Onward yet and higher he sped, he knew not whither, on the golden sandals, till from the murky glare of the Gorgon land he passed into a soft and tender light, in which all things wore the colors of a dream. It was not the light of sun or moon, for in that land was neither day nor night. No breeze wafted the light clouds of morning through the sky, or stirred the leaves of the forest trees where the golden fruits glistened the whole year round, but from beneath rose the echoes of sweet music, as he glided gently down to the earth. Then he took the helmet of Hades from off his head, and asked the people whom he met the name of this happy land, and they said, "We dwell where the icy breath of Boreas can not chill the air or wither our fruits, therefore is our land called the garden of the Hyperboreans." There, for a while, Perseus rested from his toil, and all day long he saw the dances of happy maidens fair as Hebe and Harmonia, and he shared the rich banquets at which the people of the land feasted with wreaths of laurel twined around their head. There he rested in a deep peace, for no sound of strife or war can ever break it, and they know nothing of malice and hatred, of sickness or old age.
But presently Perseus remembered his mother, Danae, as she lay in her prison-house, at Seriphos, and he left the garden of the Hyperboreans to return to the world of toiling men, but the people of the land knew only that it lay beyond the slow-rolling Ocean stream, and Perseus saw not whither he went as he rose on his golden sandals into the soft and dreamy air. Onwards he flew, until far beneath he beheld the Ocean river, and once more he saw the light of Helios, as he drove his fiery chariot through the heaven. Far away stretched the mighty Libyan plain, and further yet, beyond the hills which shut it in, he saw the waters of the dark sea, and the white line of foam, where the breakers were dashed upon the shore. As he came nearer, he saw the huge rocks which rose out of the heaving waters, and on one of them he beheld a maiden, whose limbs were fastened with chains to a stone. The folds of her white robe fluttered in the breeze, and her fair face was worn and wasted with the heat by day and the cold by night. Then Perseus hastened to her, and stood a long time before her, but she saw him not, for the helmet of Hades was on his head, and he watched her there till the tears started to his eyes for pity. Her hands were clasped upon her breast, and only the moving of her lips showed the greatness of her misery. Higher and higher rose the foaming waters, till at last the maiden said, "O Zeus, is there none whom thou canst send to help me?" Then Perseus took the helmet in his hand, and stood before her in all his glorious beauty, and the maiden knew that she had nothing to fear when he said, "Lady, I see that thou art in great sorrow; tell me who it is that has wronged thee, and I will avenge thee mightily." And she answered, "Stranger, whoever thou art, I will trust thee, for thy face tells me that thou art not one of those who deal falsely. My name is Andromeda, and my father, Kepheus, is King of the rich Libyan land, but there is strife between him and the old man, Nereus, who dwells with his daughters in the coral caves, beneath the sea, for, as I grew up in my father's house, my mother made a vain boast of my beauty, and said that among all the children of Nereus there was none so fair as I." So Nereus rose from his coral caves, and went to the King Poseidon, and said, "King of the broad sea, Kassiopeia, hath done a grievous wrong to me and to my children. I pray thee let not her people escape for her evil words.
Then Poseidon let loose the waters of the sea, and they rushed in over the Libyan plains till only the hills which shut it in remained above them, and a mighty monster came forth and devoured all the fruits of the land. In grief and terror the people fell down before my father, Kepheus, and he sent to the home of Ammon to ask what he should do for the plague of waters and for the savage beast who vexed them; and soon the answer came that he must chain up his daughter on a rock, till the beast came and took her for his prey. So they fastened me here to this desolate crag, and each day the monster comes nearer as the waters rise; and soon, I think, they will place me within his reach." Then Perseus cheered her with kindly words, and said, "Maiden, I am Perseus, to whom Zeus has given the power to do great things. I hold in my hand the sword of Hermes, which has slain the Gorgon Medusa, and I am bearing to Polydektes, who rules in Seriphos, the head which turns all who look on it into stone. Fear not, then, Andromeda. I will do battle with the monster, and, when thy foes are vanquished, I will sue for the boon of thy love." A soft blush as of great gladness came over the pale cheek of Andromeda, as she answered, "O Perseus, why should I hide from thee my joy? Thou hast come to me like the light of the morning when it breaks on a woeful night." But, even as she spake, the rage of the waves waxed greater, and the waters rose higher and higher, lashing the rocks in their fury, and the hollow roar of the monster was heard as he hastened to seize his prey. Presently by the maiden's side he saw a glorious form with the flashing sword in his hand, and he lashed the waters in fiercer anger. Then Perseus went forth to meet him, and he held aloft the sword which Hermes gave to him, and said, "Sword of Phœbus, let thy stroke be sure, for thou smitest the enemy of the helpless." So the sword fell, and the blood of the mighty beast reddened the waters of the green sea.
