Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Acrisius (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Ἀκρίσιος means 'ill-judgment') was a king of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

. He was the grandfather of the famous Greek demi-god Perseus.

Family

Acrisius was the son of Abas and

Aglaea Aglaea () or Aglaïa (; grc, Ἀγλαΐα, lit=festive radiance) is one of the three ''Charites'' or ''Gratiae'' (Graces) in Greek mythology. Family According to Hesiod, Aglaea is the youngest of the Charites, the three daughters of Zeus a ...

(or Ocalea, depending on the author), grandson of

Lynceus In Greek mythology, Lynceus (; grc, Λυγκεύς, Lynkeús, lynx-eyed) was a king of Argos, succeeding Danaus on the throne. Family Lynceus was named as a descendant of Belus through his father Aegyptus, who was the twin brother of Danaus, ...

, great-grandson of Danaus. He was the twin brother of

Proetus In Greek mythology, Proetus (; Ancient Greek: Προῖτος ''Proitos'') may refer to the following personages: * Proetus, king of Argos and Tiryns, son of Abas and twin brother of Acrisius. *Proetus, a prince of Corinth as the son of Prince ...

and the half brother of

Lyrcus Lyrcus (Ancient Greek: Λύρκος) is the name of two Greek mythological figures, one a figure in a 1st-century BC Hellenistic romance by Parthenius of Nicaea,son of phoroneus, the other the eponymous legendary founder of Lyrceia and son of Abas. ...

. Acrisius was father by

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...

or Aganippe of Danae and thus grandfather of the hero Perseus through her. His other daughter was Evarete, wife of King Oenomaus of Pisa in

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

Mythology

Rivalry of twins

Acrisius and Proetus were said to have quarrelled even in the womb of their mother and when Abas died and Acrisius had grown up, he expelled Proetus from his inheritance. On his exile, Proetus was supported by his father-in-law

Iobates In Greek mythology, Iobates or Jobates (Ancient Greek: Ἰοβάτης) was a Lycian king, the father of Antea and Philonoe. He was sometimes named Amphianax.Pierre Grimal : ''A Concise Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', s.v. "Stheneboea" ...

, the

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...

n, Proetus returned, and Acrisius was compelled to share his kingdom with his brother by giving

Tiryns Tiryns or (Ancient Greek: Τίρυνς; Modern Greek: Τίρυνθα) is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles performed his Twelve Labours. It lies south of M ...

to him, while he retained Argos for himself.

Death

Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consults the Oracle at Delphi, who warns him that he will one day be killed by his daughter Danaë's son. Danaë is childless and to keep her so, he imprisons her in a bronze chamber open to the sky in the courtyard of his palace.

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

impregnates her in the form of a golden shower (some accounts say it is her uncle, Proetus, who impregnates her). Danaë becomes pregnant with Perseus. Acrisius puts the child and Danaë in a chest and throws it into the sea. Zeus asks

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

to calm the water; he does and Danaë and Perseus survive, washing up on the island of Seriphos. A fisherman named Dictys, brother of King

Polydectes In Greek mythology, King Polydectes ( grc-gre, Πολυδέκτης) was the ruler of the island of Seriphos. Family Polydectes was the son of either Magnes and an unnamed naiad, or of Peristhenes and Androthoe, or of Poseidon and Cerebia. ...

, finds the pair and takes care of them. Perseus grows up to be a hero, killing

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

and rescuing Andromeda. Perseus and Danaë return to Argos with Andromeda, but King Acrisius has gone to Larissa. When Perseus arrives in Larissa, he participates in funeral games and accidentally strikes Acrisius on the head with a discus, killing him and fulfilling the prophecy.

Founder of Delphic amphictyony

According to the

Scholiast Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

, Acrisius was the founder of the Delphic

amphictyony In Archaic Greece, an amphictyony ( grc-gre, ἀμφικτυονία, a "league of neighbors"), or amphictyonic league, was an ancient religious association of tribes formed before the rise of the Greek '' poleis''. The six Dorian cities of coast ...

. Strabo believes that this amphictyony existed before the time of Acrisius, and that he was only the first who regulated the affairs of the amphictyons, fixed the towns which were to take part in the council, gave to each its vote, and settled the jurisdiction of the amphictyons.Comp. Libanius, ''Orat.'' vol. iii. 472, ed. Reiske.

Argive genealogy chart

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths'', Harmondsworth, London, England, Penguin Books, 1960. *Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition.'' Penguin Books Limited. 2017. *

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Strabo, '' The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
{{authority control Princes in Greek mythology Abantiades (mythology) Kings of Argos Kings in Greek mythology Argive characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Mythology of Argos