. In the end, the cruel Polydectes decided to send Perseus to retrieve the head of the gorgon Medusa. He called Perseus and said to him:
- If you are truly the son of the thunderer Zeus, then you will not refuse to perform a great feat. Your heart will not tremble in the face of any danger. Prove to me that Zeus is your father, and bring me the head of the gorgon Medusa. Oh, I believe Zeus will help his son!
Perseus looked proudly at Polydectes and calmly replied:
- Okay, I'll get you Medusa's head.
Perseus set off on a long journey. He needed to reach the western edge of the earth, the country where the goddess Night and the god of death Tanat reigned. Terrible gorgons also lived in this country. Their entire body was covered with shiny and strong scales, like steel. No sword could cut these scales, only the curved sword of Hermes. The gorgons had huge copper hands with sharp steel claws. On their heads, instead of hair, poisonous snakes moved, hissing. The faces of the gorgons, with their fangs sharp as daggers, with lips red as blood, and with eyes burning with rage, were filled with such malice, they were so terrible that everyone turned to stone at one glance at the gorgons. On wings with sparkling golden feathers, the gorgons quickly flew through the air. Woe to the man they met! The gorgons tore him apart with their copper hands and drank his hot blood.
Perseus had to perform a difficult, inhuman feat. But the gods of Olympus could not let him, the son of Zeus, die. Quick as thought, the messenger of the gods Hermes and the beloved daughter of Zeus, the warrior Athena, came to his aid. Athena gave Perseus a copper shield, so shiny that everything was reflected in it, like in a mirror; Hermes gave Perseus his sharp sword, which cut the hardest steel like soft wax. The messenger of the gods showed the young hero how to find the gorgons.
Long was the path of Perseus. He traveled through many countries and saw many peoples. Finally he reached the dark country where the old Grays lived. They had only one eye and one tooth on all three. They took turns using them. While one of the grays had an eye, the other two were blind, and the sighted grayya led the blind, helpless sisters. When, having taken out the eye, Graya passed it on to the next in line, all three sisters were blind. These Grays guarded the path to the Gorgons; they alone knew it. Perseus quietly crept up to them in the darkness, and, on the advice of Hermes, tore out a wonderful eye from one of the girls just at the moment when she was passing it on to her sister. The Grays screamed in horror. Now all three of them were blind. What should they do, blind and helpless? They began to beg Perseus, conjuring him with all the gods, to give them his eye. They were ready to do anything for the hero, if only he would return their treasure to them. Then Perseus demanded that they return the eye and show him the way to the Gorgons. The Grays hesitated for a long time, but in order to regain their sight, they had to show this path. So Perseus found out how to get to the island of the Gorgons, and quickly moved on.
During his further journey, Perseus came to the nymphs. From them he received three gifts: the helmet of the ruler of the underworld Hades, which made anyone who wore it invisible, sandals with wings with which he could quickly fly through the air, and a magic bag: this bag either expanded or contracted, depending on the size of what was in it. Perseus put on winged sandals, the helmet of Hades, threw a wonderful bag over his shoulder and quickly rushed through the air to the island of the Gorgons.
Perseus was flying high in the sky. Beneath him lay the earth with green valleys through which rivers wound like silver ribbons. The cities were visible below, the temples of the gods sparkled brightly with white marble. In the distance rose mountains covered with green forests, and their snow-covered peaks glowed like diamonds in the rays of the sun. Perseus rushes further and further like a whirlwind. He flies as high as eagles cannot fly on their mighty wings. The sea flashed in the distance like molten gold. Now Perseus is flying over the sea, and the sound of the sea waves reaches him as a barely perceptible rustle. The land is no longer visible. In all directions, as far as Perseus’s gaze could reach, a plain of waters stretched beneath him. Finally, in the blue distance of the sea, an island appeared as a black stripe. He's getting closer. This is the island of the Gorgons. Something sparkles with unbearable brilliance in the rays of the sun on this island. Perseus descended below. Like an eagle, he soars over the island and sees three terrible gorgons sleeping on a rock. They spread out their copper arms in their sleep, their steel scales and golden wings burned with fire in the sun. The snakes on their heads move slightly in their sleep. Perseus quickly turned away from the gorgons. He is afraid to see their menacing faces - after all, one look and he will turn to stone. Perseus took the shield of Pallas Athena - as if in a mirror, the gorgons were reflected in it. Which one is Medusa? Gorgons are like two peas in a pod. Of the three gorgons, only Medusa is mortal, and only she can be killed. Perseus thought. Here the fast Hermes helped Perseus. He pointed Medusa to Perseus and quietly whispered in his ear:
- Hurry, Perseus! Feel free to go downstairs. There, farthest to the sea, is Medusa. Cut off her head. Remember, don't look at her! One look and you're dead. Hurry before the gorgons wake up!
Just as an eagle falls from the sky onto its intended victim, so Perseus rushed to the sleeping Medusa. He looks into the clear shield in order to strike more accurately. The snakes on Medusa's head sensed the enemy. They rose with a menacing hiss. Medusa stirred in her sleep. She has already opened her eyes. At that moment, a sharp sword flashed like lightning. With one blow, Perseus cut off Medusa's head. Her dark blood gushed onto the rock in a stream, and with the streams of blood from Medusa’s body, the winged horse Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor soared to the sky. Perseus quickly grabbed Medusa's head and hid it in a wonderful bag. Writhing in the convulsions of death, Medusa's body fell from the cliff into the sea. The sound of his fall woke up Medusa's sisters, Steino and Euryale. Flapping their mighty wings, they soared over the island and looked around with burning eyes. The gorgons rush noisily through the air, but the killer of their sister Medusa has disappeared without a trace. Not a single living soul is visible either on the island or far out to sea. And Perseus quickly rushed, invisible in the helmet of Hades, over the roaring sea. Now he is rushing over the sands of Libya. Blood leaked from Medusa's head through the bag and fell in heavy drops onto the sand. From these drops of blood the sands gave birth to poisonous snakes. Everything around was swarming with them, all living things took flight from them; snakes turned Libya into a desert.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru