Narrative

“Get out of my sight Perseus!” boomed out King Polydectes from the court. He thought in his head, “I will never be able to marry Danae with Perseus under my feet all the time. He always gets in my way.”

A few months ago, King Polydectes’s brother who was a fisherman, found Perseus and his mother Danae in a wooden chest drifting along the sea. They were both alive thankfully.

After Danae had revived, she told us about how her father, Acrisius, had put she and Perseus into a chest. Acrisius had consulted an oracle and the oracle said that his grandson would be the cause of his death. He was scared so he banished Danae and Perseus out to sea.

My name is Hector. I am 16 years old and I am best friends with Perseus. I met him at a mini Olympic games. He was so strong and powerful, he won games like wrestling, boxing, chariot racing, and the javelin throw. Not to mention, he is the son of Zeus, the king of Greek gods.

I never knew what happened to my mother. She was gone when I was about 4 years old. She went out to sea in a boat but she never came back. Some say she is dead. That is what I want to find out. It has been my dream to find out where my mom is. I want to go up to Mount Olympus and see if the Gods know where she is. If they don’t, then I will go to Hades, the god of the dead and look for her in the underworld.

But for now, the King Polydectes was pretending to be marrying a daughter of a friend of his. Everybody needed to show up with a wedding gift - including Perseus. Perseus is very strong and brave, but he is also very poor. He showed up empty handed. The King pretended to be furious with him.

“I am sorry King but I don’t have any money,” exclaimed Perseus.

“That’s what you get for being a lazy good-for-nothing,” shouted Polydectes.

Perseus shouted back furiously, “I can bring you back any present in the world, anything!”

“If you think you are so powerful, then get me the head of the gorgon, Medusa!” replied back Polydectes.

“All right,” screamed Perseus. “I will do anything!”

Now, this was probably not a wise move. Medusa was one of the three powerful gorgons. She started her life as a girl so lovely she made Athena jealous. Poseidon pursued her and they got together in the shrine of Athena. This was a grave sin to Athena so to punish her, she turned her into a gorgon. Medusa can turn people to stone with just one look at her and her hair is all snakes. Polydectes wanted Perseus to do this task because he was hoping he would die in the process. Then, he could marry Danae with ease, even he had to force her to. Even if Perseus did come back, he would have a prized artifact. It was a win-win situation for Polydectes.

I ran up to Perseus. “Perseus, take me with you. I need to find out about my mom.”

Perseus replied, “How will this quest help you Hector? I am not going to be seeing any gods.”

I replied back, “Yeah but you are the son of Zeus. You can talk to the gods and ask if I could speak to him.!”

“It’s not as simple as that,” Perseus said. “Things are getting complicated with the Gods. There are traitors coming out of the ranks. I am sorry to say this, but they can’t waste time on little matters such as finding your mother.”

I conceded, “Ok, but if there is any chance I could talk to the Gods, please let me know.”

“Don’t worry,” he comforted. “We will leave in about a week’s time.”

** . . . ** A week went by very quickly. Many preparations were made and everybody was saying goodbye to Perseus. I was packing up my belongings in my apartment when suddenly, there was a bright flash and a man with a white beard stood up. He had a glowing lightning bolt in his right hand. At first, I was frightened, but when I actually got a good look at him, I knew who he was. He was Zeus.

“Young Hector, you have grown much,” said Zeus softly. “Wait for my children and brother at the Porphyrio’s Bridge at midnight tomorrow. Protect Perseus no matter what.”

“Wait, why are you telling me this instead of Perseus?” I wondered.

“I cannot reach my own children right now because of the power of a mysterious force rising from the depths of the Earth.” Zeus was starting to disappear.

“Wait, do you know anything about my mother or father? Do you know where they are?” I asked urgently.

But by then, Zeus had vanished away to a few specks of dust. I had so many questions to ask him but the one time I actually see him, I can’t ask anything. I was frustrated with Zeus and myself. But then I heard another call, “Hurry up slowpoke. We need to leave now!” yelled Perseus.

I packed up my other stuff and hurried out the door. I ran after Perseus and finally caught up to him. When I caught my breath I said to him, “Perseus, we need to go to Porphyrio’s Bridge at midnight tomorrow.”

