Ancient Greek myth "brave Perseus". Encyclopedia of fairy-tale heroes: "Brave Perseus" Characters of the story brave Perseus
Title: "The Brave Perseus"
Number of pages: 9
Genre: myth
Main characters: Perseus, Gorgon Medusa, Polydectes, Athena, Andromeda, Dragon.
Characteristics of the main characters:
Perseus- a brave, strong and courageous man.
Cunning and smart.
Saved his people from a terrible monster.
polydect- Greedy, cowardly and naive king.
Did not believe the words of Perseus.
Got a lesson.
Andromeda- a beautiful and kind girl.
Saved by Perseus.
Faithful and merciful.
Summary of the myth "Brave Perseus" for the reader's diary.
A terrible monster in the guise of a beautiful woman settled near one city.
It was Medusa Gorgon. Anyone who looked at her immediately turned into a dead stone.
The king of this city, Polydectes, locked himself in the basement, so much he was afraid of the Gorgon Medusa.
Only a brave young man named Perseus was not afraid.
He went to the king and said that he would get him the monster's head.
For a long time Perseus searched for the lair of the Gorgon, but the old man showed him the way.
Then Perseus decided to look into his shield so as not to turn into stone.
So he approached Medusa and cut off her head.
The fat sisters of the Gorgon chased him, but Perseus ran away.
He met the goddess Athena on the way back.
She gave him flying sandals as a reward for his feat.
With their help, Perseus flew through the desert and noticed Andromeda chained to the coastal rock.
Perseus freed her by turning a huge sea dragon to stone with the head of Medusa.
Then he and Andromeda flew to the hometown of Perseus.
Polydectes was still sitting in the basement and mockingly met the return of Perseus.
But Perseus showed him the head of Medusa, and the king turned into the same lifeless stone as the others.
The inhabitants of the city offered to become king to Perseus, but he flew away from them with his Andromeda.
Now we see these heroes in the starry sky, they have become constellations.
Plan for retelling the work:
1. Acts of Medusa Gorgon
2. King's hideout
3. The search for Medusa by Perseus
4. Perseus' cunning plan
5. Defeat Medusa
6. Sisters of the deceased
7. Athena's gift
8. Save the girl
9. The king turned to stone
10. Homeland Andromeda
Drawing - illustration to the myth "Brave Perseus".
Sincwine:
Brave, smart.
Conquer, save, liberate.
Constant deeds and good deeds.
The main idea:
Courage and a good heart will help overcome any difficulties, and resourcefulness will help to cope even with the Gorgon Medusa.
What does the work teach
The Greek myth teaches us not to be afraid of enemies, no matter how terrible they are, and teaches us to always stand up for the humiliated and defenseless.
Brief review of the myth "Brave Perseus" for the reader's diary.
"The Brave Perseus" is an instructive and fascinating work.
The protagonist of the myth, Perseus, is the only one who was not afraid to fight the Gorgon, and even cleverly came up with a way not to look at her.
This is a heroic myth that tells of a feat that even the gods applauded.
This myth teaches us to be brave, courageous, to love our land and protect it from ill-wishers.
I especially liked the episode with the sea monster.
Perseus, with the help of the Gorgon, quickly dealt with him and saved another people.
An excerpt from the myth "Brave Perseus" that struck me the most:
Come here, you braggart! Well, where is your Medusa Gorgon? Apparently, it is easier to promise than to fulfill!
No, king, I fulfilled my promise: I brought you a wonderful gift - the head of the Gorgon Medusa!
But you'd better not look at her!
No no! - shouted the king. - Show me! I do not believe you. You are a braggart and a liar!
Her head is here in this gray bag!
You are lying. I don't believe you, said the king.
There you have the most ordinary pumpkin.
Well! If you don't believe me, look!
Proverbs to the myth "Brave Perseus"
The brave do not need a long sword.
The brave is not the one who does not know fear, but the one who knows and goes towards him.
Previously unknown words and their meaning
Pallas Athena is a Greek goddess.
There was a big problem in one city. A winged woman Medusa Gorgon flew in from somewhere. She slowly walked through the streets, and anyone who looked at her, at the same moment became a stone.
She quietly and sadly looked into the eyes of every passer-by, and he immediately turned into a petrified statue. And if a bird, flying over the earth, looked at Medusa Gorgon, the bird fell like a stone to the ground.
