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Electryon, grandfather of Hercules; Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelus and Cynurus. The two daughters were Gorgophone and Autochthoe.

There was though still the prophecy as given to Perseus' grandfather, Acrisius. Whether the prophecy was fulfilled or not depends on what version of the story is being told.

In one version of the story Perseus was competing in the athletic games of Larissa. There he was displaying a new game he had created, quoits, when his grandfather crossed in the path of the quoits, causing his death. A similar tale is told in Argos and Thessaly where Teutamides was throwing funeral games for his father, when Acrisius was killed by a discus thrown by Perseus.

The death of Acrisius would mean that Perseus was to be king of Argos. Perseus though gave the kingdom to Megapenthes, a nephew of Acrisius, whilst Persues became ruler of Tiryns.

A final version though has Perseus killing Acrisius's brother Proteus, rather than his grandfather. Proteus had sent Acrisius into exile, and it was Perseus who returned Acrisius to the throne.

Time has seen changes made to the story of Perseus though, and in the Renaissance the winged sandals of Hermes were not the method of escape from the Gorgons. The story changed to an escape being made on the back of Perseus, the legendary winged horse. Perseus was the offspring of Medusa, who had sprung from the neck of the Gorgon. This though is in contrast to the classical tales that have Bellerophon as the hero who tamed and rode the winged gorse.

Additionally a widespread tale involves turning the Titan Atlas into stone. A struggle between the hero and the Titan had ensued, where Medusa's head was used to create the Atlas Mountains. This though again cannot work with the classic tales that have Hercules encountering Atlas in his travels. Hercules of course is the great-grandson of Perseus, so Atlas could not have been turned to stone by Perseus.

Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
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