Perses Perseus Persia

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~ PERSES  myth> SON OF ANDROMEDA & PERSEUS
                or ANDROMEDA MAY HAVE HAD PERSES BEFORE
  HER RETURN TO PERSEUS IN ARGOS
  also ONE OF THE TWELVE TITANS FROM CRIUS & EURYBIA
  hx> ORIGIN OF THE NAME PERSIA       see>   PERSEUS


~ PERSEUS  myth> PERSEUS SON OF see> DANAE
                 daughter of
  see> KING ACRISIUS or AKRISIOS of
  see> ARGOS and
  sug> EURIDICE or EURYDICE
  med> DANAE WAS IMPREGNATED BY ZEUS
       who reached her metamorphosed as
  A SHOWER OF GOLD   sug> IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
  DANAE NAMED HER INFANT SON
  PERSEUS perhaps for PER ZEUS or PER-ZEUS
  note similarity another event when
  ZEUS METAMORPHOSED INTO A SHOWER OF LIGHT
  TO IMPREGNATE see> LETO
  myth> AN ORACLE INFORMED AKRISIOS
        THAT THE SON OF DANAE later named PERSEUS
  WOULD KILL HIM AND TO AVOID SUCH FATE HE
  CAST DANAE AND HER INFANT SON ADRIFT IN THE SEA
  BUT ZEUS INSURED THAT THEY SAFELY REACHED
  THE ISLAND OF SERIPHUS WHERE DICTYS
  A POOR FISHERMAN
  CARED FOR THEM
  DANAE NAMED HER SON
  PERSEUS EURYMEDON
  THE LOCAL KING POLYDECTES
  LUSTED AFTER DANAE AND
  INDUCED PERSEUS TO PROMISE HIM
  THE HEAD OF THE GORGON MEDUSA BUT
  THE TASK WAS IMPOSSIBLE
  THE TERRITORY OF THE GORGONS
  WAS UNREACHABLE BY MORTALS AND
  THOSE WHO SAW THE GORGON MEDUSA
  WERE PETRIFIED BY HER SIGHT
  WITH THE HELP OF ATHENA WHO
  TOLD PERSEUS TO GO TO LIBYA AND
  FIND SOME NYMPHS WHO HELD FOR
  HIM MAGIC WEAPONS
  PERSEUS WALKED TO NORTH AFRICA
  IN SEARCH OF A CAVE WHERE DWELLED
  THREE SISTER WITCHES ENDOWED
  WITH ONE EYE BALL THAT THEY PASSED
  ONE TO ANOTHER IN ORDER TO SEE
  THEY WERE KNOWN AS GRAEAE
  FOR THEY WERE BORN WITH GRAY HAIR
  PERSEUS KNEW THAT THE GRAEAE WOULD
  NOT TELL HIM WHERE THE NYMPHS WERE
  BUT HE COMPELLED THEM BY
  GRASPING THEIR EYE
  THE DESPAIR OF BEING BLINDED
  INDUCED THE GRAEAE TO TELL HIM
  HOW TO FIND THE NYMPHS AND WHERE
  THE MAGIC WEAPONS WERE HIDDEN
  SOON HE FOUND THE NYMPHS WHO GAVE HIM
  A MAGIC POUCH FOR THE HEAD OF THE MEDUSA
  A PAIR OF WINGED SANDALS
  TO ENABLE HIM TO FLY AND
  A CAP OF DARKNESS TO MAKE HIM INVISIBLE
  THEN HERMES APPEARED AND GAVE PERSEUS
  A MAGIC SWORD OR SICKLE MADE OF
  see> ADAMANT WHICH RENDERED THE BLADE
  UNDENTABLE AND CAPABLE OF CUTTING STONES
  alt some legends related that it was
      MERCURY or HERMES AND NOT THE NYMPHS
  WHO GAVE PERSEUS THE FLYING SANDALS AND