It was a wonderful summer day. There were many children running on the lawns, in the gardens and on the streets. They played funny games, jumped, danced, laughed and sang. But as soon as Medusa Gorgon passed by them, they turned into a cold pile of stones.
2
In the same city, King Polydectes lived in a magnificent palace. He was cowardly and stupid: he was so afraid of the Gorgon Medusa that he ran away from the palace and hid with his nobles in the cellar, deep underground.
There was plenty of wine and food in the cellar; the king sat at the table and feasted with his nobles. What did he care that in the city, up there, people were dying one after another and could not escape from the cruel sorceress!
Fortunately, the brave Perseus lived in this city. Everyone loved him very much. He was never afraid of anyone.
When the terrible Gorgon Medusa passed through the city, he was not at home.
In the evening, Perseus returned home. Neighbors told him about Medusa Gorgon.
"Evil, heartless witch!" he cried. "I'm going to go and kill her."
The neighbors shook their heads sadly and said:
- There were many such daredevils who wanted to fight Medusa Gorgon. But none of them returned here: she turned them all into stones.
But I can't just sit back! After all, it will destroy all the inhabitants of our city, all my relatives and friends! Today I will avenge her for her evil deeds.
And Perseus ran through the streets, asking everyone he met where the dwelling of Medusa Gorgon was.
But no one answered him. Everyone wept over some stone.
3
Perseus looked on the way to each house: is there Medusa Gorgon there.
Passing by the royal cellar, he thought: is she not there?
He ran down the stairs and saw the king in the dungeon!
King Polydectes sat at the table on the throne and merrily feasted with his nobles.
- Hey, you! he shouted to Perseus. I hope you didn't come here empty-handed! Would you like to give me some strange fish? Or juicy berries and sweet fruits?
“No,” said Perseus. “I brought nothing—no fish, no fruits, no berries. But soon I will bring you a precious gift that will delight and cheer your heart.
The king's eyes sparkled with greed.
“Dear young man,” he said in a friendly voice, “come closer to me and tell me what precious gift you are going to give me. Maybe you found a pearl or a golden crown at the bottom of the sea?
“No,” Perseus replied, “my gift is more precious than gold, more expensive than the best pearls ...
- What is it? Tell!
- Head of Medusa Gorgon! Perseus answered loudly. Yes, I will give you the head of the Gorgon Medusa! I will kill this evil witch. I will save my country from her!
The king slammed his fist on the table:
“Get away from me, you pathetic madman!” Or do you not know that thousands of my valiant warriors tried to destroy Medusa, but she turned many into stones, and the rest fled from her like from a fierce beast?
“Your warriors are as cowards as you!” Perseus replied angrily. But I'm not afraid of anyone or anything! I will not run away from Medusa Gorgon. And you will get her head from me.
Saying this, he turned and quickly walked out of the basement.
4
Forgetting everything in the world, he now thought about one thing: how to find Medusa Gorgon and save his native country from her?
But in vain he wandered through the streets of the city all night until morning. Only in the morning did he meet an acquaintance who said that Medusa lives not far, under a high mountain, by a stream.
By evening, Perseus reached a high mountain, on the slope of which, among the gray stones under the trees, the Gorgon Medusa slept soundly.
Perseus drew his sword and rushed down the ledges of the mountain. But soon he stopped and thought: "After all, in order to cut off the head of a sleeping sorceress, I must look at her, and if I look at her, she will immediately turn me into stone."
He raised his copper shield - round, shiny and smooth - and began to look into it, as one looks into a mirror. This shield reflected both trees and gray stones that were on the side of the mountain. It also reflected a sleeping woman, who had not hair around her head, but black snakes.
So Perseus managed to see Medusa Gorgon with the help of a wonderful shield, never looking at her.
Medusa slept on the ground, next to her ugly sisters, who looked like big fat pigs. Her wings sparkled like a rainbow, she had such a beautiful, sad, thoughtful young face that Perseus felt sorry for killing her.
But then he saw that black poisonous snakes were moving on Medusa’s head, he remembered how many innocent people and children this evil beauty killed, how many kind, happy, cheerful she turned into dead stones.
And even more than before, he wanted to deal with her.
