Perseus

Ancient Greek hero and founder of Mycenae In Greek mythology, Perseus (/ˈpɜːr.si.əs/ ⓘ PUR-see-əs, UK also /-ʃəs, -sjuːs/ -⁠shəs, -⁠sews; Ancient Greek: Περσεύς, romanized: Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. He was a demigod, being the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles (as they were both children of Zeus, and Heracles's mother was Perseus's granddaughter). Etymology Because of the obscurity of the name "Perseus" and the legendary character of its bearer, most etymologists think it might be pre-Greek; however, the name of Perseus's native city was Greek and so were the names of his wife and relatives. Greek may have inherited it from Proto-Indo-European. In that regard Graves proposed the only Greek derivation available: Perseus might be from Greek pérthein (πέρθειν) "to waste, ravage, sack, destroy", some form of which is familiar in Homeric epithets. Carl Dar