Acrisius

　　Acrisius，king of Argos，was Hypermnestra' s grandson．He had one beautiful daughter， Danae by name． So much did he love her that he decided not to remarry after the death of his wife． But one day an oracle  from Delphi prophesied that he would be killed by the son of Danae．He felt so upset that his love suddenly changed to fear and hatred． To avoid the disaster he built a tall bronze tower，wherein he shut Danae up with her nurse．he kept the key of the tower himself，and left only the roof open for Danae to take an occasional look at the blue sky above． One bright sunny morning Danae felt a childish joy at the sight of the clear，blue sky and longed for freedom when a golden shower of sunlight shot through the open roof and spread all over her．A wave of happiness spread all over her，and Zeus himself stood before her in his splendour  and won her．

　　Some time later，a guard came rushing into King Acrisius' palace and told the astonished king that Danae had given birth to a son． The baby was called Perseus． Acrisius decided that both mother and son must die if he wanted to live himself． Very soon he had a great chest（箱子） built，where he put Danae and her son，and then set it adrift on the sea ． Answering the sad prayers of the poor mother，Zeus had the chest swept onto the land of the Seriphos． Polydectes，king of the country，treated them at first with kindness，but afterwards with cruelty． When Perseus was grown up，Polydectes sent him to kill Medusa．

　　Medusa had been a beautiful maiden，but as she once violated Athena's temple in Lybia  the goddess changed her beautiful hair into snakes and her body into that of a monster． So ugly and terrible was she that anyone looking on her face was immediately turned to stone． But Athena and other gods came to help Perseus． Athena lent him her brightly polished shield in which she warned him to look at the reflection of Medusa  only； Hades gave him his helmet which made its wearer invisible；and Hermes offered him his winged shoes so that he could travel fast over long distances． From the gods he also took a sword and a magic wallet．

　　Acting on the advice of Athena，Perseus travelled west and first sought out the three grey women，known as the Graeae who knew the whereabouts of Medusa． These women had one tooth and one eye between them，so Perseus grabbed the tooth and the eye from them and forced them to tell him the truth． This the grey women did，and one night while flying across the sky the young man found Medusa sleeping on a rock． Flying down，he struck off the head of Medusa and turned back to the land where he had left his mother．

　　阿爾戈斯國王阿克里西俄斯是許泊涅斯特拉的孫子。他的女兒達那厄非常美麗。他對女兒如此寵愛，因此在喪妻之后他決定不再另娶。但是一天來自特爾斐城的一個先知者預言他將死在達那厄兒子的手上。他感到很沮喪，突然之間愛轉變成恐懼與仇恨。為了避免災難的發生，他建造了一座高高的銅塔，把達那厄和她的傭人關在里面。只有他有塔的鑰匙。塔頂留有開口，達那厄只能從這里偶爾看看藍天。在一個陽光明媚的早晨，看到晴朗的藍天。她感到孩子般的喜悅并渴望自由。金色的陽光透過敞開的塔頂傾瀉下來將她籠罩。幸福的暖流傳遍她的全身。站在她面前的是宇宙之王宙斯。他輝煌偉大，贏得了她的心。

　　過了一段時間，一名衛士急匆匆地來到國王阿克里西俄斯的王宮。驚訝的國王被告知達那厄生下了一個兒子，名叫柏修斯。阿克里西俄斯當即決定母子倆都得死，這樣他才能保住性命。很快他就令人做了一只大箱子，把達那厄母子倆關在里面，并把他們扔到海里漂流。這位可憐的母親的祈禱得到了宙斯的回應。宙斯讓箱子漂到賽瑞費斯國。該國國王波呂得克忒斯先是友好地招待他們，后來卻變得殘忍無情。柏修斯長大成人后，波呂得克忒斯派他去殺墨杜薩。

　　墨杜薩曾是一位美麗少女。但是因她褻瀆了雅典娜在利比爾的神殿，女神就把它的美發變成了蛇，她的身體也成了怪物的體態。她丑陋猙獰，任何人只要看到她的面孔就會立即變成石頭。雅典娜和其他的神向柏修斯伸出了救援的手。雅典娜借給他閃亮的盾。她警告他只能看墨杜薩映在上面的像。哈得斯借給他隱身盔甲；海爾墨斯為他提供帶翼鞋，穿上它就能快步如飛。從神那里還得到了劍和魔袋。

　　遵照雅典娜的忠告，柏修斯向西走，他首先找到了格賴埃三姐妹。她們知道墨杜薩的行蹤。這三位婦人共用一顆牙，一只眼。于是，柏修斯抓著他們的牙和眼，強迫她們道出實情。一天晚上，年輕人飛越天空時，他發現了在巖石上睡覺的墨杜薩。他飛下去砍掉了墨杜薩的頭。然后轉身走向與母親告別的地方。

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