Looking at the mirror shield, which reflected Medusa, Perseus ran up to her and immediately cut off her terrible head with one blow of the sword. The head flew off and rolled towards the stream. But Perseus did not even look at her now, because even now she could turn him into stone. He took a bag made of goat fur, threw the head of Medusa into it and quickly ran through the mountains.
The Medusa sisters have awakened. Seeing that Medusa was killed, they flew into the air with screams and, like birds of prey, began to circle over the trees. So they noticed Perseus and flew after him.
"Give us our sister's head!" they shouted. "Give us our sister's head!"
Perseus ran through the mountains without looking back, and more than once it seemed to him that the terrible gorgons were overtaking him. Now they will plunge their sharp copper claws into his body!
But for a long time they could not fly, as they were fat and very heavy. Little by little they began to fall behind, but they still shouted after him:
"Give us our sister's head!"
5
Perseus fled without looking back. He ran through the desert, and the blood from the head of Medusa dripped onto the hot sand, and each drop turned into a snake.
The snakes writhed and crawled after Perseus, trying to sting him. But he rushed like the wind, not afraid of anything, and he had joy in his heart. Killed, killed Medusa Gorgon! She won't be evil anymore.
On the way, he met a kind sorceress named Pallas Athena, who said to him:
- Glory to the hero! For the fact that you were not afraid of Medusa and saved your people from her, accept these sandals from me as a gift. These sandals are magical. You see, they have wings attached to them. Put them on your feet soon and you will fly like a bird.
Saying this, the sorceress disappeared.
As soon as Perseus put on sandals, the wings fluttered on them, and he, like a falcon, flew over the desert.
6
Soon he flew out to the blue sea and quickly rushed over it. And suddenly I saw a big rock.
The rock stood on the shore, all illuminated by the sun, and a girl was chained to it with an iron chain, who sobbed bitterly.
Perseus flew up to her and shouted:
“Tell me, beautiful girl, what cruel people chained you to this rock?” I will go and cut them down with my sharp sword!
— Go away, go away! she screamed. - Soon a dragon will emerge from the sea, a terrible sea monster. He will swallow both you and me! Every day he swims up here, climbs the mountain, prowls through our city and devours people there. He swallows indiscriminately both old and small. To escape from him, the inhabitants of the city chained me to this rock: the dragon will see me and immediately swallow me, and all the people in our city will remain alive.
I'm not afraid of the sea monster! shouted the fearless Perseus. “Today I destroyed another monster, which is much more terrible!”
But the girl felt sorry for Perseus.
“Leave me,” she said, “go away!” I don't want to be swallowed by a monster.
No, I won't leave you! I will stay and kill this evil dragon that swallows defenseless people.
And he struck hard with his sharp sword on the chain with which the girl was chained.
- You are free! - he said.
She laughed, rejoiced, and tenderly thanked her deliverer. But suddenly she turned around and shouted:
- The monster is close! It floats here! What to do? What to do? He has such sharp teeth. It will tear apart, swallow both you and me! Go away, go away! I don't want you to die because of me.
The dragon was getting closer. He rushed through the waves like a ship. Seeing the girl, he greedily opened his wide toothy mouth and rushed to the shore to swallow his victim. But Perseus fearlessly stood in front of him and, pulling out the head of the Gorgon Medusa from the goat fur, showed it to the ferocious monster.
The monster looked at the magic head and immediately petrified forever - turned into a huge black coastal cliff.
The girl was saved. Perseus rushed to her, took her in his arms and ran with her to the top of the mountain, to the city that was threatened by the monster.
Everyone in the city was glad and happy. People hugged and kissed Perseus and shouted to him in delight:
Long live the great hero who saved our country from destruction!
The girl had a beautiful name: Andromeda. Soon she became the wife of Perseus, he gave her one of his wonderful sandals, and both of them flew to the city in which the cowardly Polydectes reigned.
7
It turned out that King Polydekt was still hiding in his dungeon and feasting with his nobles.
“Here is your reward for the fact that you, miserable cowards, hid from formidable danger and left your people to perish, while you yourself feasted from morning to morning.
But no one answered him, because both the king and the nobles became a heap of stones.
The inhabitants of this city were very happy when they learned that Polydect was no longer in the world.
Let Perseus reign over us! they shouted. “He is so brave and kind.
But Perseus did not want to be king. He threw the head of the Gorgon Medusa into the abyss of the sea and went to a distant land with his sweet wife Andromeda.
