@Brandon Quist You see, it'll still happen, but in the most mundane way possible. Death by grandson? They pulled the life support so you wouldn't suffer. Foretold doom at the hands of the true king? Your daughter marries him and puts him on the throne and has a more successful reign, thus making your own reign overshadowed and ignored by all future historians. Devoured by sea serpent? Well, you don't have to be alive for that, per-say Death by sea monster? Well, choking on a fish bone would be embarrassing, it also would count Prophecies have an unfortunate habit of happening no matter what because of how vague they are. They're tests of character, sure, but that only dictates how mundane it'll be.
@Brandon Quist this kind of reminds me of a story I made up, but I'm not 100% sure it counts? The king in question becomes more worried about WHY he would have to be killed, because he's actually a good king. And his subjects are just as confused as he is.
@@timothyhom Disney's Hercules is not a basis to anything. I had no problem with their changes with fairy tales , but they pull that off with Hercules because Walt Disney had a boner to do this kinda of stuff (many stuffs , actually). And the company , even with their creator long dead , try to pull that off. Think of Frozen , disney tried to make Frozen since the 50's! they tried 4 times or so , to a point that it's pretty much a thing to them to finally make an actual profittable "Ice Queen" movie , no matter what.
@@calebsmith7913 I revisit this video about every month or so and somehow I've stumbled onto one of my favorite youtube comments ever just 4 hours after it was posted. You win my internet cookie
i actually really like that detail because thats probably how things like this would actually go down if magic and stuff was definitively real. its interesting how older stories where people would buy into the idea of it being real more had less streamlined plots and just a description of things happening
Matthew Lui I love how for once it isn’t a vengeance story for the trying to kill him at birth thing. Like Percy really didn’t care about being thrown into the sea and the king didn’t do something to warrant the killing.... he was just a bit off the mark with his throw
It seems we only hear about these prophecy stories when the recipient grossly overreacts to something vaguely worded. I suppose the true test of kingship is to follow up and ask for more details from your oracle.
Athena really likes protecting her younger siblings, doesn’t she? I’ve noticed that whenever Zeus makes a new kid, Athena will usually step in to help the kid and protect them from whatever could endanger them (usually Hera). It’s kind of adorable to see Athena go “big sister” mode to guide and assist her siblings in their time of need.
If I had a nickel for every time a ancient greek caracter died by getting hit by a frisbee I whould have two nickels, wich isn't alot, but its wierd that its happened twice
I always wondered why Medusa never just found a nice cute blind boy and settled down... like. Everyone deserves love, I'm sure there's a handsom Mr Magoo out there somewhere who doesn't mind a girl who hisses and rattles in her sleep... and maybe her hair bites when you kiss... and also she can't go into town without turning town square into a sculpture garden... but still! Medusa deserves love too! Blind, well stocked with antivenom, and doesn't mind doing all the shopping type of love! How nice.
In most versions of the myth, Poseidon Rapes medusa, who had fled to Athena's temple in an attempt to get away. Not really conducive to desiring relationships in the future. Further fun fact, in some less told versions of the myth, Athena transforms Medusa so that it can never happen again, making it more of a twisted form of mercy than an actual punishment.
@@lucaswinsor4469 Actually that's exclusively Ovid's version of the mith. He invented the whole rape and curse thing because he was writing a book called "metamorphosys", that was about shape-shifting miths (so he needed a shape-shifting, and, since the book is about changes, he didn't care about changing the miths themselves) and because he loved to depict autorities in a bad light, so, in his versions of the miths, gods always play with mortals without caring abouth them. In the original Greek mith, Medusa was simpy born a monster, one of the three gorgons (along with Stheno and Euryale), that were daughters of Echidna and Typhon. Ironically, all three had the same aspect and powers, but Medusa was the only one that was mortal.
Fun fact, in the original Greek myths Medusa was always a Gorgon, hence why she had Gorgon sisters. The transformation of Medusa by Athena was an invention of the Roman poet Ovid.
It is honestly such a relief to me that there are still people who know this. I have had to make many arguments with people online who don't know their mythology and it's tiring.
I really want one of these stories to have a person be told a prophecy like “Your son/daughter will kill you and take over your kingdom” and be like “Oh my! An Ambitious child you say? Gotta make sure they got what it takes to kill me AND rule a kingdom! Oh, and also bulk up myself! I want to make sure it’s EPIC! Thanks Seer!” It’d be the best subversion EVER!!! Edit: I BET BEOWOLF WOULD BE THE PERFECT HERO TO DO THIS SUBVERSION!!!
And then the child falls by accident, the parent catches them, and the parent's spine snaps in half as a result. and the kid's just like "oh fuck I'm king now oh no"
@@Ardorstorm pfft! XD so much for their epic fight! Dead parent: [Sobs] I was robbed! Afterworld god: You died so- Dead parent: I don’t mind dying it’s just I didn’t have the cool fight I planned for nor give a last hurrah for my kid! This! ;-; SUUUUUCKS! 😭
Well, that depends on the version. In the version I had read before, Perseus' grandfather was there when he showed the Medusa head to the king trying to marry Perseus' mom, not knowing the bribe was his daughter, and was turned to stone as well on accident.
I love Andromeda's expression as she watches the spiced up final conflict between Perseus and the monster. It's a perfect "You know, I thought this day couldn't get weirder, AND YET..." expression.
Considering that ancient greeks considered adultery a worse crime then rape, and an adulterer could face death if caught in the act(at least in Athens) it's probably not a low number.
An interesting note about Medusa: it was Ovid who first portrayed Medusa as a mortal who was cursed by Athena (or as he called her, Minerva.) The Greeks would tell you that Medusa was born a monster just like the other Gorgons were. The Gorgons had other famous siblings including: Echidna the Mother of Monsters, Ladon the 100-headed dragon that guarded the tree with the golden apples, the Graea or Grey Sisters-three ancient women who had one eye and one tooth between them, and according to some, the Hesperides or Evening Nymphs who helped Ladon guard the tree. On a side note, Perseus killing Acrisius with a discuss is one of two ways the prophecy was fulfilled. For the other way, Acrisius was one of Polydectes' guests for his wedding to Danae, so Perseus turned HIM to stone as well!