  THE INVISIBILITY CAP
  SOON HE FOUND THE LAIR OF THE GORGONS
  FILLED WITH PETRIFIED HUMANS
  THE GORGONS HAD HANDS OF BRASS
  WINGS OF GOLD
  TUSKS OF SWINE AND SNAKE LIKE TONGUES
  THEIR HAIR WAS INTERTWINED WITH SNAKES
  PERSEUS AVOIDED THE GORGONS
  STHENO AND EURYALE WHICH WERE IMMORTAL AND
  WAITED FOR THE MORTAL MEDUSA TO FALL ASLEEP
  HE CUT HER HEAD WITHOUT LOOKING AT HER
  BY USING HIS POLISHED SHIELD AS A MIRROR
  HE PLACED HER HEAD IN THE MAGIC POUCH
  AND FLEW AWAY
  FROM THE BLOOD OF THE DECAPITATED MEDUSA
  AROSE AND FLEW THE MAGIC HORSE
  see> PEGASUS
  THE RETURN OF PERSEUS WITH THE HEAD OF MEDUSA
  IMPELLED OVID [#] TO RELATE HIS ADVENTURES
  FIRST PERSEUS VISITED THE LAND OF THE
  sug> HESPERIDES  sug> HISPANIA or SPAIN
  RULED BY THE TITAN see> ATLAS
  THE GODDESS sug> THEMIS WARNED ATLAS
  THAT PERSEUS WAS THE SON OF ZEUS AND
  THAT PERSEUS MIGHT STEAL THE
  sug> GOLDEN APPLES
  ATLAS TRIED TO EXPELL PERSEUS BUT
  INSTEAD HE BECAME PETRIFIED WHEN
  PERSEUS SHOWED HIM THE HEAD OF THE MEDUSA
  MOUNT ATLAS IS NOW A LANDMARK ON THE
  COAST OF NORTHERN AFRICA ACROSS
  GIBRALTAR IN HISPANIA or SPAIN
  note however that other tales relate that
  much later see> HERCULES dealt with ATLAS
  another tale states that
  PERSEUS TOOK ANOTHER DETOUR
  BEFORE RETURNING TO SERIPHUS
  HE VISITED CHEMMIS IN EGYPT
  WHERE IN THE TIME OF HEREDOTUS [#]
  LIVED THE ONLY EGYPTIANS TO WORSHIP PERSEUS
  NEXT PERSEUS LANDED IN ETHIOPIA
  THE LAND OF KING CEPHEUS or an
  ETHIOPIAN COLONY AT JOPPA IN SYRIA
  WHERE KING CEPHEUS HAD HIS DAUGHTER
  ANDROMEDA CHAINED NAKED TO A ROCK
  TO APPEASE POSEIDON WHO WOULD
  RELEASE A SEA MONSTER see> CETUS
  TO DEVOUR HER
  lit+ THE STORY OF PERSEUS and ANDROMENA
       is similar to
  RUGGIERO SAVING ANGELICA in
  " ORLANDO FURIOSO " by ARIOSTO [#]
  sc> astr> note CONSTELLATIONS
            representing the drama personified by
  see> PERSEUS the hero
  see> ANDROMEDA the bride of PERSEUS
  see> CASSIOPEIA the mother of DANAE who had PERSEUS
  see> CEPHEUS father of ANDROMEDA
  see> CETUS or SEA MONSTER
  cont> see> ANDROMEDA
  backg> see> ACRISIUS  see> DANAE
  cont> in addenda under development see> ~& PERSEUS


~ PERSIA    LAND NAMED AFTER PERSES
            hx> MODERN PERSIA USES THE TERM IRAN or IRANI
                for PERSIAN LANGUAGE uses the word FARSI
  PERSIANS ARE PEOPLE FROM PERSIA from PERSES
  art> lit+  THREE TRAGEDIES BY THIS NAME WERE WRITTEN BY
             AESCHYLUS  SOPHOCLES AND EURIPIDES
  see> PERSEUS