... Leave the house on a clear night and look at the sky strewn with bright stars. You will see the young Perseus constellation. Perseus has the head of Medusa in his hand, but do not be afraid to look at her: she can no longer turn you into stone. Next to Perseus you will see his beautiful wife Andromeda. Her hands are raised up, as if they were chained to a rock. For thousands of years, people have been looking at these constellations and remembering the glorious hero Perseus, who saved them from the Gorgon Medusa and the cruel sea monster.
Once, the king of Argos, Acrisius, was predicted that his daughter Danae would have a son, from whose hand he was destined to die. To avoid
fulfillment of the prediction, then King Acrisius locked his daughter in a copper-stone dungeon, but Zeus fell in love with Danae, entered there in the form of a golden rain, and after that Danae's son Perseus was born.
Hearing the cry of the child, the king ordered that Danae and her baby be taken out of there, put them both in a barrel and thrown into the sea. For a long time, Danae and her child were carried by raging waves, but Zeus protected her. Finally, she was thrown ashore on the island of Serif. At this time, a fisherman named Diktis was fishing on the seashore. He noticed the barrel and pulled it ashore. Having freed Danae and her little son from the barrel, he brought them to his brother, the king of the island, Polydectes. He received them cordially, left them to live in his royal house and began to educate Perseus.
Perseus grew up and became a handsome young man. When Polydectes decided to marry Danae, Perseus prevented this marriage in every possible way. For this, the king Polydectes disliked him and decided to get rid of him. He instructed Perseus to perform a dangerous feat - to go to a distant country and cut off the head of the terrible Medusa, one of the three terrible monsters called Gorgons. There were three of them, and one of them was called Stheno, the other was Euryale, and the third was Medusa, and only this of the three was mortal. These winged serpent-haired maidens lived in the extreme West, in the region of Night and Death.
They had such a terrible look and such a terrible look that anyone who saw them turned to stone at their mere glance.
King Polydectes hoped that if the young Perseus met Medusa in that distant country, he would never return.
So the brave Perseus set off on a journey in search of these monsters and, after long wanderings, finally came to the region of Night and Death, where the father of the terrible Gorgons, named Forkis, reigned. On the way to the Gorgons, Perseus met three old women, who were called grays. They were born with gray hair, all three had a single eye and only one tooth, which they shared in turn.
These grays guarded the Gorgon sisters. And on the way to them lived good nymphs. 
Perseus came to the nymphs, and they gave him winged sandals that could easily support him in the air. They gave him, in addition, a bag and a helmet of Hades, sewn from a dog's skin, making a person invisible. The cunning Hermes handed him his sword, and Athena handed him a metal, smooth, like a mirror, shield. Armed with them, Perseus took off on his winged sandals, flew across the ocean and appeared to the Gorgon sisters. When he approached them, the terrible sisters were asleep at that time; and Perseus cut off the head of Medusa with his sharp sword and threw it into a bag given to him by the nymphs. Perseus did all this without looking at Medusa - he knew that her gaze could turn him to stone, and held a mirror-smooth shield in front of him. But as soon as Perseus cut off the head of Medusa, the winged horse Pegasus immediately arose from her body and the giant Chrysaor grew up.
The sisters of Medusa woke up at this time. But Perseus put on his invisibility helmet and in winged sandals flew back, and the terrible Gorgon sisters could not overtake him.
The wind lifted him high into the air, and when he flew over the sandy Libyan desert, drops of Medusa's blood fell to the ground and poisonous snakes grew from her blood, of which there are so many in Libya.
Mighty winds rose and began to carry Perseus through the air in different directions; but by evening he managed to reach the extreme West, and young Perseus ended up in the kingdom of the giant Atlanta. Fearing to fly at night, Perseus sank to the ground.
And the giant Atlas was a rich king of that country, and he owned many herds and huge gardens; in one of them grew a tree with golden branches, and the leaves and fruits were also all golden.
It was predicted to Atlanta that one day the son of Zeus would appear and pick golden fruits from the tree. Then Atlas surrounded his garden with a high wall and instructed the young Hesperides and the terrible dragon to guard the golden apples and not let anyone near them.
