The myth of Perseus saves the andromeda. How the winged horse Pegasus "flew" into the sky Beauty chained to a rock

Perseus and Andromeda (myth of ancient Greece)

Perseus flies high in the sky, but now the bright day is leaning towards evening, and Helios directed his golden chariot towards sunset. The goddess of the Night is going to replace him, straightens her dark clothes. It's time for Perseus to think about rest. He went down to the ground and saw a city on the rocky coast of the Ocean. Here he decided to stay overnight.

Perseus landed, took off his winged sandals and looked around. Suddenly he hears plaintive cries from the direction of the sea. The young man quickly ran there and saw such a picture. On the very shore of the sea there is a girl of unprecedented beauty chained to a rock, crying with bitter tears. Perseus approached the girl and asks her:
- Tell me, fair maiden, why are you so severely punished and what is this country where I ended up?
The girl began to tell Perseus her bitter story:
- The country where you are now is called Ethiopia. Here I lived in my parents' house, not knowing worries and sorrows. '' The girl fell silent, tears again flooded from her wonderful eyes. Having coped with herself a little, she continued her sad story, from which Perseus learned everything that happened here.
Andromeda - that was the name of the girl - was the only daughter of the Ethiopian king Kefei and his wife Cassiopeia. They lived in happiness and joy in their warm, fertile country, and this would have always continued. But Queen Cassiopeia was very proud of her beauty and told everyone that there is no woman more beautiful in the world than she. Kefey agreed with his wife in everything and also considered her the most beautiful of all. The sea nymphs were angry with them for this and persuaded the god of the seas Poseidon to punish Kefei and Cassiopeia.
Poseidon sent a terrible monster, huge and terrible, to the shores of Ethiopia. A monster emerged from the depths of the sea and devastated the country of Kefei. The once happy and carefree Ethiopia was filled with crying and groans. People did not know how to save themselves from such a punishment, and they cried pitifully, preparing for a terrible death.
Then Kefey turned to the oracle of Zeus and asked him what they should do to save themselves from this punishment.
- Poseidon's punishment will end only if you give your only daughter Andromeda to be torn apart by the monster, - the oracle answered him.
Kefey was horrified at the answer and at first did not tell anyone about it. But the gigantic fish continued to ravage the country, the people begged the king to save them, and then Kephei had no choice but to tell everyone what the oracle told him. He hoped that people would take pity on Andromeda and would not give her up to be torn apart by a monster. But his hopes were not destined to come true. The people decided that the king's daughter should atone for the guilt of her mother.
And now Andromeda, pale and trembling with horror, stands chained to a rock and awaits her terrible fate. Perseus's heart sank with pity for the beautiful girl. He fell in love with her as soon as he saw her, and now he was ready to do anything to save him from suffering.
Then the city gates were thrown open, and the parents of the unfortunate girl came out with weeping and groaning. Perseus addressed them with the words:
- Now is not the time to shed tears, we have to think about how to save an innocent girl. I am Perseus - the son of Zeus. Give me Andromeda as a wife, and I will save her and your country from this punishment.
As soon as Perseus had time to utter these words, the sea shook, and a huge monster appeared from the depths of the sea. It was quickly approaching the shore and had already opened its terrible mouth, preparing to tear to pieces the unfortunate Andromeda. Andromeda screamed in horror, Kefey and Cassiopeia rushed to their knees in front of Perseus:
- O glorious and fearless youth! We beg you, save our unfortunate daughter, and you will receive her as a wife, and together with her we will give you our entire kingdom as a dowry.
The sea is raging, salty streams of water overwhelm Andromeda's legs, a terrible monster is already next to her. And at this moment Perseus soars into the air, rushes from above to the gigantic fish and with a swing thrust the curved sword of Hermes into its back.
A monster rises up in a deadly throw, trying to get Perseus. But he manages to pull out his deadly sword and again plunges it into the back of the mighty fish. The wounded monster rushes about on the sea, then goes deep into the abyss, then floats up to the surface of the sea with a noise, whips up the water with its powerful tail, salt spray scatters in all directions. Perseus's winged sandals are wet, he can barely stay in the air. The young man flew up to a high rock, grabbed it with one hand, and with the other thrust a sword into the chest of a gigantic fish and finally killed it. In the last throw, she darted to the side, and then slowly began to plunge into the depths of the sea.
Shouts of joy filled the seashore. People ran out of the city, removed her heavy fetters from Andromeda. And then Perseus came up. He took his beautiful bride by the hand and led her to Kefei's palace.

