The Quest for the Gorgon Head

Illustrating this epic image for the Perseus myth overview I knew there were special elements I wanted to emphasize. I wanted to make sure that Princess Andromeda, being of African descent from Ethiopia, was portrayed as dark-skinned. I also thought this could be a fun opportunity to draw Perseus's head as an outline to represent his magic weapon, wearing Hades' helmet of invisibility. In my version of the myth, I have also chosen to visualize the sisters Graeae not simply as old hags (like most portrayals) but as more fantastic swan-like creatures, as described by the playwright Aeschylus in his "Perseus trilogy."

I, Perseus, am born when my mother, Danae, trapped in an underground bronze chamber, is visited by Zeus as a golden shower. Her father cruelly casts us into the churning sea. Yet the gods, in their mercy, safely guide us to the shores of Seriphos. As I grow into manhood, the ruler, King Polydectes, desiring my mother and seeking to rid himself of me, sends me on a deadly quest: to retrieve the head of the gorgon Medusa.  

With divine favor from Athena and Hermes, I meet enchanting characters along the way, the sisters Graeae and the nymphs who offer gifts of flight, invisibility, and unbreakable steel. In the land of the Gorgons, I strike down Medusa with Athena’s aid. Then, Flying over Ethiopia, I rescue the African princess Andromeda from the jaws of a sea serpent, claiming her as my bride. When I return home to Seriphos, I must face King Polydectes who has my mother entrapped. But I have a secret weapon-the stony gaze of Medusa shall be unleashed!

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