Many people know of the modern day movie “Percy Jackson”, but people may not know that the movie was based off of an actual demigod, an epic hero, of Greek Mythology by the name of Perseus. Perseus was the son of Zeus who was the god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods, this is how he inherited his superhuman qualities that made him an epic hero. From the story of his family to the stories of his quests, it is clear, Perseus is one of the most interesting hero’s in all of Greek Mythology. According to the author of The Quest of Medusa’s Head, James Baldwin, Perseus’ story began before he was even born. His grandfather was Acrisius, the king of Argos, he was told by a prophesy that his daughter, Danae, would have a son that would grow…show more content… Although his powers were not as glamorous as other epic heroes such as, Beowulf or Achilles, he still did many things that consider him to be an epic hero of his own story. He was humble and brave in his quest to kill Medusa, unlike the others who had only attempted to behead her. The famous epic of Perseus’ quest for Medusa's head is considered to be a literary epic because his story was written down by many people during many different times. Although at first, his quest was only talked about and admired by others, someone eventually took the time to write it all down into one big epic story. While reading the incredible story of Perseus, the reader can clearly see all of the elements of the epic itself. For example, the story talks about a “superhuman” or demigod, in this case, and his abilities to do the impossible, and it describes how the story takes place on both the land and the sea making the setting vast and…show more content… On his way back to his home with the head of Medusa, Perseus noticed the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock, she was about to become a sacrifice to a terrifying sea-monster. Perseus, being the epic hero that he was, killed the monster and took the young princess home with him where they eventually got married and had children. Britannica.com published a story called Perseus, that explains what Perseus allegedly did when we returned home with Medusa’s head. He gave the head to Athena and he gave his other possessions to Hermes since they were the main ones to help him during his dangerous quest. He then went back to where he was born, Argos, with his mother where as fate would have it, Perseus accidentally killed his grandfather while he was throwing a weighted disc.
It is obvious that Perseus inspired many after his heroic quest because after his valiant deeds, he became the center of attention for many plays and epic poems for years to come. In art, he is painted or portrayed as a young man with a heroic stance equipped with his sword that was used to behead Medusa and his winged sandals that were given to him by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. In some status, he is holding his prize, the head of the Gorgon Medusa. If you look up at the sky tonight, you might also see the Perseus