WHAT THE ANCIENT GREEKS TELL ABOUT THE BEARS?

There are many legends about Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Here is one of them. Once upon a time, King Lycaon, who ruled the country of Arcadia, had a daughter named Callisto. Her beauty was so extraordinary that she risked competing with the Hero - the goddess and wife of the almighty supreme god Zeus. Jealous Hera eventually took revenge on Callisto: using her supernatural power, she turned her into an ugly bear. When the son of Callisto, young Arkad, once returning from a hunt, saw a wild beast at the door of his house, he, suspecting nothing, almost killed his mother bear. This was prevented by Zeus - he held the hand of Arcade, and Callisto forever took him to heaven, turning him into a beautiful constellation - Ursa Major. Callisto's beloved dog was also turned into Ursa Minor. Arkad also did not stay on Earth: Zeus also turned him into the constellation Bootes, doomed to guard his mother in the sky forever. The main star of this constellation is called Arcturus, which means "guardian of the bear". Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are the non-setting constellations most visible in the northern sky. There is another legend about the circumpolar constellations. Fearing the evil god Cro-nose, who devoured babies, Zeus's mother Rhea hid her newborn in a cave, where he was fed, in addition to the goat Amalthea, two she-bears - Melissa and Gelik, who were subsequently placed in heaven for this. Sometimes Melissa is called Kinosura, which means "dog's tail". In the legends of different peoples, the Big Dipper is often called a chariot, a cart, or just seven bulls. Next to the Mizar star (from the Arabic word "horse") - the second, or middle, star in the handle of the Big Dipper's bucket - is barely noticeable the star Alkor (in Arabic it means "rider", "rider"). These stars can be used to test eyesight; each star must be visible to the naked eye.

AS PERSEUS SPAS ANDROMEDUS

The names of the starry sky reflected the myth of the hero Perseus. A long time ago, according to the ancient Greeks, Ethiopia was ruled by a king named Cepheus and a queen called Cassiopeia. They had their only daughter, the beautiful Andromeda. The queen was very proud of her daughter and once had the imprudence to boast of her beauty and the beauty of her daughter in front of the mythical inhabitants of the sea - the Nereids. They were very angry because they thought they were the most beautiful in the world. The Nereids complained to their father, the god of the seas, Po-seydon, to punish Cassiopeia and Andromeda. And the powerful lord of the seas sent to Ethiopia a huge sea monster - Kita. Fire erupted from Kit's mouth, black smoke poured from his ears, and his tail was covered with sharp spines. The monster devastated and burned the country, threatened the death of the entire people. To appease Poseidon, Cepheus and Cassiopeia agreed to give their beloved daughter to be devoured by a monster. The beautiful Andromeda was chained to the coastal rock and humbly awaited her fate. And at this time, on the other side of the world, one of the most famous legendary heroes - Perseus - performed an extraordinary feat. He entered the island where gorgons lived - monsters in the form of women, whose hair was swarming with snakes. The gorgons' gaze was so terrible that anyone who dared to look them in the eye instantly turned to stone. But nothing could stop the fearless Perseus. Seizing the moment when the gorgons fell asleep. Perseus cut off the head of one of them - the most important, the most terrible - the gorgon Medusa. At the same moment, the winged horse Pegasus flew out of the huge body of Medusa. Perseus jumped on Pegasus and rushed to his homeland. Flying over Ethiopia, he noticed Andromeda chained to a rock, which the terrible Whale was about to grab. The brave Perseus entered into battle with the monster. This struggle continued for a long time. Perseus's magic sandals lifted him into the air, and he thrust his curved sword into Kit's back. Kit roared and lunged at Perseus. Perseus directed the deadening gaze of the severed head of Medusa, which was attached to his shield, at the monster. The monster was petrified and drowned, turning into an island. And Perseus unleashed Andromeda and brought her to the palace of Cepheus. The delighted king gave Andromeda to wife Perseus. A merry feast continued for many days in Ethiopia. And since then, the constellations Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus have been burning in the sky. On the star map, you will find the constellation Cetus, Pegasus. So the ancient myths of the Earth were reflected in the sky.