Perseus appeared to Atlanta and, calling himself the son of Zeus, began to ask him to accept him. But Atlas remembered the ancient prediction and refused Perseus shelter and wanted to drive him away. Then Perseus took out the head of Medusa from the bag and showed it to Atlanta. The giant could not resist the terrible power of Medusa and turned to stone in horror. His head became the peak of the mountain, and his shoulders and arms became its spurs, his beard and hair turned into dense forests. A pointed mountain rose, grew to enormous proportions. She reached the very sky, and it lay down with all its stars on the shoulders of Atlanta, and since then the giant has been holding this heavy burden.
So having avenged Atlanta, the next morning Perseus rose again on his winged sandals into the air, and he flew for a long time, until he finally arrived at the shores of Ethiopia, where Cepheus reigned.
Perseus saw on a deserted shore a beautiful young Andromeda, chained to a rock. She had to atone for the guilt of her mother Cassiopeia, who once, boasting of her beauty in front of the nymphs, said that she was the most beautiful of all. Angry, the nymphs complained to Poseidon and asked her to punish her. And Poseidon sent a flood to Ethiopia and a terrible sea monster that swallowed people and cattle.
The oracle predicted that Cepheus should give his daughter Andromeda to this terrible monster to be eaten; and behold, they chained her to a sea rock.
Perseus saw the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock. She stood motionless, and the wind did not move her hair, and if there were no tears in her eyes, one could take her for a marble statue.
Perseus, amazed, looked at her, went down to her, began to ask the crying girl, what her name was, where she came from and why she was chained to a desert rock. Not immediately, but the girl finally told Perseus who she was and why she was chained to this rock.
Suddenly, the waves of the sea rustled and a monster emerged from the depths of the sea. Opening its terrible mouth, it rushed to Andromeda. The girl screamed in horror, King Cepheus and Cassiopeia ran to her cry, but they could not save their daughter and began to mourn her bitterly. Then Perseus called out to them from on high:
- I am Perseus, the son of Danae and Zeus, who cut off the head of the terrible Medusa. Promise me to give your daughter in marriage if I save her.
Cepheus and Cassiopeia agreed to this and promised to give him not only their daughter, but their entire kingdom in addition.
At this time, a monster swam up, cutting through the waves, like a ship, closer and closer, and now it is almost already at the very rock. Then the young Perseus rose high into the air, holding his brilliant shield in his hand. The monster saw the reflection of Perseus in the water and rushed at him in a rage. Like an eagle that pounces on a snake, so Perseus flew at the monster and plunged his sharp sword deep into it. The wounded monster flew high into the air, then rushed down to Perseus, like a wild boar pursued by dogs. But the young man in his winged sandals dodged the monster and began to strike him blow after blow with his sword, and then black blood gushed out of the monster's mouth. During the battle, the wings of Perseus got wet, with difficulty he flew to the shore and, noticing a rock rising from the sea, escaped on it. Holding on to a stone with his left hand, he inflicted several more wounds on the monster with his right, and the monster, bleeding, sank to the bottom of the sea. 
The young man rushed to Andromeda and freed her from the chains.
Overjoyed, Cepheus and Cassiopeia joyfully greeted the young hero and took the bride and groom to their home. Soon a wedding feast was arranged, and Eros and Hymen were at their wedding with torches in their hands, they played flutes and lyres, sang merry songs; wedding guests listened to the story of the exploits of the hero Perseus.
But suddenly a crowd appeared in the house of Cepheus, led by the brother of the king Phineus, who had previously wooed Andromeda, but left her during the trouble.
And Phineus demanded that Andromeda be given to him. He raised his spear at Perseus, but Cepheus shielded him. Then the enraged Phineas threw the spear at the young man with all his might, but did not hit. Perseus grabbed the same spear, and if Phineus had not hidden behind the altar, it would have pierced his chest, but the spear hit one of Phineus' soldiers, who fell dead to the ground. And then a bloody battle began at a merry feast. Like a lion, Perseus fought against numerous enemies; the young hero was surrounded by a large crowd of enemies led by Phineus. Leaning against a high column, he fought back with difficulty from the warriors attacking him, but at last he saw that he could not defeat his superior enemies. Then he took out the head of Medusa from the bag, and one by one, at the sight of her, the enemies turned to stone. Now the last warrior is standing, like a stone statue with a spear raised in his hand.
In horror, Phineus saw that his soldiers had turned to stone. He recognized them in stone statues, began to call them and, not believing his eyes, touched each of them - but at hand he had only a cold stone.