Ovid also claimed Medusa had not consented to the temple encounter with Poseidon/Neptune, as part of his general "manifest my anti-authoritarian streak by portraying the gods as evil" tendencies.
@@willegan1823 He seemed to have spared Pluto on that; it's in Ovid's version of Orpheus and Eurydice that after Orpheus is killed by the nymphs of Bacchus, he's allowed back into the Underworld and to reunite with Eurydice in Elysium.
@@ΣοφοκληςΒλαχόπουλος-ι9ν My information may not be completely correct. Over the following months, I've come to think it might not have been just Ovid, or him at all, that wrote Orpheus' story that way. It did seem out of character for Ovid's writing.
To answer your question about why he didn't just kill her. To the Ancient Greeks, killing a member of your family is a cardinal sin and will doom you to Tartarus (a place you definitely don't want to go). There are work arounds to this, such as starving them or putting them in a chest and throwing them in the ocean. Although, these work arounds bring up another question, why doesn't a guard kill her? Whenever I would ask my mythology teacher these things, she would respond with something like "Shh, magic."
I think the whole point is to leave it up to fate. You ordering your guard to kill your child is likely the same as doing it yourself. Hell, it's probably considered worse because at least when you're the one jabbing the sword into a helpless innocent, you're the one taking responsibility rather than being a coward and have someone else do your dirty work, so instead of being forced to push a rock up a hill for eternity, you're forced to push a rock up a hill for all eternity while massive killer bees constantly sting at you.
So, wait. Telling a guard to kill your own kin or stabbing them yourself is pure evil, but putting them in a deathtrap is A-OK? Did the Jigsaw Killer get his inspiration from classical mythology?
I think I heard somewhere that his reasoning for the box thing was something like: "If I stick her and the child in a box and then throw it in the ocean, and the gods really think that's oh-such-a-terrible-thing, then they'll save her themselves. So if she dies, it's not MY fault, it's the gods' fault. And if she does survive, it's not like she and her kid will ever find their way back, because I dropped them off so far away"
Polydectes: Hey hot stuff, ever met a King before? Deana: The last person I slept with was *Zeus* Percius: Hey mom, is that guy bothering you? Deana: Oh, look, living proof! XD I love this so much!!
My absolute favourite is 1:30 Perseus: "Why do I have two moms?" Danae: "Because you're special" Zeus: " *THAT* is not what makes him special" Fisherman/adoptive dad: "You get to decide that when _YOU_ raise him" 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I don't understand why he should be scared. Zeus just gave Deana a baby and that's it. It's not like he's leaving Mt. Olympus to visit her like Star Lord's parents.
So either Perseus was raised by a cute triad, or by a platonic set-up between his mom and two of the best friends EVER, who took in a random woman, probably had to help her get back to health after everything she'd been through, and then helped her parent her son. Either way, one of the best and most functional families in Greek mythology.
Hayley P. And, I don’t think this was intentional but, Andromeda looks like Annabeth, and Perseus has see-blue/green eyes like Percy! But the whole SON OF POSEIDON thing fell into... too soon.
Umm... okay... please tell me that you are not insulting my children... my small boys, girls, boys and girls (in the case of Alex) and non-binary children (can't remember if any of those exist in the series but hey I'm putting it in anyway because if there are then they're my children too)... because I KNOW you wouldn't do that... c a r e f u l d a r l i n g...
Fun fact: Some myths claim that Perseus fought the sea monster in the part of The Mediterranean sea next to Lebanon. After he used the gorgon's head on the creature, it turns into stone, and they say that if you go to the coast of Lebanon and look out at sea, you can see the remains of the myths claims to be the sea monster. The remains are called "Saqrit Al Raouche" or in English "Raouche Stone/Pigeon Rock".
If I had to guess, I'd say the reason Hera's rather chill with Perseus is that he and his mother got put through so much suffering without her influence that she just doesn't feel right punishing the woman after all she's gone through. Also, the fact that Zeus just made her pregnant instead of carrying on a torrid affair. That probably helps.
Plus, Perseus' existence was ordained by divine prophecy, so no matter what, he was coming into being. Given the situation Danae was in, and it was pretty much a guarantee that he was going to be a demi-god. As for why Zeus had to be his father over, say, Ares? I dunno.
Perseus is one of my favorite Greek heroes because he's NOT a complete jerkwad XD A small detail that was left out: After taking Medusa's head, Perseus encountered her sisters, Euryale and Stheno. Euryale cried out in anguish over her sister's death while Stheno tried to attack Perseus, who fled. Meanwhile, Pegasus was born from Medusa's blood shortly after and flew off...somewhere.
As was Khrysaor, who some describe as a man made of gold (seeing as how Khrysaor means "golden sword" or something to that effect) and others describe as... a flying boar? Myths are weird.
What I find interesting about Fate/Stay Night Medusa is that she describes the young Perseus as a "Successful Shinji" _(Thank God Fate Prototype Perseus isn't like that)_
@NecroMelodia Where did this even come from and what does your personal beliefs have to do with the original comment? Where did the topic of sexuality even come from? There are plenty of examples where women are portrayed very realistically in media, and the creators of some of those pieces of media are men so please refrain from viewing an entire group of people, half of the world's population, as being of a single mindset, it is incredibly sexist and beyond offensive. Women can be just as bad with their portrayal of men in pieces of media, so I really do not see why you think all women are innocent? Not all women are innocent just as not all men are guilty of being quote unquote "cringe" or guilty of misrepresenting women. Some modern interpretations of originally ugly men in history and myths are probably just as bad.
ShadowSlayerLOZ Cameron Also it’s oddly appropriate that Medusa always dons a blindfold There’s no risk of accidentally turning your friends to statues if you wear a blindfold
NecroMelodia ... Medusa literally got seduced by Poseidon quite easily for the sole reason of offending Athena because Medusa was a priestess in Athena’s temple who was gorgeous. Nothing was cool about her sexuality.
