“I see you’ve gotten yourself a fine horse and a pretty bride. But what have you brought me? The Gorgon’s head proved too much for you eh? Though you be son of Zeus.”
“Behold,” said Perseus, extracting the hideous thing from his bag. The king beheld his birthday gift, the head of Medusa, and he turned to stone.
Next I met my husband’s mother, Danae. He had not exaggerated. She was indeed a true beauty and a fitting bride for Zeus. Perseus then had to see another important woman in his life – his half-sister Athena. He returned the shield and the sword to her. He also gave her Medusa’s head, which she affixed to her shield, so that all her enemies would be petrified. Hermes took back his winged sandals – good riddance to them I say, and his goatskin bag.
Perseus was still my hero. Beautiful, strong, a bit thick. That is not quite the end of the story. A few years later, he took part in some athletic games. It was, after all, something he was good at. He was about to win the javelin contest, throwing his spear to its target well and true. But at that moment and old man, in a bit of a daze, stepped into its path. He was killed instantly. So the life of Perseus was again determined by fate. He had killed his father, King Zeus, who all those years before had set him and his mother adrift in a crate on the seas.
And what became of me? Well I was a mortal, and so after many years, it was my fate to die. But as I was the wife of a hero and a demigod, Perseus decided to honour me. He turned me into a constellation called, naturally enough, Andromeda. My mother, my father, the winged horse Pegasus, and that beastly sea monster are all up here with me. Perseus is a bit further away. What’s it like being a constellation? Well life up here is pretty glitzy, as you can imagine. We have everything we need to sparkle and shine and look beautiful. We have wonderful views of the planets and the infinite majesty of space. But oh yes, I do miss the warmth of human blood in my veins, and the embrace of my hero, Perseus.
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