In horror, Phineus stretched out his hands to Perseus and asked him to have mercy. Laughing, Perseus answered him: “My spear will not touch you, but I will set you up as a stone monument in my father-in-law’s house.” And he raised the head of the terrible Medusa over Phineus. Phineus looked at her and immediately turned into a stone statue, expressing cowardice and humiliation.
Perseus married the beautiful Andromeda and went with his young wife to the island of Serif, where he saved his mother by turning King Polydectes to stone, who forced her to marry, and gave Perseus power over the island to his friend Dictis.
Perseus returned the winged sandals to Hermes, and the invisibility helmet to Hades; Pallas Athena received the head of Medusa as a gift and attached it to her shield.
Then Perseus went with his young wife Andromeda and mother to Argos, and then to the city of Larissa, where he took part in games and competitions. The grandfather of Perseus, who moved to the country of the Pelasgians, was also present at these games. Here the oracle's prophecy was finally fulfilled.
Throwing the disk, Perseus accidentally hit his grandfather with it and inflicted a mortal wound on him.
In deep sorrow, Perseus found out who this old man was, and buried him with great honors. Then he gave power over Argos to his relative Megapent, and he himself began to rule Tiryns.
For many years Perseus lived happily with Andromeda, and she bore him beautiful sons.
Myths and legends of ancient Greece. Illustrations.
BRAVE PERSEUS
ancient greek myth
There was a big problem in one city. A winged woman Medusa Gorgon flew in from somewhere. She slowly walked through the streets, and anyone who looked at her, at the same moment became a stone.
Instead of hair, Medusa Gorgon had long black snakes. They were moving and hissing all the time.
She quietly and sadly looked into the eyes of every passer-by, and he immediately turned into a petrified statue. And if a bird, flying over the earth, looked at Medusa Gorgon, the bird fell like a stone to the ground.
It was a wonderful summer day. On the lawns, in the gardens and on the streets many children were running. They played funny games, jumped, danced, laughed and sang. But as soon as Medusa Gorgon passed by them, they turned into a cold pile of stones.
* * *
In the same city, King Polydectes lived in a magnificent palace. He was cowardly and stupid: he was so afraid of the Gorgon Medusa that he ran away from the palace and hid with his nobles in the cellar, deep underground.
“Here I can not be afraid of Medusa Gorgo-na,” he said with a laugh. She can't find me here!
There was plenty of wine and food in the cellar; the king sat at the table and feasted with his nobles. What did he care that in the city, up there, people were dying one after another and could not escape from the cruel sorceress!
Fortunately, the brave Perseus lived in this city. Everyone loved him very much. He was never afraid of anyone.
When the terrible Gorgon Medusa passed through the city, he was not at home. In the evening, Perseus returned home. Neighbors told him about Medusa Gorgon.
- Wicked, heartless sorceress! he cried. “I will go and kill her.”
The neighbors shook their heads sadly and said:
- There were many such daredevils who wanted to fight Medusa Gorgon. But none of them returned here: she turned them all into stones.
But I can't just sit back! After all, it will destroy all the inhabitants of our city, all my relatives and friends! Today I will avenge her for her evil deeds.
And Perseus ran through the streets, asking everyone he met where the dwelling of Medusa Gorgon was.
But no one answered him. Everyone wept over some stone.
Perseus looked on the way to each house: is there Medusa Gorgon there.
Passing by the royal cellar, he thought: is she not there? He ran down the stairs - and saw the king in the dungeon!
King Polydectes sat at the table on the throne and merrily feasted with his nobles.
- Hey, you! he shouted to Perseus. I hope you didn't come here empty-handed! Would you like to give me some strange fish? Or juicy berries and sweet fruits?
"No," said Perseus. -I did not bring anything - no fish, no fruits, no berries. But soon I will bring you a precious gift that will delight and cheer your heart.
The king's eyes sparkled with greed.
“Dear young man,” he said in a friendly voice, “come closer to me and tell me what precious gift you are going to bring me. Maybe you found a pearl or a golden crown at the bottom of the sea?
- No, - Perseus answered, - my gift is more expensive than gold, more expensive than the best pearls.
- What is it? Tell!
- Head of Medusa Gorgon! I will kill this evil witch. I will save my country from her!