After a long journey, Perseus reached the kingdom of Kefei, which lay in Ethiopia on the shores of the Ocean. There, on a rock, at the very coast of the sea, he saw the chained beautiful Andromeda, the daughter of King Kefei. She had to redeem her mother, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia angered the sea nymphs. Proud of her beauty, she said that she was the most beautiful, Queen Cassiopeia. The nymphs got angry and begged the god of the seas Poseidon to punish Kefei and Cassiopeia. Poseidon sent, at the request of the nymphs, a monster like a gigantic fish. It emerged from the depths of the sea and devastated the possessions of Kefei. The kingdom of Coffee was filled with crying and groans. He finally turned to the oracle of Zeus Ammon and asked how to get rid of this misfortune. The oracle gave the following answer:

- Give your daughter Andromeda to be torn apart by a monster, and then Poseidon's punishment will end.

The people, having learned the answer of the oracle, forced the king to chain Andromeda to a rock by the sea. Pale with horror, stood at the foot of the rock in the heavy fetters of Andromeda; with inexpressible fear she looked at the sea, expecting that a monster was about to appear and tear her to pieces. Tears rolled from her eyes, horror gripped her at the mere thought that she should die in the color of beautiful youth, full of strength, not having tasted the joys of life. It was her that Perseus saw. He would have taken her for a marvelous statue of white Parian marble, if the sea wind had not fluttered her hair and large tears had not fallen from her beautiful eyes. The young hero looks at her with delight, and a powerful feeling of love for Andromeda lights up in his heart. Perseus quickly went down to her and tenderly asked her:

- Oh, tell me, beautiful maiden, whose country is this, tell me your name! Tell me, why are you chained to the rock here?

Andromeda told her about whose fault she had to suffer. The beautiful maiden does not want the hero to think that she is atoning for her own guilt. Andromeda had not yet finished her story, when the depths of the sea began to gurgle, and a monster appeared among the raging waves. It raised its head high with a huge gaping mouth. Andromeda screamed loudly in horror. Distraught with grief, Kefey and Cassiopeia ran to the shore. They cry bitterly, hugging their daughter. There is no escape for her!

Then the son of Zeus, Perseus, spoke:

- You will have a lot of time to shed tears, little time just to save your daughter. I am the son of Zeus, Perseus, who killed the gorgon Medusa entwined with snakes. Give me your daughter Andromeda as my wife, and I will save her.

Kefey and Cassiopeia happily agreed. They were ready to do everything to save their daughter. Kefei even promised him the whole kingdom as a dowry, if only he saved Andromeda. The monster is already close. It quickly approaches the rock, cutting through the waves with its broad chest, like a ship that rushes along the waves, as if on wings, from the flapping of the oars of mighty young rowers. Not further than the arrow's flight was a monster when Perseus flew high into the air. His shadow fell into the sea, and the monster rushed with fury at the hero's shadow. Perseus boldly rushed from a height to the monster and thrust a curved sword deep into his back. Feeling a grievous wound, the monster rose high in the waves; it beats in the sea like a wild boar surrounded by a pack of dogs with frantic barking; it plunges deep into the water, then floats again. The monster furiously hits the water with its fish tail, and thousands of splashes fly up to the very tops of the coastal cliffs. The sea was covered with foam. Opening its jaws, the monster rushes at Perseus, but with the speed of a seagull he takes off in his winged sandals. He delivers blow after blow. Blood and water gushed from the jaws of the beast, struck to death. The wings of Perseus's sandals are wet, they barely hold the hero in the air. The mighty son of Danae quickly rushed to the rock that protruded from the sea, grabbed it with his left hand and plunged his sword three times into the broad chest of the monster. A terrible fight is over. Shouts of joy come from the shore. Everyone praises the mighty hero. The shackles were removed from the beautiful Andromeda, and, triumphant, Perseus leads his bride to the palace of her father Kefei.