EUTERPE (Muse of Pleasure).[ToList]
In gladness of heart Perseus led the maiden to the halls of Kepheus, and said, "O King, I have slain the monster to whom thou didst give thy child for a prey; let her go with me now to other lands, if she gainsay me not." But Kepheus answered, "Tarry with us yet a while, and the marriage feast shall be made ready, if indeed thou must hasten away from the Libyan land." So, at the banquet, by the side of Perseus sate the beautiful Andromeda; but there arose a fierce strife, for Phineus had come to the feast, and it angered him that another should have for his wife the maiden whom he had sought to make his bride. Deeper and fiercer grew his rage, as he looked on the face of Perseus, till at last he spake evil words of the stranger who had taken away the prize which should have been his own. But Perseus said, calmly, "Why, then, didst thou not slay the monster thyself and set the maiden free?" When Phineus heard these words his rage almost choked him, and he charged his people to draw their swords and slay Perseus. Wildly rose the din in the banquet hall, but Perseus unveiled the Gorgon's face, and Phineus and all his people were frozen into stone.
Then, in the still silence, Perseus bare away Andromeda from her father's home, and when they had wandered through many lands they came at length to Seriphos. Once more Danae looked on the face of her son, and said, "My child, the months have rolled wearily since I bade thee farewell; but sure I am that my prayer has been heard, for thy face is as the face of one who comes back a conqueror from battle." Then Perseus said, "Yes, my mother, the help of Zeus has never failed me. When the eastern breeze carried me hence to the Argive land, my heart was full of sorrow, because I saw the city which thou didst yearn to see, and the home which thou couldst not enter, and I vowed a vow to bring thee back in triumph when I came to claim my birthright.
That evening, as I slept, the lady Athene came to me from the home of Zeus, and gave me a mirror so that I might take the Gorgon's head without looking on the face which turns everything into stone, and yet another night, Hermes stood before me, and gave me the sword whose stroke never fails, and the Graiai told me where I should find the nymphs who gave me the helmet of Hades, and the bag which has borne hither the Gorgon's head, and the golden sandals which have carried me like a dream over land and sea. O, my mother, I have done wondrous things by the aid of Zeus. By me the doom of Medusa has been accomplished, and I think that the words which thou didst speak were true, for the image of the Gorgon's face, which I saw in Athene's mirror, was as the countenance of one whose beauty has been marred by a woeful agony, and whenever I have looked since on that image, it has seemed to me as though it wore the look of one who rested in death from a mighty pain. So, as the giant Atlas looked on that grief-stricken brow, he felt no more the weight of the heaven as it rested on him, and the gray hair which streamed from his head seemed to me, when I left him, like the snow which clothes the mountain-tops in winter. So, when from the happy gardens of the Hyperboreans I came to the rich Libyan plain, and had killed the monster who sought to slay Andromeda, the Gorgon's face turned Phineus and his people into stone, when they sought to slay me because I had won her love." Then Danae answered the questions of Perseus, and told him how Polydektes had vexed her with his evil words, and how Diktys alone had shielded her from his brother. And Perseus bade Danae be of good cheer, because the recompense of Polydektes was nigh at hand.
There was joy and feasting in Seriphos when the news was spread abroad that Perseus had brought back for the King the head of the Gorgon Medusa, and Polydektes made a great feast, and the wine sparkled in the goblets as the minstrels sang of the great deeds of the son of Danae. Then Perseus told him of all that Hermes and Athene had done for him. He showed them the helmet of Hades, and the golden sandals, and the unerring sword, and then he unveiled the face of Medusa before Polydektes and the men who had aided him against his mother, Danae. So Perseus looked upon them, as they sat at the rich banquet, stiff and cold as a stone, and he felt that his mighty work was ended. Then, at his prayer, came Hermes, the messenger of Zeus, and Perseus gave him back the helmet of Hades, and the sword which had slain the Gorgon, and the sandals which had borne him through the air like a dream. And Hermes gave the helmet again to Hades, and the sandals to the Ocean nymphs, but Athene took the Gorgon's head, and it was placed upon her shield.