Perseus: “Mom, how come one of the other kids have two moms?” His mum: “Because you’re special!” Mr. absentee: “That is NOT what makes him special!” Fisherman: *You get to decide that when you raise him* Oof sick burn!!!
I think Perseus and his mom just live with the couple, like, I don't think they had anything going on. But I suppose most of that is up to interpretation, it is an ancient myth after all.
@@thebighurt2495 I don't know if the source says anything, but if it's noteworthy that the fishing couple has no children, then you'd expect they would be on the older side (at least 30s or 40s, possibly 50s onward) with it being seen as unlikely that they would have children at this point. Danae's age probably isn't established, but knowing Zeus, I could easily see her being mid-to-late teens. That would make an adoption thing make more sense. Also, Danae has to still be beautiful enough for the other evil king to fall in love with her while Perseus is 15-20 years old, so Danae being 15-20 when he was born would make her 30-40 when the king comes knocking.
Tip: Killing your kin was a BIG no-no in greek mythology. If you did that, you were inviting yourself to a fate worse than death. It was also taboo. so If the guy had killed her, he would have had the harpies banging down his door in the middle of the night. Hope that answers the question! Also, AWESOME CHANNEL.
You're right - also the king figured that if Danae died in the cell (or later in the box) then technically he wouldn't be responsible for her death and he'd get away with it. It's a pity we don't get to see if that ploy would've worked, bet the Erinyes still would've gone avenging angel on his ass.
Well to be honest, the way this prophecy actually happens feels like a downright after thought. Like Perseus has all his super adventures and were about to finish his story till someone comes chiming in about the plot point that was set up on the first part of the tale. Then theres just no time to make it all dramatic so lets jsut bean him with a discus!
1:29 i like the idea that zeus chimes in randomly with any of his kids like "hey what the hell man", and the actual parents are just like "nah man im not listening"
Isn't that what Medusa told Batman and Zatanna when they went down to meet her in order to get info of Circe's whereabouts so that she can magic Wonder Woman back to normal after turning her into a pig? I really hope people get this reference...
Red: "So this is probably the first in a series." Me: The playlist is IN ORDER?!?! I didn't know that was possible on TH-cam! 100 POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!!!
Red: King Acrisius locks his daughter Danae in an underground cell Me: Erm....is that where the phrase so popular among parents come from? 'You're grounded'? I'm just asking Edit: Love the cute Perseus, pretty princess Andromeda and the parents!! Mama Danae combing the hair of the other mom! Sweet! She's so sassy when confronting that obsessed king.
Depending on the version of the myth, Poseidon raped Medusa in Athena's temple(Medusa was a priestess of Athena), in some version Athena turns her into a snake monster out of anger, in other she does it in a weird form of pity and does it as a way to prevent her from being raped in the future.
Also the thing in the video where Athena goes "What do you think this is, Aphrodite's temple?" is amusing. See all the "priests" and "priestesses" of Aphrodite were prostitutes.
And in some versions, Medusa and her two sisters were the children of minor deities and were Gorgons from birth. Also, the depiction of Medusa as beautiful AND terrifying started in the 5th century B.C. (I think).
Huh, in the version I read about she's locked in the highest room of a really tall tower, which is also how Zeus notices her, he comes in and is all like: "Hey, you look bummed out, I can fix that", and promptly proceeds to turn her room into a beautiful forest, that somehow fits in one room (it was a big room okay). So Zeus visits a few more times, ends up banging her and they have a kid, Perseus, (but you already knew that). Anyway, her father notices a bunch of plants growing out her window (about time, if you ask me) and proceeds to go to her room, where he finds his daughter, baby Perseus, and a whole buttload of plants and woodland animals (wow, how big was that room anyway). The rest you already know: King freaks out, puts em both in a chest, yeets them out to sea, and they end up somewhere else. As for Amdromeda, the version I read was that she herself decided to go out to sacrifice herself, Athena apparently notices this and sends a giant owl down that grabs her and brings her to a giant rock, that conveniently had a sword, shield and helmet on top of it, which she wears to ready herself against the giant sea monster, at which point Perseus promptly arrives and offers to help her, she agrees and they both end up slaying the bastard.
Comic Sans sounds... to modern for Ancient Greece. Look I worship these deities but a Christian doesn’t have to agree with the crusades. Anyway. I don’t think a Greek writer or reseller of this tale would include such badassery for a woman if she wasn’t an amazon
Golden Shower is a phrase for a reason. Modern versions of myths, while I agree with them on general principles, don't tell you a lot about the Culture that existed.
Funny thing about people trying to avoid prophecies, I noticed... When they actually TRY to avoid it, the whole avoiding thing sort of ACTUALLY makes the prophecy true because, one way or another, the gods are involved -_-
Send a kid on an impossible quest so his mom would be available? Did Perseus manage to return as the region's champion with all 151 pokémon in his Pokedex?
I honestly love how Percy's story, at least in the first series, parallels that of his namesake. Like, he ends up doing quite a few things that the original Perseus did. It reminds me of the whole "names are powerful" thing which was mentioned in the very first book. I think it applies to mortal names just as much as it does godly names. Like, maybe having the same name as a hero results in your life at least somewhat paralleling theirs. Better yet, his mom must've been at least somewhat aware of this. There's a quote in the Sea of Monsters, where Percy says that his mother named him after this specific hero because she hoped he would "inherit Perseus's luck" as he was "one of the only heroes in the Greek myths who got a happy ending." Anyway I just wanted to say that I loved how Rick did that lol
and like, did you notice how each book is loosely based off of a myth? The Lightning Thief: Perseus The Sea of Monsters: Odysseus The Titan's Curse: Hercules The Battle of the Labyrinth: Theseus The Last Olympian: Achilles
"Patterns repeat themselves in history" ~ Prometheus, The Last Olymian_Page205 I actually remembered that quote so went to find what page it was on in the book (I've re-read the series millions of times, okay?)
My thought on why Hera didn’t kill Perseus instantly is because he is one of the few Zeus kids who she respects for not having Hubris like most others of Zeus’ demigod offsprings
Context: percy is on Olympus pacing infront of the gods thrown room yelling at them. percy *retired* : no no no n- gods no - not again, I went through _nearly 10_ quests from the ages of 12-18 and now I'm finally done, I'm f*cking done. I ain't doing anything for anyone ever again. just let me sit here and drink my blue coke in peace!
