Languages Latin

The Story of Perseus

Persēus vir fortis erat quī semper excitat studium. Hīc vōbīs fābulam dē illō recitō. Fābula scrīpta est ā F. W. Sanford et H.F. Scott in librō A Junior Latin Reader.


For my Patreon supporters a plain mp3 file (no music) is avaiable here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/29450616!

Haec nārrantur ā poētīs dē Perseō. Persēus fīlius erat Jovis, maximī deōrum. Avus ejus Ācrisius appellābātur. Ācrisius volēbat Persēum, nepōtem suum, necāre; nam propter ōrāculum puerum timēbat. Comprehendit igitur Persēum, adhūc īnfantem, et cum mātre in āreā ligneā inclūsit. Tum arcam ipsam in mare conjēcit. Danaē, Perseī māter, magnopere territa est; tempestās enim magna mare turbābat. Perseus autem in sinū mātris dormiēbat.

Juppiter tamen haec omnia vīdit, et fīlium suum servāre cōnstituit. Fēcit igitur mare tranquillum, et arcam ad īnsulam Serīphum perdūxit. Hujus Īnsulae Polydectēs tum rēx erat. Postquam ārea ad lītus appulsa est, Danaē in harēnā quiētem capiēbat. Post breve tempus ā piscātōre quōdam reperta est, et ad domum rēgis Polydectis adducta est. Ille mātrem et puerum benignē excēpit, et sēdem tūtam in fīnibus is suīs dedit. Danaē hoc dōnum libenter accēpit, et prō tantō beneficiō rēgī grātiās ēgit.

Persēus igitur multōs annōs ibi habitāvit, et cum mātre suā vītam ēgit beātam. At Polydectēs Danaēn magnopere amābat atque eam in mātrimōnium dūcere volēbat. Hoc tamen cōnsilium Persēō minimē grātum erat. Polydectēs igitur Persēum dīmittere cōnstituit. Tum juvenem ad sē vocāvit et haec dīxit: ”Turpe est vītam hanc ignāvam agere; jam dūdum tū adulēscēns es; quousque hīc manēbis? Tempus est arma capere et virtūtem praestāre. Hinc abī, et caput Medūsae mihi refer.”

Perseus, ubi haec audīvit, ex īnsulā discessit et, postquam ad continentem venit, Medūsam quaesīvit. Diū frūstrā quaerēbat; nam nātūram locī ignōrābat. Tandem Apollō et Minerva viam dēmōnstrāvērunt. Prīmum ad Graeās, sorōrēs Medūsae, pervēnit. Ab hīs tālāria et galeam magicam accēpit. Apollō autem et Minerva falcem et speculum dedērunt. Tum postquam tālāria pedibus induit, in āera ascendit. Diū per āera volābat; tandem tamen ad eum locum vēnit ubi Medūsā cum cēterīs Gorgōnibus habitābat. Gorgōnēs autem mōnstra erant speciē horribilī; capita enim eārum serpentibus omnīnō contēcta erant; mantīs etiam ex āere factae erant.

Rēs erat difficillimā abscīdere caput Gorgonīs; ejus enim cōnspectū hominēs in saxum vertēbantur. Propter hanc causam Minervā illud speculum dederat. Perseus igitur tergum vertit, et in speculum īnspiciēbat; hoc modo ad locum venit ubi Medūsa dormiēbat. Tum falce suā caput ejus ūnō ictū abscīdit. Cēterae Gorgōnēs statim ē somnō excitātae sunt et, ubi rem vīdērunt, īrā commōtae sunt. Arma rapuērunt, et Persēum occīdere volēbant; ille autem, dum fugit, galeam magicam induit et, ubi hoc fēcit, statim ē cōnspectū eārum ēvāsit.

Post haec Persēus in fīnēs Aethiopum venit. Ibi Cēpheus quīdam illō tempore rēgnābat. Hic Neptūnum, maris deum, ōlim offenderat. Neptūnus autem mōnstrum saevissimum mīserat. Hoc cotīdiē ē mare veniēbat et hominēs dēvorābat. Ob hanc causam pavor animōs omnium occupāverat. Cēpheus igitur ōrāculum deī Hammōnis cōnsuluit, atque ā deō jussus est fīliam mōnstrō trādere. Ejus autem fīlia, nōmine Andromedā, virgō fōrmōsissima erat. Cēpheus, ubi haec audīvit, magnum dolōrem percēpit. Volēbat tamen cīvēs suōs ē tantō perīculō extrahere, atque ob eam causam cōnstituit imperāta Hammōnis facere.

Tum rēx diem certam dīxit et omnia parāvit. Ubi ea eō diēs venit, Andromeda ad lītus dēducta est et in cōnspectū omnium ad rūpem alligāta est. Omnēs fātum ejus dēplōrābant, nec lacrimās tenēbant. At subitō, dum mōnstrum expectant, Persēus accurrit; et, ubi lacrimās vīdit, causam dolōris quaerit. Illī rem tōtam expōnunt et puellam dēmōnstrant. Dum haec geruntur, fremitus terribilis audītur; simul mōnstrum, horribilī speciē, procul cōnspicitur. Ejus cōnspectūs timōrem maximum omnibus injēcit. At mōnstrum magnā celeritāte ad lītus contendit, jamque ad locum appropinquābat ubi puella stābat.