The king slammed his fist on the table:
“Get away from me, you pathetic madman!” Or do you not know that thousands of my valiant warriors tried to destroy Medusa, but she turned many into stones, and the rest fled from her like from a fierce beast?
- Your warriors are the same cowards as you! Perseus replied angrily. But I'm not afraid of anyone or anything! I will not run away from Medusa Gorgon. And you will get her head from me!
Saying this, he turned and quickly walked out of the basement. Forgetting about everything in the world, he now thought about one thing: how to find Medusa Gorgon and save his native country from her. But in vain he wandered through the streets of the city all night until morning. Only in the morning did he meet a familiar fisherman who said that Medusa lives nearby, under a high mountain, by a stream.
By evening, Perseus reached a high mountain,
on the slope of which, among the gray stones under the trees, the Gorgon Medusa slept soundly. Perseus drew his sword and rushed down the ledge of the mountains, but soon stopped and thought:
"Because to cut off the head of a sleeping sorceress, I must look at her, and if I look at her, she will immediately turn me to stone."
He raised his copper shield - round, shiny and smooth - and began to look into it, as one looks into a mirror. This shield reflected both trees and gray stones that were on the side of the mountain. It also reflected a sleeping woman, who had not hair around her head, but black snakes.
So Perseus managed to see Medusa Gorgon with the help of a wonderful shield, never looking at her.
Medusa slept on the ground next to her ugly sisters, who looked like big fat pigs. Her wings sparkled like a rainbow, she had such a beautiful, sad, thoughtful young face that Perseus felt sorry for killing her.
But then he saw that black poisonous snakes were moving on Medusa's head, he remembered how many innocent people and children this evil beauty killed, how many kind, happy, cheerful she turned into dead stones.
And even more than before, he wanted to deal with her.
Looking at the mirror shield, which reflects
lass. Medusa, Perseus ran up to her and immediately cut off her terrible head with one blow of the sword. The head flew off and rolled towards the stream. But Perseus did not even look at her now, because even now she could turn him into stone. He took a bag made of goat fur, threw the head of Medusa into it and quickly ran through the mountains.
The Medusa sisters have awakened. Seeing that Medusa was killed, they flew into the air with screams and, like birds of prey, began to circle over the trees. So they noticed Perseus and flew after him.
“Give us our sister's head!” they shouted. “Give us our sister's head!”
Perseus ran through the mountains without looking back, and more than once it seemed to him that the terrible Gorgons overtook
yut him. Now they will plunge their sharp copper claws into him!
But for a long time they could not fly, as they were fat and very heavy. Little by little they began to fall behind, but they still shouted after him:
- Give us the head of our sister!
Perseus fled without looking back. He ran through the desert, and the blood from the head of Medusa dripped onto the hot sand, and each drop turned into a snake.
The snakes writhed and crawled after Perseus, trying to sting him. But he rushed like the wind, not afraid of anything, and he had joy in his heart. Killed, killed Medusa Gorgon! She won't be evil anymore.
On the way, he met a kind sorceress named Pallas Athena, who said to him:
- Glory to the hero! For the fact that you were not afraid of Medusa and saved your city from her, accept these sandals as a gift. They are magical. You see, they have wings attached to them. Put them on your feet soon and you will fly like a bird.
Saying this, the sorceress disappeared. As soon as Perseus put on sandals, the wings fluttered on them, and he, like a falcon, flew over the desert.
Soon he flew out to the blue sea and quickly rushed over it. And suddenly I saw a big rock. The rock stood on the shore, all illuminated by the sun, and a girl was chained to it with an iron chain, who sobbed bitterly. Perseus flew up to her and shouted:
- Tell me, beautiful girl, what cruel people chained you to this rock? I will go and cut them down with my sharp sword!
- Go away, go away! she screamed. - Soon a dragon will emerge from the sea, a terrible sea monster. He will swallow both you and me! Every day he swims up here, climbs the mountain, prowls through our city and devours people there. He swallows indiscriminately both old and small. To escape from him, the inhabitants of the city chained me to this rock: the dragon will see me and immediately swallow me, and all the people in our city will remain alive.
- I'm not afraid of the sea monster! shouted the fearless Perseus. - Today I destroyed another monster, which is much more terrible!
But the girl felt sorry for Perseus.
- Leave me alone! - she said. I don't want to be swallowed by a monster.