“Why do we have to go there, it isn’t on our way,” wondered Perseus.

I said hurriedly, “I had a vision of Zeus and he said to meet his brother and children at midnight...”

“Wait, wait, wait, slow down. You had a vision of Zeus?” he asked.

“Yeah, it was right before we left. I was in my room packing some things and suddenly there was a spark of light and //BAM,// Zeus was standing in front of me.

“And you say that he told you to meet his brother and children at Porphyrio’s Bridge at midnight tomorrow?”

“That’s about the gist of it,” I answered back. “Will we make it in time?”

“Oh yeah, we have plenty of time,” he replied. “Don’t worry we won’t miss them.

We left soon after and traveled for a few hours. At about midnight, we arrived at Porphyrio’s Bridge. It was a beautiful bridge. It was an arch bridge made out of golden columns and and it was lined with gold. Suddenly, we saw an owl in the sky flying straight towards us. Just before its talons scratched my face out, it transformed into a women. She had bright blue intelligent eyes and a gold crown. She was also wearing a flowing gown.

“Athena,” said Perseus in a daze.

I looked at her. Of course, her symbolic animal is an owl because she is the god of wisdom. I asked her, “Why have you come?”

She looked surprised. “Didn’t Zeus tell you?”

Perseus answered her this time. “He told us to meet you here at midnight. You and some other gods.”

“Oh, yeah. Hades and Hermes are on there way. Hermes just had to deliver a last minute message to Poseidon. Hades, he is just a pain in the neck. He’ll take his time to get here. You know the dead.

“No, I actually don’t,” I answered. “But whatever. Why have you come here with Hades and Hermes?”

Then suddenly, a bright flash came from the sky and Hermes sped towards us. “Sorry I’m late. Poseidon can be so cranky. He’s such a stick in the mud. Oh you’re here Athena. Where is Hades that old dead gravedigger?”

Just then, a tremor came from the ground and a small fire erupted. Hades emerged from the smoke. He had a black, wistful beard that was turning gray and he had on a black robe and crown. “Let’s get this over with,” he bellowed. “And I heard that Hermes. Watch your back from now on.”

“Anyways, now that everybody is here, we will tell you the news,” said Athena. “We are going to give you gifts to help you on your quest.” Athena handed Perseus a shield. It wasn’t an ordinary shield though. It had a mirror on it so if you looked at it, you could see people behind it.

Next, Hermes stepped forward. He rummaged about his sack on his back and brought out a curved sword and winged sandals. “Normal swords can’t kill monsters but this sword, made out of celestial bronze, can slice through anything, monsters included,” explained Hermes. “The sandals will let you run really fast and get you out of dangerous situations.”

Last, Hades stood up in front with a groan. “I present you this helmet. It will make the wearer invisible for a short time. If you damage it in anyway, I will take your loved ones away from you. Remember, I am the god of dead.”

That reminded me of something. “Wait Hades, do you know where my mom is?” I asked hurriedly.

But by then, the gods where starting to melt away. Athena said last, “Good luck Perseus and good luck to you Hector. Find the Greae and ask for their help.”

The Gods had a certain way of leaving right before you actually wanted to know something. It is so annoying. But now I can’t think about that. We have to find the Greae. I asked Perseus, “Do you even know where the Greae are?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen them before,” explained Perseus. “They are at a dark, dirty camp. They are 3 women that share one eye. It’s really disgusting and weird.”

We traveled a few miles and finally came to a camp ground. There were ravens circling around the mucky camp. In the shadows of one corner, there were 3 bodies huddling down. They turned around and the one in the middle was holding one eye that was twitching around. The eye then suddenly stopped and stared at us. The Greae themselves were old women with scraggly hair. One of the Greae pointed at us. “Why you come?” she said in a weird accent. We no have information for you.”

“Where do we find the Gorgon, Medusa?” demanded Perseus.

“We don’t know,” said a different Greae hurriedly. “We know nothing about where Gorgon is.”

