Preview

The Deadly Power of Medusa

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
417 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Deadly Power of Medusa
The Deadly Power of Medusa

This book tells about Perseus's voyage to capture the head of Medusa. It all started when King Acrisius went to see the oracle of Delphi and learned that his daughter, Danae, would have a son who would someday kill him. The king locked Dana in a bronze chamber to keep her from having any offspring. However, the god Zues came to see her and then their son, Perseus, was born. The king placed them (Danae and Perseus) in a chest and cast them off to sea. They ended up landing on an island and were rescued by a fisherman named Dictys who they lived with along with his wife. King Polydectes of the island wanted to marry Danae and knew he had to get rid of Perseus in orer to do so. He invited Perseus over for a feast where everyone was offering gifts. However, Perseus had no gift to offer. He said that he would do anything for the king. He was told to get the head of Medusa. The king knew that he would've brought no gift and planned this out so that he would die on the journey. With the help of the gods, Hermes and Athena, Perseus was given a curved sword and a bronze shield to look at Medusa with because looking at her directly would turn you to stone. Hermes traveled with Perseus as he used direction from the half bird/half women in the Land of Twilight to get to the Nymphs of the North in Hyperborea. Here he received a magical bag to put the head in, a cap of darkness to be invisible with, and winged shoes to fly with. When he went to fight Medusa, the worst of the three Gorgon sisters with snakes coming out of her head, he succeeded. He rescued the princess of Ethiopia on his way home, called Andromeda. Back at home, he showed the head of Medusa to the king, and everyone in the room was turned to stone. Dictys became the king of the island and Perseus eventually killed his grandfather, Acrisius, at a sports event in Greece when he had to leave his city. When they returned back home, Perseus and Andromeda had a son named Electryon,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Persepolis

    • 1083 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cited: Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis The Story of a Childhood. New York. Pantheon Books 2004, print…

    • 1083 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The greek hero Perseus is one of the most famous ancient greek hero figures in history. To begin telling his tale of heroism I must first start with his legacy. The grandson of Acrisius and the son of Zeus and Danae, Perseus was born from very strong parents. Acrisius got word from an oracle that if is daughter Danae birthed a son, the child would kill his father. Acrisius, accordingly, shut up his daughter in a subterraneous chamber, made of brass and stone, but Zeus having metamorphosed himself into a shower of gold, came down upon her through the roof of the apartment, and became the father of Perseus. When Acrisius discovered that Danae had given birth to a son he cast her and Perseus into the sea in a golden chest. Miraculously…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay will talk about a particular section from Book 12 of The Odyssey, written by Homer around 750 – 650 B.C, and translated by Robert Fagles. This passage entails the distressing time that Odysseus and his crew spend on an island called Thrinacia. It is significant to the epic as it generates excitement through the tension between goals and obstacles, which eventually leave Odysseus to endeavour his journey back home alone. This essay will stress on three literary features that dominate the passage and help evoke emotion and depth in the storyline, namely contrast, conflict and theme. These features help contribute to developing Odysseus as a strong willed character throughout the impediments that the crew and the hero encounter.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thesis Statement: To what extent did Attila the Hun influence Europe to fortify their defences?…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Un-linear in fashion, the narrative is halted by excerpts of myth, which inform the reader of just one of Odysseus countless feats. As told by the bard Demodokos, the inner tales of “the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilleus son of Peleus”(8.75) and “the love between Aries and lovely-Aphrodite”(8.267) are symbolically significant, and draws a parallel with the outer story.…

    • 95 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rick Riordan may have chosen to mirror his novel’s protagonist to Perseus, one of the more successful and prosperous Greek heroes, for a tamer introduction to Greek mythology, especially since the target audience for these books are middle school students. Riordan wrote this novel to introduce Greek mythology at an earlier stage in a student’s engagement with literature and culture, during the age when reading moves past simple comprehension and can explore richer literary motifs, inspiring students to learn more. Later in life, after gaining background knowledge in the ancient Greek myths, readers can engage more deeply with the text. From personal experience with reading and later revisiting The Lightning Thief after reading the canon Greek myths about Perseus, it is likely that other such readers can also better understand the timeless themes that can be transferred from the ancient stories to a contemporary novel—growing up in hardship, proving one’s worth, securing justice for harmed loved ones, and receiving help in tackling difficult tasks. The impact of these themes after comprehending the scale by which these have persisted throughout history further strengthens the power of the novel and inspires awe. The fact that many parallels of…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Odysseus and his men set sail once more and understand another land. This land had a place with the God of Wind that happens to be the connection of the Greek god. This God helps Odysseus with the requital of Greek divinity. He gathers the twist in a surpassing sac to help legendary being to understand his way home, notwithstanding, cautions him that he could exclusively open it at a specific time.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disney Hero's Journey