No, I won't leave you! I will stay and kill
this evil dragon swallowing defenseless people
dey! - And he hit hard with his sharp sword
by the chain with which the girl was chained.
You are free! - he said.
She laughed, rejoiced, and tenderly thanked her deliverer. But suddenly she turned around and shouted:
- The monster is close! It floats here! What to do? What to do? He has such sharp teeth. It will tear apart, swallow both you and me. Go away, go away! I don't want you to die because of me.
-I will stay here, - said Perseus. - I will save both you and your city from the evil dragon. Promise me that if I destroy him, you will be my wife and will go with me to my country.
The dragon was getting closer. He rushed through the waves like a ship. Seeing the girl, he greedily opened his wide toothy mouth and rushed to the shore to swallow his victim. But the fearless Perseus rose into the air and, pulling the head of the Gorgon Medusa out of the goat fur, showed it to the ferocious monster.
The monster looked at the magic head and immediately petrified forever - turned into a huge black coastal cliff.
The girl was saved. Perseus rushed to her, took her in his arms and ran with her to the top of the mountain, to the city that was threatened by the monster.
Everyone in the city was glad and happy. People hugged and kissed Perseus and shouted to him in delight:
- Long live the great hero who saved our country from destruction!
The girl had a beautiful name: Andromeda. Soon she became the wife of Perseus, he gave her one of his wonderful sandals - and both of them flew to the city in which the cowardly Polydect reigned.
It turned out that Tsar Polydekt was still hiding in his dungeon and feasting with his nobles.
As soon as the king saw Perseus, he laughed
and shouted: - Come here, you braggart! Well, where is your Medusa Gorgon? Apparently, it is easier to promise than to fulfill!
- No, king, I fulfilled my promise: I brought you a wonderful gift - the head of Medusa Gorgon! But you'd better not look at her.
- No no! - shouted the king. - Show me! I do not
believe you. You are a braggart and a liar! - Her head is here in this gray bag. - You are lying. I don't believe you, - said the king. - There you have the most ordinary pumpkin. - Well! If you don't believe me, look! - Perseus shouted with a laugh, took out the head of the Gorgon Medusa from the bag and, closing his eyes so as not to look at her, showed it to the king and nobles.
They wanted to get up and run away, but they could not and remained where they were.
“Here is your reward for the fact that you, miserable cowards, hid from formidable danger and left your people to perish, while you yourself feasted from morning to morning.
But no one answered him, because both the king and the nobles became a heap of stones.
The inhabitants of this city were very happy when they learned that Polydect was no longer in the world.
- May Perseus reign over us! they shouted. “He is so brave and kind.
But Perseus did not want to be king. He threw the head of the Gorgon Medusa into the abyss of the sea and went to a distant land with his sweet wife Andromeda.
Come out of the house on a clear night and look | a sky littered with bright stars. You see. constellation young Perseus. Perseus has the head of Medusa in his hand, but do not be afraid to look at her: she can no longer turn you into stone. Next to Perseus you will see his beautiful wife Andro-meda. Her hands are raised up, as if they are chained to the rock. For thousands of years, people have been looking at these constellations and remembering the glorious hero Perseus, who saved everyone from the Gorgon Medusa and from the cruel sea monster.
Year of writing: 1936
Genre: story
Main characters: Perseus, Andromeda, Jellyfish
Plot
Perseus entered into battle with Medusa, from one look into whose eyes people turned to stone. The young man was able to defeat this creature with the help of a mirror shield and cut off its head and hid it in a bag.
Returning to his homeland, he saw a beautiful girl chained to a rock. He asked why it was done. And she answered that she was prepared as a sacrifice to the sea dragon, who once a year comes out of the sea and takes the most beautiful maiden.
And at that moment a huge monster appeared from the depths of the sea, but Perseus was not taken aback, but pulled out the head of Medusa from the bag and showed it to the dragon, from the latter the eyes of the sorceress turned to stone. From now on, the inhabitants of this country did not have to sacrifice their daughters, and the beautiful Andromeda became the wife of a young man.
Conclusion (my opinion)
With the help of myths, people in ancient times explained the appearance of planets, stars, the sun, the moon, arts and crafts. The constellation Perseus and the radiant star Andromeda shine in the sky, looking at which we recall a wonderful legend designed to perpetuate the courage and valor of our ancestors in the memory of our descendants.