Perseus and Andromeda, the legend of which, having survived the centuries, has inspired many prominent artists and sculptors, are among the most popular heroes of Greek mythology. Their meeting, which took place under very dramatic circumstances, became a link in a chain of the most amazing events that once happened on the shores of ancient Hellas.

Return from distant wanderings

The legend tells that Perseus - the son of Zeus and daughter of the Argos king Acrisius, Danae - returning from a long journey, by the will of the gods, ended up in the kingdom of the Ethiopian king Kefei. On his back he carried a sack with the head of a defeated monster - the terrible gorgon Medusa, from one glance at which people turned to stone.

The hero sat on the winged horse Pegasus, born from the blood of this very gorgon, and on his feet were magic airplane sandals, which allowed him to soar above the ground if necessary. A sword on his belt, a beautiful appearance and fearlessness in his eyes - all this was present in him, according to the laws of the genre.

A beauty chained to a rock

So he appeared before the young princess Andromeda (also, of course, beautiful - it never happens otherwise), chained on the seashore to a rock to be devoured by a monster who threatened to destroy the whole kingdom if the royal daughter was not served to him for dinner. As you can see, there are such fantasies. Andromeda and Perseus fell in love at first sight, but before calling the guests to the wedding feast, the groom had to defeat this terrible gourmet. The serpent did not hesitate to appear in the waves.

The moment of the meeting of lovers was captured on his immortal canvas by the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. Perseus and Andromeda are depicted surrounded by a whole host of Cupids - messengers of the goddess of love Aphrodite. Here you can also see the winged horse, and the reflection of Medusa's head in the hero's shield, and the monster itself, who sailed for a delicious dinner.

From the mouth of the monster to the wedding feast

Of course, the sea serpent had no chance to dine - in fairy tales, after all, good always triumphs over evil. Filled with unearthly courage, the hero rushed at the enemy and, flying over him in his magic sandals, repeatedly thrust his sword into the scales that shone in the sun, until the monster disappeared forever in the depths of the sea.

Andromeda and Perseus embraced, after which he said to her about the same phrase as the mosquito Mukhe-Tsokotukhe in Chukovsky's tale: "... and now, my soul, I want to marry you!" The young princess, who had not yet fully recovered after the miraculous deliverance from the monster and was finally struck by the news of the imminent marriage, Perseus freed from the shackles and, accompanied by her parents, King Kefei and Queen Cassiopeia, led to the palace.

New challenge and long-awaited reward

Everyone around congratulated the young, but, as it turned out, it was somewhat premature. Wanting to test the strength of their love, the gods prepared another test through which Perseus and Andromeda had to go. This story began even before the bride was chained to a rock. The fact is that the king's brother named Feney was betrothed to her, but, having learned about the claims of the sea monster, he cowardly retreated. Now, when the danger had passed, he appeared at the wedding feast, accompanied by soldiers and presented his rights to Andromeda.

His insidious calculation was based on the fact that the groom alone would not be able to resist his squad, but Fenei did not know about some secret weapon that Perseus possessed. Fighting off the attackers, the hero was pressed by them to a marble column, which made his position seem hopeless. But then, unexpectedly for everyone, he took out of the bag the head of the Gorgon Medusa, which he had defeated, at the sight of which all the enemies, together with their leader, turned into stone statues.

After that, Andromeda and Perseus continued the marriage feast with their guests, and upon its completion they departed for the island of Serif, where the mother of the newly-made spouse, Danae, lived. There, Perseus had to accomplish another feat - that's why he is a hero. The fact is that his mother was not accidentally on Serif, but rather curious circumstances brought her there.

Chest in sea waves

As the legend tells, Danae was the only daughter of a certain king Acrisius, who was predicted to die at the hands of her own grandson. To protect his daughter from possible suitors and thereby protect himself, the king placed her under lock and key, but the supreme god Zeus, struck by the beauty of the girl, entered her. The future hero Perseus became the fruit of their secret love.

Upon learning of what had happened, Acrisius ordered that the young mother and her barely born child be placed in a wooden chest and put into the blue sea. Then everything was like in Pushkin's - a cloud was walking across the sky, and a barrel, that is, a chest floated across the sea until it nailed it to a certain island. But it was not called Brawler, but Serif, and the insidious and lustful king Pelidekt ruled on it.