@@ginjaninja7147 Whats funny is that he *is* retired from doing this shit. He actually didn't help out directly (as in, there in person) in the ToA series because he already had a great life ahead of him and, well, frankly had enough of this quest bs.
Thanks for responding. I've read a lot of different versions of the myth, though the turning-monster-to-stone one is the one I'm most familiar with. Although some versions say he killed it with his sword, making the Red Sea.
Haven't seen the rest of the video yet but did you mention the part where in some iterations Medusa's corpse gives birth to Pegasus since Poseidon was the god of horses
I'm FAIRLY certain that the Furies only go after you if you DELIBERATELY murder your family. Since Perseus did it by ACCIDENT no matter which version you know, the Furies never bother him.
@@DavidbarZeus1 well the thing is perseus's grandfather can't murder perseus's mother because that's a big no no but if he say locks her in a chest and throws her out to sea he can say he didn't kill them the sea did although by that logic he could stab her and claim he didn't kill her the knife did
@@zealousdoggo but like if he stabbed her and she died that is a direct murder, but throwing her in a chest in the sea is indirect murder because my guess is he was hoping she'd never find shore or maybe it's only considered murder if that's the intent
"Modern interpretations tend to make her hot anyway" I know one where she doesn't even have snakes for hair and she rides Pegasus and is also somehow Bellerophon(?)
Medusa (Rider Version) from Fate/Stay Night. Accord to Nasuverse Lore, this version of her is before the Gorgon transformation started. Theirs also the Avenger Version, which is her before the Gorgon Transformation finished. FYI, both versions are smoking hot.
Wow, this is making the "nice housewife who once helped save the kingdom by turning armies of its enemies to stone" Gorgon from Xanth sound freaking normal... (and yes, she's also extremely hot--it's kind of a running gag that people kinda don't have to WORRY about looking at her face; they never get past her chest...)
@@mide2476 In some versions, Medusa was supposedly so gorgeous Aphrodite got jealous and cursed her. So Medusa (pre-gorgon) being smoking hot checks out.
I'm pretty sure the way the "mirror shield" worked is that the reflection wasn't clear enough for him to see her clearly. Like, he saw a shadow in the shield, not Medusa herself.
Seriously, those Ancient Greeks were, like, the Disney of that time: missing parents, attractive powerhouse hero, princess in distress, MONSTERS, a final showdown, geeh! XD
Curious fact: There is a major meteor shower, the Perseids, that seems to come out of the Perseus constellation. A shower of gold? And one of the stars that now comprises Medusa's head is Algul, which, because it is actually a binary star system, winks out every three days as one star eclipses the other. The eye of the Graeae?
"...despite her typical reaction to Zeus' kids" Maybe she finally realized that victim blaming won't address the problem? Or perhaps the fact that the woman in question had even less say in the matter than normally, given she couldn't even run away?
I think that it also has to do with Perseus character. He is one of the only Greek hero not absolutely possessed with hubris and isn't a dick to anyone.
Hera is both the goddess of marriage, but also of protecting women generally, and of families (particularly from the motherly perspective). Danae's primary character trait is being a good parent; despite all that she goes through, instead of getting rid of her kid and going off to be a princess somewhere, she suffers through getting chucked in a hole to die, chucked in a box to die, surviving at sea and going from being a princess to a random peasant, and raises him well enough that he's willing to go on a suicidal quest for her. From that perspective, Perseus could be seen to be honouring Hera by being a good family man and protecting his mother, and for Danae's crimes to be relatively less egregious because while she wasn't married, she managed to create a healthy family in spite of multiple things trying to kill them. By contrast, Heracles' mum Alcmene abandons him on a hill to die, which is kind of the opposite of good parenting. ...or I'm reading into this too deeply and Mycenae wanted their epic founder to be cooler than everyone else.
@@Thomas-rk4rl Also, Hera has actually ignored a lot of Zeus's infidelities as well. Think about it, Zeus has 200+ known kids in the myths while Hera punishes like 5 or 6 kids (Apollo,Artemis,Heracles,Children of lamia,....and ? ) And Zeus had as much mistresses but we've only seen hera punish again 5 or 6 mistresses ( Leto,Io,Lamia,semele, Callisto...and...? Idk) so, many times When Hera was in good mood and satisfied by Zeus she kinda didn't mind his affairs. Sometimes many of these might've been with Hera's permission for Zeus to give his special baby juice to mankind to make powerful kings and heroes who would glorify the name of Olympus.
@@Thomas-rk4rl I mean yeah, but considering that many huge texts existed in oral tradition with thousands of characters like in Illiad, Odyssey etc and they were finally codified into books. So, if there really were other stories of Hera's vengeance they would've reached us, at least a bunch of them. But all we have are limited same repeated stories of 5 or 6 victims.
I just came back to reminisce past videos and watch how the channel progressed and it startled me for a minute the pitch difference from the video I just watch to this one when I clicked it, you guys are amazing
Ok, tired of posting this as a reply to other people's comments so I will just put this here... The rape backstory for Medusa was entirely invented by Ovid centuries, or maybe even millennia, later because he loved writing anti-authority poems/stories after being exiled by Emperor Augustus. It had 0 basis in the original mythology. It was essentially fanfiction that has since gotten way out of hand. Yes Red brings this up in later videos.
All of that is true, but the trouble is that there is no canon when it comes to mythology. Once a storyteller adds something, other storytellers may follow. It's tough to say what is a valid interpretation or not.
@@Blokewood3 also Ovid could have had a lost source. Medusa and Poseidon go way back, there is lots of basis in mythology "Persephone and Hades are a love story", "Zeus is grey haired", "Menelaus is weak old and abusive unlike woke Paris", those are takes not represented in legit mythology. but I never see complaints about them.
3:26 Aw hell yeah, epic fight scene, yes I am happy- X'D Love that the actual quest was just him cutting off her head when she was sleeping but he goes on a side quest and actually has an epic battle, good shit.
