Andromeda and Perseus: The Return Home - The Adventures of Perseus - 3/3 - Greek Mythology in Comics

Perseus defeated the terrible creature known as Medusa and returned home with the monster's head as a trophy. While he was flying over North Africa, he encountered the mighty titan Atlas. The titan had been punished by Zeus to hold up the heavenly vault for having opposed the Olympian gods during the Titanomachy, the great war between gods and titans. Perseus stood before Atlas and asked him for a shelter in his land. He said he was tired as he had completed the arduous task of defeating Medusa. Atlas doubted that Perseus was capable of such a feat, so he did not want to give shelter to a liar. Perseus, to prove that he spoke the truth, removed Medusa's head from the bag. The hero displayed his trophy to the titan. The latter, looking at the gorgon, began to petrify. He became a huge mountain, whose peak supported the heavens. Perseus left the lands of Atlas behind, and fate would lead him toward an unexpected encounter. Days earlier, at the court of King Cepheus, his proud wife, Queen Cassiopeia, was boasting about her beauty and her beautiful daughter Andromeda. Without any reticence, she claimed that her daughter was more beautiful than the Nereids, the marine deities' daughters of Nereus, the Old Sea. Among the Nereids was Amphitrite, the queen of the oceans and wife of Poseidon, who was offended to learn that a mortal considered herself to be above her. Queen Cassiopeia's unreasonable pride caused her husband's kingdom to be punished by the god of the seas. At his wife's request, Poseidon pushed great waves against that kingdom, which seemed destined for destruction. But an oracle claimed that there was a way to placate the god's fury. To do this, the beautiful princess Andromeda was to be sacrificed. The princess was bound to a rock to be given as an offering to a sea monster known as Cetus. The princess was abandoned to her terrible fate. But by the intervention of the ladies of fate, Perseus crossed the skies of that kingdom at that moment. The monstrous Cetus emerged from the depths to take his tribute, but Perseus was unwilling to allow that to happen. With the extermination of the monster, Andromeda was saved and Perseus broke the princess's chains. Cepheus and Cassiopeia gave the beautiful princess's hand to the hero. Perseus and Andromeda were married. The king gave Perseus a ship to complete his task, alongside his wife. The hero landed at his destination, to the surprise of all the citizens, as no one believed that the young man would return alive. During his absence, the king tried to force the hero's mother to marry him, but Danae resisted the king's approaches. She sought refuge in Athena's temple, to avoid being raped. When Perseus heard about this, he was furious and went to the royal palace to settle accounts with the monarch. Polydectes was surrounded by guards determined to kill Perseus. Perseus fought against the guards but realized that they were too many and his victory would be impossible. So he took Medusa's head, petrifying all his opponents. The infamous king Polydectes was also petrified, and his cowardice was immortalized in his final pose. Deictis, the king's brother, was chosen to occupy the vacant throne and proved to be a just and benevolent king. Perseus' fame spread throughout Greece. Acrisius, the hero's biological father, fearing the prophecy that claimed his son would be responsible for his death, fled, fearing the young man's revenge. But Perseus did not want revenge. His fame allowed him to be welcomed anywhere. In a distant kingdom, he was invited to participate in the games in honor of the gods. Perseus threw the disc with extraordinary force, hitting the area where spectators were watching the games. The disc hit an elderly man in the head, killing him instantly. He was Acrisius, who could not avoid his fate. Perseus returned the shield to the goddess Athena, and offered her the head of Medusa. The goddess of wisdom placed the gorgon's head in her aegis. Perseus then founded the glorious city of Mycenae, with his blood circulated in the veins of a glorious offspring. Among them, Hercules, the greatest of all heroes. The name of the man who exterminated the dangerous gorgon became synonymous with heroism and courage, and his legend echoed for eternity.