Gorgon Head Hike

Inflamed with passion for Danae, he immediately wished to marry her, which was refused, since the beauty's heart belonged to her beloved Zeus. Not being in the habit of hearing objections, the tsar tried to act by force, but Perseus stood up to protect his mother, who, while sailing in the chest, grew "by leaps and bounds," and finally matured in the royal palace.

In order to deprive Danae of her patron, the king sent the young man to distant lands to perform a feat there and bring, as a proof of his valor, the head of the Gorgon Medusa - a bogeyman with bunches of snakes instead of hair, at one glance at which, as already mentioned, everyone turned into stone sculptures.

An interrupted feast

Pelidekt hoped that the son of Danae would not return alive from this dangerous journey, but the gods of Olympus judged otherwise. Medusa and other enemy forces that met on the hero's path were defeated, after which Andromeda and Perseus unexpectedly appeared in his palace. Not believing the hero's words that the evil monster had been defeated, the king demanded proof and ... got it.

Taking the fatal head out of the bag, Perseus raised it high up so that all the guests present (and this scene took place during the feast) could see it. The result was exactly what he had hoped for: Tsar Pelidekt and all his drinking companions instantly turned to stone.

By the way, why didn't witchcraft affect the hero himself? It turns out that, as during his first meeting with Medusa, which ended so sadly for the evil gorgon, and later, taking the severed head out of the bag, he used the smooth surface of the shield like a mirror, avoiding direct glances at the monster. The reflection had no magical power.

A prophecy fulfilled at the stadium

Perseus and Andromeda, the myth of which ended in such a happy way, did not want to remain on the island of Serif, and together with Danae returned to the city of Argos, where King Acrisius still ruled, who once sent his daughter and his grandson to sail on the sea in a chest. The magnanimous Perseus forgave him and, despite the ominous prediction that gave impetus to the entire subsequent history, did not even think of killing. But once, during an athletic competition so popular in ancient Greece, he unsuccessfully threw a disc and, hitting them straight in the forehead of his grandfather, unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy.

Having thus inherited the throne, the hero ruled for many years together with his beautiful wife, who gave him numerous offspring. The children of Perseus and Andromeda did not lose the glory of their parents and also became heroes of numerous ancient Greek myths.

A plot that has survived centuries

In subsequent centuries, the legend, born under the sun of ancient Greece, found its reflection in many areas of world culture. Its individual episodes became the subjects of numerous paintings, the most famous of which was created by Rubens. “Perseus and Andromeda” is the name of this masterpiece, which is now kept in the Hermitage of Saenk-Petersburg.

Battles with dragons and the liberation of beauties formed the basis of countless medieval ballads and tales. By the way, the Christian Saint George the Victorious, who pierced the serpent with a spear, also performed his feat, saving the girl from a monster that settled in a lake near the Middle Eastern city of Gevala.

On the shore of the Ocean. There, on a rock, near the very shore of the sea, he saw the chained beautiful Andromeda, the daughter of King Kefei. She had to redeem her mother, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia angered the sea nymphs. Proud of her beauty, she said that she was the most beautiful, Queen Cassiopeia. The nymphs got angry and begged the god of the seas Poseidon to punish Kefei and Cassiopeia. Poseidon sent, at the request of the nymphs, a monster like a gigantic fish. It emerged from the depths of the sea and devastated the possessions of Kefei. The kingdom of Coffee was filled with crying and groans. He finally turned to the oracle of Zeus and asked how to get rid of this misfortune. The oracle gave the following answer:

Give your daughter Andromeda to be torn apart by a monster, and then Poseidon's punishment will end.

Oh, tell me, fair maiden, whose country is this, tell me your name! Tell me, why are you chained to the rock here?

Then the son of Zeus, Perseus, spoke:

You will have a lot of time to shed tears, little time just to save your daughter. I am the son of Zeus, Perseus, who killed the gorgon Medusa entwined with snakes. Give me your daughter Andromeda as my wife, and I will save her.

To the left of Andromeda, her father Kefey, to the right of her mother Cassipey