I looked up the Fate version and all I could focus on was the fact that she's an attractive pink-haired lady voiced by Yuu Asakawa (Vocaloid fans out there know what I mean).
Can you do a video about Medusa specifically? I just think she deserves her own, especially with all the different meanings people derive from her story
Agree, I'm actually trying to write a web toon base on Medusa killing Perseus and her vengeance against the gods. I really would love some more concrete research on the subject because there's so many interpretations.
@@icysisdee9547 that's only if you go with Ovid's rewriting of the myth. In the original version Medusa is one of three sisters : the Gorgons, which all have the same characteristics. All three are primordial monsters, with only Medusa being mortal. So if you want to be consistent with the myth make sure to use a roman setting, since the "raped by Neptune" version of the myth is completely foreign to ancient Greek mythology.
@@icysisdee9547 Not sure if you're still writing that web comic but always thought it would have been cool if Perseus and Medusa teamed up in a version of the ovid version of the myth. Perseus never really had any context for how Medusa became the way she did in the ovid version and his quest was more justifiable than most Greek heroes(looking at you Heracles) in that he was trying to save his mother from an abusive relationship from the same man who sent him against /medusa specifically to kill him. And quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the gods helped set it all off ,and after Medusa specifically because they wanted her head.
Thank you for reminding me that one of my goals in life was to remind everyone that Medusa was not originally raped. That is part of Ovid's propaganda. Also the term “Aethiopia” is in no way related to ancient Ethiopia, which was called Abyssinia. Aethiopia, as a generic or ethnic designation, comprises the inhabitants of Africa who dwelt above the equator, between the Atlantic ocean and the Indian ocean; the term Aethiopian refer to all the "sun-burnt" races, so designated from their being of a darker hue than their immediate Hellenic neighbours. The word _Aithiops_ is derived from the two Greek words, from αἴθω + ὤψ (aitho “I burn” + ops “face”); translating as Burnt-face in noun form and red-brown in adjectival form, as a reference to the light-to-dark red-brown skin tones of the North Africans, Middle Easterners and Indians. The Ancient Greeks didn’t called black people Αἰθίοψ (Aethiops) they called them Μαυρούσιοι (Maurusii/Mavroúsioi) which translates as ‘black people’ or simply ‘black, dark’. In Heliodorus’ tale the “Aethiopica” a white skinned girl is born despite having black parents, long story short it’s revealed at the end of the tale that the girl was born white because her mother had gazed upon the image of Andromeda while she was pregnant. A single black spot on the girl’s elbow confirms the story. In Philostratus’ Imagines Andromeda, though Aethiopian, was white; making a clear contrast to all the other natives who assembled to cheer Perseus. Ovid in his Metamorphosis mentions that her appearance was like that of a marble statue, Manilius in his Poetica Astronomica describes Andromeda as ‘nivea cervice’ (white-throated). _"...And if he had consulted the Imagines of Philostratus, Heliodorus would have been assured that Andromeda, though Ethiopian, was nonethe less depicted as white. ... Philostratus describes Andromeda as delightful or charming in her white beauty. ... The authors of mythological compendia seem to confirmAndromeda's whiteness, or at least do not contradict it. Manilius, indeed, describesher in the Poetica astronomica as white-throated ('nivea cervice'..." _(The Black Andromeda) But who cares because this is how she was portrayed in vase portrayals and ancient artwork. (www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&channel=ipad_bm&biw=1150&bih=812&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=mDRYW733GoGc0gTqjLKACg&q=andromeda+theoi&oq=andromeda+theoi&gs_l=img.3..0i24k1.26901.29324.0.29584.9.8.1.0.0.0.216.986.0j3j2.5.0....0...1c.1.64.img..3.3.625...0.0.XLKzHYh7o8Y) Reminder that the Greeks called Persians, Romans, Phoenicians, Scythians, Egyptians - all barbarians. They weren't fond of foreigners, so it's unlikely that the woman who (in one account) helped found Mycenae was a foreigner as the Palastine had been a region where Greeks had settled. In other words, Aethiopia =/= Ethiopia; she was never depicted or even referred to as being "black", so your depiction of her as a girl with flowing hair is accurate. Calling her Aethipion simply referred to the fact that if you lived there, your skin would be sun burnt. Side note, this is how a well known modern Greek artist (Eirini Skoura) depicts Andromeda: www.deviantart.com/ninidu/art/Mythology-with-a-twist-Perseus-and-Andromeda-467079939 and www.deviantart.com/ninidu/art/Andromeda-doodle-469913676
@Serah Caleb But in the video Red mentioned Medusa being a beautiful woman who was cursed by Athena. And since Red does her research very, very well..I'm gonna assume that the "original" Medusa was indeed a beautiful woman before Athena cursed her *(shrug)*
Imagine doing all that stuff to your daughter and her child to avoid the prophecy only to have said child yeet a frisbee into you by accident
@Brandon Quist You see, it'll still happen, but in the most mundane way possible.
Death by grandson? They pulled the life support so you wouldn't suffer.
Foretold doom at the hands of the true king? Your daughter marries him and puts him on the throne and has a more successful reign, thus making your own reign overshadowed and ignored by all future historians.
Devoured by sea serpent? Well, you don't have to be alive for that, per-say
Death by sea monster? Well, choking on a fish bone would be embarrassing, it also would count
Prophecies have an unfortunate habit of happening no matter what because of how vague they are. They're tests of character, sure, but that only dictates how mundane it'll be.
Wouldn’t it still happen tho? That dude throwing his daughter in a cage wouldn’t stop Zeus from seeing her
@Brandon Quist this kind of reminds me of a story I made up, but I'm not 100% sure it counts? The king in question becomes more worried about WHY he would have to be killed, because he's actually a good king. And his subjects are just as confused as he is.
Wow that’s Hilarious!
"Accident"
note that perseus is one of the few greek heroes who actually lives happily ever after.
Right
And Disney’s Hercules says Perseus failed
@@timothyhom Disney's Hercules is not a basis to anything.
I had no problem with their changes with fairy tales , but they pull that off with Hercules because Walt Disney had a boner to do this kinda of stuff (many stuffs , actually).
And the company , even with their creator long dead , try to pull that off.
Think of Frozen , disney tried to make Frozen since the 50's! they tried 4 times or so , to a point that it's pretty much a thing to them to finally make an actual profittable "Ice Queen" movie , no matter what.
The only ones I know that do are him and Heracles, seeing as he becomes a full on god at the end
The version I read says Dionysus kills him.
"...the fishermen who saved him becomes king."
Me: What?
Fishermen: What?
Things worked out pretty good for that guy
That fishermen was Polydectes’ brother,so he was the legitimate successor to the throne.
@@Ardito3709 so...a brother of a KING is a FISHERMAN, yup makes sense.
@@nuralibolataev4474 The kingdom was just a tiny island with probably one small town on it, and maybe a few farms
Now he's a kingfisher!
1:50
Behold, the beginning of this series's longest running gag:
"Hey kid, you like proving yourself?"
"DO I!?" :D
The prophecy: exists
Expectation: Betrayal and bloodshed
Reality: Discus to the head, really just an accident
What is a prophecy if not an accident with extra steps?
@@calebsmith7913 I revisit this video about every month or so and somehow I've stumbled onto one of my favorite youtube comments ever just 4 hours after it was posted. You win my internet cookie
i actually really like that detail because thats probably how things like this would actually go down if magic and stuff was definitively real. its interesting how older stories where people would buy into the idea of it being real more had less streamlined plots and just a description of things happening
Matthew Lui I love how for once it isn’t a vengeance story for the trying to kill him at birth thing.
Like Percy really didn’t care about being thrown into the sea and the king didn’t do something to warrant the killing....
he was just a bit off the mark with his throw
It seems we only hear about these prophecy stories when the recipient grossly overreacts to something vaguely worded. I suppose the true test of kingship is to follow up and ask for more details from your oracle.
Zeus: I fear no man,
Zeus: But that thing.
Child support: exists
Zeus: It scares me.
Even as a God he would be broke as shit
Printing money: *EXITS*
Zeus: IM SAVED
The Ghosty Boi Gaming yeah but then Greece would be pulling a Venezuela and... that actually explains a lot
I have no brain so idk what's Venezuela
The Ghosty Boi Gaming their President Maduro printed money and now their economy is in the toilet
Athena really likes protecting her younger siblings, doesn’t she? I’ve noticed that whenever Zeus makes a new kid, Athena will usually step in to help the kid and protect them from whatever could endanger them (usually Hera). It’s kind of adorable to see Athena go “big sister” mode to guide and assist her siblings in their time of need.
Sometimes she teams up with Hermes to do it too! They were teamed up a lot, apparently, since they were Zeus' favorites among his children.
Big sis Athena is a great thought. Also, Zeus's other kids are either mortal, or extremely ugly (according to myths), or ares
@@quitkid8727 Apollo and artemis are ugly?
@@Gallastegiurain ares and hephestis
I know it's super cute
Kroisus: My son threw a discus at my head
Hyacinthus: That's rough, buddy.
Perseus was Akroisius's grandson. Perseus's father was Zeus.
If I had a nickel for every time a ancient greek caracter died by getting hit by a frisbee I whould have two nickels, wich isn't alot, but its wierd that its happened twice
I always wondered why Medusa never just found a nice cute blind boy and settled down... like. Everyone deserves love, I'm sure there's a handsom Mr Magoo out there somewhere who doesn't mind a girl who hisses and rattles in her sleep... and maybe her hair bites when you kiss... and also she can't go into town without turning town square into a sculpture garden... but still! Medusa deserves love too! Blind, well stocked with antivenom, and doesn't mind doing all the shopping type of love! How nice.
I've always wondered, just WHERE did Medusa have snakes? Underarm snakes? Further south? A new take on the old vagina dentata.
There's a video about Medusa finding a blind baby, which may just be a comic. Never actually watched it.
danteelite idk maybe because everyone thought she was ugly
In most versions of the myth, Poseidon Rapes medusa, who had fled to Athena's temple in an attempt to get away. Not really conducive to desiring relationships in the future.
Further fun fact, in some less told versions of the myth, Athena transforms Medusa so that it can never happen again, making it more of a twisted form of mercy than an actual punishment.
@@lucaswinsor4469 Actually that's exclusively Ovid's version of the mith. He invented the whole rape and curse thing because he was writing a book called "metamorphosys", that was about shape-shifting miths (so he needed a shape-shifting, and, since the book is about changes, he didn't care about changing the miths themselves) and because he loved to depict autorities in a bad light, so, in his versions of the miths, gods always play with mortals without caring abouth them.
In the original Greek mith, Medusa was simpy born a monster, one of the three gorgons (along with Stheno and Euryale), that were daughters of Echidna and Typhon. Ironically, all three had the same aspect and powers, but Medusa was the only one that was mortal.
Fun fact, in the original Greek myths Medusa was always a Gorgon, hence why she had Gorgon sisters. The transformation of Medusa by Athena was an invention of the Roman poet Ovid.
Not-so-fun-fact, the same is true for Poseidon’s “nonconsensual night fight” of Medusa
It is honestly such a relief to me that there are still people who know this. I have had to make many arguments with people online who don't know their mythology and it's tiring.
Red actually corrects herself in the video about Io
@@iliketea1427same
@@ALJ9000wait they weren’t a thing!? Percy Jackson lied to me
I cannot stress how underrated this channel is
criminally under rated. they should be WAY bigger then they are.
Joben Fuertes where is the lie?
They should be in the 10,000,000 range (or at least the 1,000,000's)
Hallikwin i agree so much
***** me too!
I really want one of these stories to have a person be told a prophecy like “Your son/daughter will kill you and take over your kingdom” and be like “Oh my! An Ambitious child you say? Gotta make sure they got what it takes to kill me AND rule a kingdom! Oh, and also bulk up myself! I want to make sure it’s EPIC! Thanks Seer!”
It’d be the best subversion EVER!!!
Edit: I BET BEOWOLF WOULD BE THE PERFECT HERO TO DO THIS SUBVERSION!!!
That is an excellent idea, I must admit.
And then the child falls by accident, the parent catches them, and the parent's spine snaps in half as a result.
and the kid's just like "oh fuck I'm king now oh no"
Isn't that just Tarquin and Elan from Order of the Stick?
@@DragonQueen-cv5mw idk, never finished the game ;-;
@@Ardorstorm pfft! XD so much for their epic fight!
Dead parent: [Sobs] I was robbed!
Afterworld god: You died so-
Dead parent: I don’t mind dying it’s just I didn’t have the cool fight I planned for nor give a last hurrah for my kid! This! ;-; SUUUUUCKS! 😭
Damn, that discus must be the best weapon out there. First Apollo’s favourite boyfriend and now Perseus’ grandfather.
Well, that depends on the version. In the version I had read before, Perseus' grandfather was there when he showed the Medusa head to the king trying to marry Perseus' mom, not knowing the bribe was his daughter, and was turned to stone as well on accident.
The catch is that you can't use it that way on purpose. You have to brain someone by sheer dumb luck.
Too soon
Death by Frisbee, lol
OG captain America shield
"Zeus, who had never meet a mortal woman he didn't want to make sweet, sweet Eros to" I have a favorite quote about greek mythology
Craften Wiccan you are amazing
Craften Wiccan As do I :)
Craften Wiccan SAAAAAAMMMME!!!
A huge chunk of Greek mythology summed up in five words: Unfortunately, Zeus was feeling horny.
IM SO DEAD!
"this will be a long-ish series"
*five years later
"so that's why Loki is nordic Jesus, any questions?"
lmfao
@Gravestone999 .it all started because someone doesn't know how nature works. And he is about to write the sickiest fake news of all time!
the oracle : "Don't look at me, I never said his death would be epic"
I love Andromeda's expression as she watches the spiced up final conflict between Perseus and the monster. It's a perfect "You know, I thought this day couldn't get weirder, AND YET..." expression.
“Whereupon Perseus accidentally beans him with a discus.”
I wonder how many Greek women cheated on their husbands and blamed Zeus for it.
Considering that ancient greeks considered adultery a worse crime then rape, and an adulterer could face death if caught in the act(at least in Athens) it's probably not a low number.
I think you have figured out why Zeus was a popular god.
NK_33 well because he is the king of the universe...
Zeus, the God of scapegoats
@"virgin" Mary
An interesting note about Medusa: it was Ovid who first portrayed Medusa as a mortal who was cursed by Athena (or as he called her, Minerva.) The Greeks would tell you that Medusa was born a monster just like the other Gorgons were. The Gorgons had other famous siblings including: Echidna the Mother of Monsters, Ladon the 100-headed dragon that guarded the tree with the golden apples, the Graea or Grey Sisters-three ancient women who had one eye and one tooth between them, and according to some, the Hesperides or Evening Nymphs who helped Ladon guard the tree.
On a side note, Perseus killing Acrisius with a discuss is one of two ways the prophecy was fulfilled. For the other way, Acrisius was one of Polydectes' guests for his wedding to Danae, so Perseus turned HIM to stone as well!
Ovid also claimed Medusa had not consented to the temple encounter with Poseidon/Neptune, as part of his general "manifest my anti-authoritarian streak by portraying the gods as evil" tendencies.
@@willegan1823 And yet everyone knows of Ovid's trash version, looking desperately for feminism in my cultures mythology. Uneducated idiots
@@willegan1823 He seemed to have spared Pluto on that; it's in Ovid's version of Orpheus and Eurydice that after Orpheus is killed by the nymphs of Bacchus, he's allowed back into the Underworld and to reunite with Eurydice in Elysium.
@@videogollumer Ovid had portrayed Pluto as an adulter once
@@ΣοφοκληςΒλαχόπουλος-ι9ν My information may not be completely correct. Over the following months, I've come to think it might not have been just Ovid, or him at all, that wrote Orpheus' story that way. It did seem out of character for Ovid's writing.
"Magic helmet?"
"Magic helmet!"
............
"Magic helmet..."
MAGIC HELMET~
*_MAGIC HELMET_*
M a g i c h e l m e t
I love that part XD
H A D I C M E L M E T
To answer your question about why he didn't just kill her. To the Ancient Greeks, killing a member of your family is a cardinal sin and will doom you to Tartarus (a place you definitely don't want to go). There are work arounds to this, such as starving them or putting them in a chest and throwing them in the ocean. Although, these work arounds bring up another question, why doesn't a guard kill her?
Whenever I would ask my mythology teacher these things, she would respond with something like "Shh, magic."
I think the whole point is to leave it up to fate. You ordering your guard to kill your child is likely the same as doing it yourself. Hell, it's probably considered worse because at least when you're the one jabbing the sword into a helpless innocent, you're the one taking responsibility rather than being a coward and have someone else do your dirty work, so instead of being forced to push a rock up a hill for eternity, you're forced to push a rock up a hill for all eternity while massive killer bees constantly sting at you.
Anonymous If you kill your family, that's bad. But if they _somehow_ end up dying of old age or something, then that's fine.
Anonymous Sshhh magic
So, wait. Telling a guard to kill your own kin or stabbing them yourself is pure evil, but putting them in a deathtrap is A-OK? Did the Jigsaw Killer get his inspiration from classical mythology?
I think I heard somewhere that his reasoning for the box thing was something like: "If I stick her and the child in a box and then throw it in the ocean, and the gods really think that's oh-such-a-terrible-thing, then they'll save her themselves. So if she dies, it's not MY fault, it's the gods' fault. And if she does survive, it's not like she and her kid will ever find their way back, because I dropped them off so far away"
Polydectes: Hey hot stuff, ever met a King before?
Deana: The last person I slept with was *Zeus*
Percius: Hey mom, is that guy bothering you?
Deana: Oh, look, living proof!
XD I love this so much!!
Gwen Morgan I love how Deana, after a terrible voyage through the ocean in a BOX, is still a great mother. "Prioritize the BABY!"
Gwen Morgan bloody amazing
My absolute favourite is 1:30
Perseus: "Why do I have two moms?"