Perseus suddenly lunged forward and stole the eye. “Ewww,” said Perseus. “It’s so slimy. So if you want your eye back, tell me where the Gorgon is.”

“All right, all right,” croaked the Greae. “We will tell you. She lives near gate to Hell, about a mile off. Find her there. But you will die.”

“Well, where is the gate to Hell?” I asked.

“Why you know nothing? Gate to Hell is in a canyon next to city called Zagoria. Now I told you, give eye back to us!”

Perseus tossed the eye on the ground and it rolled towards the Greae. “Come on Hector, let’s leave,” he said to me. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

We traveled for about a day when we finally got to the city of Zagoria. We traveled the town while being invisible because Polydectes and the king of Zagoria are feuding. The clothes we wear are much different then his and we would be spotted immediately. So we went invisible thanks to Hades. We finally got to the canyon. There was a sign that said: No trespassing. Well, signs wouldn’t stop us. We climbed down the canyon with the help of the shoes Hermes gave Perseus and we looked around. To one side, there was a circling black haze. To the right of that haze was something that looked like a cave. We went inside and it became pitch black.

Suddenly, we heard a loud hiss followed by a scream. “What was that Perseus?” I asked. We walked for a few minutes down a tunnel and we came to a dimly lighted area. Then, everything happened quickly. There was another loud hiss and a yellow glow flashed. There was a scream and silence. We walked cautiously forward. I yelled in fright because there was a stone statue of a human. He looked really scared.

“Medusa,” said Perseus.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“This is the work of Medusa,” he answered back. “If you look into her eyes, then you will turn to stone. It’s really scary.”

“So then how are we supposed to kill her?”

“Hmm, let’s think about the gifts we got,” reasoned Perseus. “We got a sword, a pair of shoes, an invisible helmet, and a mirror shield. We have to use the sword to cut off the head but we could also use the shield so that we could see behind us. That’s how we’ll kill her.”

“Good plan Perseus,” I said. “Let’s go.” Some rocks fell from the roof of the cave. We looked up and there was a big cone of rock. It was a huge stalactite. We walked a little further.

Then, from out behind, we heard a hiss and a figure slipped out from the shadows. Perseus instinctively struck out with his sword and deflected the claws that came slashing at him. A scaly voice was heard, “Not bad young warrior. An celestial bronze sword, deadly to me - if you could actually hit me.” She laughed, but it was not an ordinary laugh. It was mix between a hiss and a laugh.

Enraged, Perseus produced an onslaught of attacks but Medusa easily dodged them without flinching. Then, she went on the offensive. She lunged and slapped him across the back. Perseus could have fought better if he could open his eyes but then Medusa would turn him to stone. Right when Medusa was going to slash Perseus, I threw a shield from the man that turned to stone and got her attention. She screamed in pain and held her head. She flashed her head towards me and I shut my eyes. Narrowly missed becoming a statue is pretty scary.

I remembered the bag with the presents. I got up and dove for the sack. I opened it and I threw the mirror shield to Perseus. He caught it deftly and turned to face Medusa, still with his eyes closed. He then turned the other way and opened his eyes. Sure enough, he could see behind him with the shield. He saw Medusa looming up behind him in the reflection and he swung backhand behind him. He caught Medusa in surprise and the sword nicked her on her scales.

“Well, well, well, looks like you have the shield of the person who turned me into this young demigod,” Medusa hissed. “You just keep giving me surprises.”

Perseus responded to this comment with a slash of his sword. And then another. And a few more after. But Medusa kept on side stepping them. She just had to step back and duck her head to dodge them.

“Foolish boy, how will you kill me if you can’t touch me?” taunted Medusa.

Then, Perseus stopped. He did something strange. He smiled. “Do you really think I was wasting my energy just swinging my sword around? Why don’t you look up?”

Medusa looked up. “You little brat! You lured me under...” But she got no further, for Perseus had thrown his sword to the roof. The huge stalactite that we saw earlier fell down and crushed Medusa’s body. She gave a blood curdling screamed. Perseus walked up to her and cut off her head.

“You did it Perseus!” I congratulated. “Let’s go home.”

. ..