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The movie leaves out a few important characters that were told in Perseus’s original myth. Originally, Perseus set out on his quest for Medusa’s head in order to save his mother Danae from King Polydectes. In the movie however, they replace the importance of his mother with his lover Io, who he must save from the sea monster, the Kraken. Film makers know the importance of a love story in today’s movies, which is probably why they make this change. Also, the movie is given an obvious villain, which is where Hades is brought into it. With him being the easily identifiable evil character, that leaves no room for confusion. Perseus’s character is only given minor changes from the original myth to the movie, still portraying him as a brave and compassionate…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    War connects with futility due to the death of Aymo while in battle. The battle between the Germans and Italians was chaos because many Italian soldiers are shooting at random. Unfortunately, Aymo is shot to death by his own companions due to the chaos that is happening on the battlefield. Italians can’t tell who are the Germans, so they started shooting at random people and I think this battle shows the true ugliness of war. Innocent men died while serving their country and Aymo died by his own side. Not only did Aymo died, but Henry started firing at other Italian soldiers who tried to run away. When Henry joined the battle police relief he felt obligated to shoot the sergeant because the title of being Lieutenant and felt superior. Chapter…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Book XI, Homer reinforces major themes that repeat through the rest of the story that show Odysseus he can get home using the ideas seen throughout the text. Hospitality is a theme in Book XI that occurs in many of the other books of The Odyssey. The soldiers give hospitality toward Hades and Persephone though their sacrifices so that Odysseus can visit the Underworld. This is an example of irony in the book because the reason that Odysseus and his men are in this situation is because they did not give a sacrifice to Poseidon as they were supposed to do. This time, however, Odysseus did as Kirke instructed and made "offerings of flesh to the gods below—to sovereign Death, to pale Persephone" (186), allowing entrance to Odysseus to go to Hades and learn his future.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first four books, other wise known as the Telemachy, is able to prepare the readers for the story of Odysseus as it gives background information on the characters and foreshadows what is to come in the books ahead. Foreshadowing is prevalent throughout the epic and the journey's in it. In the case of Agamemnon, his life is ultimately ended in the hands of his wife and the suitor she had chosen. His son's revenge can foreshadow and parallel to what Telemachus and his journey may bring ahead. The story of Orestes (Agamemnon's son) and the vindication for his father, "Orestes killed the snake that killed his father. He gave his hateful mother and her soft man a tomb together, and proclaimed a festival day for all the Argive people." (44), brings to light the similarities between Telemachus and Orestes.…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Odysseus Journey

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As Odysseus makes his final steps to returning to Ithaca, the reader witnesses Odysseus’ struggles, achievements, and emotions throughout The Odyssey. Odysseus is a very proud warrior who’s been through a lot of hardship and loss. When he makes his biggest decisions to return home for the duration of books 13-24, the reader begins to recognize this desire and vulnerable side of Odysseus. Disguised as a beggar, due to Athena, he evaluates the suitors and others that are destroying his home before he begins his slaughter; he needs to analyze the situation before diving head first. The reader sees him on the verge of letting go all his rage and longing for home; yet he remains composed and steady-minded. Odysseus’ self control and struggle to…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Medea Feminist Analysis

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Medea sits in her room all day sobbing loudly for the world to hear. She screams and cries as to capture everyone’s attention. As abnormal as it seems, the readers of Euripides’ Medea witnesses this scene at the beginning of the book. The Nurse and Chorus continually speak about the hardships Medea is going through, and tend to feel sorry for her. Euripides emphasizes the point that Medea is going through extreme pain internally with the thought and actions of her killing her own children. [Some may say that Medea is not sympathized with because she is full of so much grief, and her being a witch, is expected to do unexpected things.] However, readers can see that Euripides does sympathize with her because of the repetition of the Nurse and Chorus’s pity, as well as Medea’s own feelings. Throughout Euripides’s Medea, the Nurse and Chorus foreshadow Medea’s evil actions followed by their attempt at trying to stop and…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Medusa

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In medusa, Duffy uses the character of a female to show power. "Be terrfied". This quote is a short sentence which emphasises her power and that when she looks at you, it doesnt take long till you are turned into stone. The sentence also creates a sinister tone in a way that she wants you t be afraid of her because she was once destroyed now she wants to destroy others as she has the power to do so. Duffy later on uses the verb "shattered" which links with the word "spattered". This demonstartes the strength of her power to destroy, her power is so strong that anything that comes in her way either ends up "shattered" or "spattered". The verbs also infer that with power comes jelousy because Medusa destroys everything that appears to be positive and beautiful. They might also suggest that the way she has destroyed inncocent life is a way to say that she is out of contro herself.The poem structured around her transformation, and the escalating scale of the living things she turns to "stone". She starts with a "buzzing-bee" and her victims increase in size until she changes a "dragon" into a "volcano". Finally she turns her attention to the man who broke her heart. In her last line Medusa says "look at me now". this line, given great structural emphasis, is hugely ambiguous.It could be a heart-felt plea for attention as well as, of course, a heavily ironic threat and reminder of her capabilities.The paradox for Medusa is that she has become trapped by her own power. Duffy may be suggesting that the negative and destructive qualities of revenge will eventually undo their perpetrator. In the same way power is a major theme in Ozymandias, what was once so magnificent - a symbol of the king's great power - is now "sunk... shattered...…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Then during the movie, Perseus picked some noble men to accompany him. He and his crew traveled along trails and up mountains to find Medusa. There were many obstacles for…

    • 641 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays