Zeus coupled with the beautiful Danaé disguised as a shower of gold.
From their furtive love Perseus was born.
Perseus was brought up at the court of the tyrant Polydectes who coveted
his mother and thus wanted to get rid of the son.
As a young man, Perseus boasted to Polydectes that he had the power to
bring him the head of Medusa, a monster whose gaze turned people to stone.
Polydectes held him to his boast. With the aid of Athena and Hermes,
Perseus overcame the obstacles and brought back the head of Medusa to
Polydectes, thus turning the tyrant to stone.