At Persēus, ubi haec vīdit, gladium suum rapuit, et, postquam tālāria induit, in āera sublātus est. Tum dēsuper in mōnstrum impetum subitō fēcit et gladiō suō collum ejus graviter vulnerāvit. Mōnstrum, ubi sēnsit vulnus, fremitum horribilem ēdidit et sine morā tōtum corpus sub aquam mersit. Perseus, dum circum lītus volat, reditum ejus expectābat; mare autem intereā undique sanguine īnficitur. Post breve tempus, bēlua rūrsus caput sustulit; mox tamen ā Persēō ictū graviōre vulnerāta est. Tum iterum sē sub undās mersit, neque posteā vīsa est.

Perseus, postquam in lītus dēscendit, prīmum tālāria exuit; tum ad rūpem venit ubi Andromedā vīncta erat. Ea autem omnem spem salūtis dēposuerat et, ubi Persēus adiit, terrōre paene exanimāta erat. Ille vincula statim solvit et puellam patrī reddidit. Cēpheus ob hanc rem maximō gaudiō affectus est. Meritam grātiam prō tantō beneficiō Persēō rettulit; praetereā Andromedam ipsam eī in mātrimōnium dedit. Ille libenter hoc dōnum accēpit, et puellam dūxit. Paucōs annōs cum uxōre suā in eā regiōne habitāvit, et in magnō honōre erat apud omnēs Aethiopēs. Magnopere tamen cupiēbat mātrem suam rūrsus vidēre. Tandem igitur cum uxōre ē rēgnō Cēpheī discessit.

Postquam Persēus ad īnsulam nāvem appulit, sē ad locum contulit ubi māter ōlim habitāverat. At domum invēnit vacuam et omnīnō dēsertam. Trēs diēs per tōtam īnsulam mātrem quaerēbat; tandem quārtō diē ad templum Diānae pervēnit. Hue Danaē refūgerat, quod Polydectēm timēbat. Perseus, ubi haec cognōvit, īrā magnā commōtus est; ad rēgiam Polydectis sine morā contendit et, ubi eō venit, statim in ātrium irrūpit. Polydectēs magnō timōre affectus est, et fugere volēbat. Dum tamen ille fugit, Persēus caput Medūsae mōnstrāvit; ille autem, simul atque hoc vīdit, in saxum versus est.

Post haec Persēus cum uxōre suā ad urbem Ācrisiī rediit. Ille autem, ubi Persēum vĪdit, magnō terrōre affectus est. Nam propter ōrāculum istud nepōtem suum adhūc timēbat. In Thessaliam igitur ad urbem Lārissam statim refūgit; frūstrā tamen, neque enim fātum suum vītāvit. Post paucōs annōs rēx Lārissae lūdōs magnōs fēcit; nūntiōs in omnēs partēs dīmīserat et diem ēdīxerat. Multī ex omnibus urbibus nō Graeciae ad lūdōs convēnērunt. Ipse Persēus inter aliōs certāmen discōrum iniit. At, dum discum conjicit, avum suum cāsū occīdit; Ācrisius enim inter spectātōrēs ejus certāminis forte stābat.


Images used in the  video production:

Perseus and the Graeae by Edward Burne-Jones (1892), source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeae#/media/File:Edward_Burne-Jones_-_Perseus_and_the_Graiae,_1892.jpg

Image of stellar constelation: Sidney Hall, Urania’s Mirror – Perseus, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sidney_Hall_-_Urania%27s_Mirror_-_Perseus.jpg

Andromeda’s parents thank Perseus for freeing her; La Délivrance d’Andromède (1679) Pierre Mignard

Joseph Anton Koch, Perseus and Andromeda among the Ethiopians, Copy after Asmus Jacob Carstens’ drawing, source: https://thorvaldsensmuseum.dk/en/collections/work/D819

Peter Paul Rubens – The Head of Medusa, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_The_Head_of_Medusa_-_WGA20300.jpg

Andromeda by Giuseppe Cesari (1568–1640)

Persues fighting: Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

photo of Perseo con la testa di Medusa (sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini) by Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perseus_by_Cellini_Loggia_dei_Lanzi_n06.jpg

photo of a vase by BishkekRocks, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corinthian_Vase_depicting_Perseus,_Andromeda_and_Ketos.jpg

photo of Perseus: Image by nightowl from Pixabay, source: https://pixabay.com/photos/medusa-perseus-head-vatican-statue-1366362/

photo of Perseus: Image by frizio annovi from Pixabay

photo of beach: Image by michelmondadori from Pixabay

photo of Meduas – mosaic, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mosaic_floor_opus_tessellatum_detail_Gorgone_NAMA_Athens_Greece.jpg

Music and sounds used in the production:

Big Horns Intro 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/, source: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/

And Awaken – Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100331 , Artist: http://incompetech.com/

A Mission – Scoring Action by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100343
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Stalking Prey by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Vanity Reprise by Text Me Records / Leviathe, source: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/

Action Time by Biz Baz Studio, source: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/

Progressive Moments by Ugonna Onyekwe, source: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/

About the author

Ioannes Oculus

I am addicted to languages, both modern and ancient. No language is dead as long as we can read and understand it. I want to share my linguistic passion with like minded people. I am also interested in history, astronomy, genealogy, books and probably many others. My goals now are to write a novel in Latin, a textbook for Latin learners, Uzbek-Polish, Polish-Uzbek dictionary, modern Uzbek grammar and textbook for learners. My dream is to have a big house in UK or USA where I could keep all my books and have enough time and money to achieve my goals.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.