We traveled for about half a day when we came to a city called Argos. There was great commotion there. We asked a shop owner what was going on and he explained, “Princess Andromeda is being sacrificed to a sea monster. Andromeda’s vain mother, Cassiopeia, foolishly said that she was more beautiful than the Nereids (sea nymphs) and that made the gods angry. They said that either Argos will be burned to the ground or a sea monster will eat the one who claims to be more beautiful than the Nereids.”

“That’s horrible,” I said. “Can we do anything to help Perseus?”

“I don’t know yet,” said Perseus. “Let’s go see the king and queen.”

So we went up to the palace of Cepheus ll and went up the long steps. When we came to the top, we saw a sad scene. Queen Cassiopeia was crying at Cepheus’s knees. “Why did we say that my lord?” wept Cassiopeia. “Now our daughter will die.”

“Excuse me, King and Queen, if I could save your daughter, could I marry her?” asked Perseus. “I have seen her before and she is very beautiful.”

“How could you possibly save her?” demanded Cepheus. “A sea monster is going to eat her!”

“I have my ways,” said Perseus mysteriously. “Where is she right now?”

“She is at the edge of the cliff chained to two posts,” trembled Cassiopeia. “Go quickly young Perseus. Save our daughter.” We ran to the cliff side. There was a big crowd of people behind her. They were cheering for the sea monster to come because they didn’t want their city to be destroyed. Suddenly, a giant splash came out of the water and a roaring sound could be heard. Out of the water erupted a giant sea monster. It had a scaly head and 100 foot long tentacles. Its red eyes glared at us. It gave a roar that made my ears ring.

It leaped towards the cliff and clawed at the enormous rocks. Right when it was about to devour the princess, Perseus leaped through the crowd. I saw him take out a round object from the bag he was carrying. It was the head of Medusa!

A flurry of thoughts ran through my head. What if he didn’t make it in time? What if the princess got eaten? Would the head work on a gigantic sea monster? What would happen? I guess I would soon find out in the next few seconds.

Perseus held up the head and yelled to the crowd, “Turn away unless you want to turn to stone.”

In one movement, the crowd turned away hurriedly. I averted my eyes too. I didn’t want to take a chance. Perseus held up the head and when the sea monster was a few meters away from him, Medusa hissed and her eyes flashed. There was a 500 foot stone statue in the ocean. A big cracking noise was heard and it crumbled into the ocean. Everyone was safe and sound. The crowd stayed silent for a few seconds then they started to cheer.

. ..

A day later, we woke to a knocking at the door. We were staying in an apartment in Argos. I shouted drowsily, “Come in!”

The king and queen themselves walked in. “We want to thank you so much Perseus for all you have done,” said Cepheus. “You can have your wish and marry our daughter, Andromeda.”

** . . . ** It was a happy wedding with good food, drinks, and fun. Everyone congratulated Perseus on his marriage. After the wedding, we traveled for a few days back to our homeland. Before we went to Polydectes’s palace, we stopped at Perseus’s house. Daneae was there.

“Well, I guess it’s all over,” I said.

“Perseus, you are back!” Daneae wept. “I am so glad! Perseus, don’t give him Medusa’s head. I overheard him talking with his council and said when if you come back with the head, he will kill you and burn you at the stake!”

Perseus glared at the floor. “So this was all for nothing. And I expect that the whole wedding thing was fake too?”

“That’s right,” said Daneae. “I am so sorry.”

“We cannot let Polydectes get away with this,” I said. “What are you going to do Perseus?” “I have an idea,” said Perseus thoughtfully. “Come with me Hector.”

We traveled to Polydectes’s palace and slammed open the door. They were in the middle of a meeting with some of the peasants. I actually knew some of them. They looked back at us.

“Let all those friends who stand before me close their eyes!” yelled Perseus at the top of his lungs. Some of the peasants turned away. I turned away as well. Perseus whipped Medusa’s head out of his bag and flashed it into the court. Medusa hissed and a yellow light came shining out.

When I looked back, there were 30 stone statues in the courtroom - including Polydectes. He had an anguished expression on his face. Perseus looked at me. “//Now//, it’s over Hector. Let’s go home.”