Series foreword
Acknowledgements
List of illustrations and credits
Abbreviations
Ancient authors and fragments
WHY PERSEUS?
1 INTRODUCING PERSEUS
KEY THEMES
2 THE FAMILY SAGA
The family saga on stage
The impregnation of Danae
The chest and its mythological comparanda
Acrisius' motivations and the feud with the line of Proetus
Perseus' childhood
Polydectes' trick
The war against Dionysus
The death of Perseus
Overview
3 MEDUSA AND THE GORGONS
The origins of the Gorgon-head and of the Medusa story
The development of the quest narrative: Aeschylus and
Pherecydes
Perseus' equipment
Where did the Gorgons live?
Gorgon weaponry
The corruption and punishment of Medusa
The female groups: Gorgons, Graeae, Nymphs, esperides and Nereids Athena, Perseus, Bellerophon and the dragons
Perseus and Jason: quest narratives and myths of maturation
Overview
4 ANDROMEDA AND THE SEA-MONSTER
The origins of the Andromeda tale
The tragic Andromeda
The imperial Andromeda
The catasterisms
Eros and eroticism
From Arcadia to India: Black Andromeda?
The "ketos": a natural history
The Andromeda tale in context: Hesione and the dragons
Folktale comparanda
Overview
5 THE USE AND ABUSE OF PERSEUS
Perseus in the Argolid
Perseus in Seriphos and Larissa
Perseus in Athens and Sparta
Perseus in Persia
Perseus in Egypt
Perseus in the Macedonian and Hellenistic dynasties
Perseus in Rome and Italy
Perseus in Roman Asia Minor
Perseus rationalised
Overview
PERSEUS AFTERWARDS
6 PERSEUS AFTER ANTIQUITY
From Fulgentius to Freud: three ages in the allegorisation of the Medusa tale
The Christian Perseus: St George and Princess Sabra, Roger and Angelica
Burne-Jones' "Perseus Series"
Overview
CONCLUSION: THE PERSONALITY OF PERSEUS
APPENDICES
Literary sources for the Perseus cycle
Family tree
Notes
Further reading
Bibliography
Index