Danae: "Because you're special"
Zeus: " *THAT* is not what makes him special"
Fisherman/adoptive dad: "You get to decide that when _YOU_ raise him"
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Empress Of Cats the operation was operation get some *dies of laughter*
I don't understand why he should be scared. Zeus just gave Deana a baby and that's it. It's not like he's leaving Mt. Olympus to visit her like Star Lord's parents.
So either Perseus was raised by a cute triad, or by a platonic set-up between his mom and two of the best friends EVER, who took in a random woman, probably had to help her get back to health after everything she'd been through, and then helped her parent her son. Either way, one of the best and most functional families in Greek mythology.
3:28
Fanfic: age 13
3:30
Fanfic: Age 18
Nah
@One Thou Wou ......... You sure you have one???
Just kidding, bro
TRUTH!!!!! Those type of fanfictions are really enjoyable!
This is the absolute truth.
Why is this so true
Every time I learn a new Greek myth I realize just how far down the referencing-rabbit-hole Percy Jackson goes.
Hayley P. Same! Oh wait this video is based on Perseus.. which is the real name of Percy... *PERSEUS JACKSON*
Hayley P. And, I don’t think this was intentional but, Andromeda looks like Annabeth, and Perseus has see-blue/green eyes like Percy! But the whole SON OF POSEIDON thing fell into... too soon.
Andromeda wouldn’t look like Annabeth since Andromeda is Ethiopian
Hayley P. PJO
Umm... okay... please tell me that you are not insulting my children... my small boys, girls, boys and girls (in the case of Alex) and non-binary children (can't remember if any of those exist in the series but hey I'm putting it in anyway because if there are then they're my children too)... because I KNOW you wouldn't do that... c a r e f u l d a r l i n g...
Fun fact: Some myths claim that Perseus fought the sea monster in the part of The Mediterranean sea next to Lebanon. After he used the gorgon's head on the creature, it turns into stone, and they say that if you go to the coast of Lebanon and look out at sea, you can see the remains of the myths claims to be the sea monster. The remains are called "Saqrit Al Raouche" or in English "Raouche Stone/Pigeon Rock".
Scirvire The Astral Walker nerd
lol jk don't yell at me I'll cry
Aaron King
😁 All's forgiven! And fyi, I live 10KMs close to "Pigeon Rock".
Aaron King YOU FOOLISH SIMPLETON
Speaking of geography, isn't Andromeda supposed to be from Ethiopia?
And Andromeda's Rock is in Tel Aviv.
If I had to guess, I'd say the reason Hera's rather chill with Perseus is that he and his mother got put through so much suffering without her influence that she just doesn't feel right punishing the woman after all she's gone through. Also, the fact that Zeus just made her pregnant instead of carrying on a torrid affair. That probably helps.
Plus, Perseus' existence was ordained by divine prophecy, so no matter what, he was coming into being. Given the situation Danae was in, and it was pretty much a guarantee that he was going to be a demi-god. As for why Zeus had to be his father over, say, Ares? I dunno.
Heracles. That is all.
Perseus is one of my favorite Greek heroes because he's NOT a complete jerkwad XD
A small detail that was left out: After taking Medusa's head, Perseus encountered her sisters, Euryale and Stheno. Euryale cried out in anguish over her sister's death while Stheno tried to attack Perseus, who fled. Meanwhile, Pegasus was born from Medusa's blood shortly after and flew off...somewhere.
He flew..............TO THE MYTH OF BELLEROPHON!
As was Khrysaor, who some describe as a man made of gold (seeing as how Khrysaor means "golden sword" or something to that effect) and others describe as... a flying boar? Myths are weird.
Excuse me, he’s the worst because of his fucking perfection. Even Gods can’t get into that level. A lack of hubris in this character just seems weird.
@@mis_l5858 I disagree. The fact that he can stay humble even with that much perfection makes him even better imo.
@@CJCroen1393 he means as a character he is bad cause he basically has no flaws
“Because apparently petrifying ugliness only petrifies you if you look at it head on”
Me: But Medusa petrified Polydectes....head off 👀
+KuroChii
When Red said _"head on,"_ she meant _"in the general direction of"_ or _"looking at it directly (AKA making eye contact)."_
Boss Isaac It....It was suppose to be a joke ; - ;
Wooooooooooosh
+Boss Isaac It was a decapitation joke.
@@CJCroen1393
Of course. 😑 Sarcasm doesn't really translate well across TH-cam comments.
Discus is a very dangerous sport
I know right, even gods manage to fuck it up
This is why I don't really like the West Wind, because used a fun game to fuck up Apollo's love life
Discus is a frigging blood sport at this point
It really is. In why state, it's illegal for high schools for have Javelin... But apparently Discus is okY. Lawl
PivtWolf it's also how one of Apollo's boyfriends died. I can't remember his name but I starts with an H and a flower is named after him
"Hey baby, ever met a king before?"
"The last person I slept with was Zeus, he gave me a kid and bailed."
"Same girl!"
"Wait what?"
"Ever met a king before?"
Danae: "Um, yeah, I'm a princess. My dad was a king. Duh!"
2:02
"Modern interpretations usually make her super hot anyway."
(Remembers FSN's Medusa)
... You're not wrong.
What I find interesting about Fate/Stay Night Medusa is that she describes the young Perseus as a "Successful Shinji" _(Thank God Fate Prototype Perseus isn't like that)_
@NecroMelodia Where did this even come from and what does your personal beliefs have to do with the original comment? Where did the topic of sexuality even come from? There are plenty of examples where women are portrayed very realistically in media, and the creators of some of those pieces of media are men so please refrain from viewing an entire group of people, half of the world's population, as being of a single mindset, it is incredibly sexist and beyond offensive. Women can be just as bad with their portrayal of men in pieces of media, so I really do not see why you think all women are innocent? Not all women are innocent just as not all men are guilty of being quote unquote "cringe" or guilty of misrepresenting women.
Some modern interpretations of originally ugly men in history and myths are probably just as bad.
ShadowSlayerLOZ Cameron
Also it’s oddly appropriate that Medusa always dons a blindfold
There’s no risk of accidentally turning your friends to statues if you wear a blindfold
@NecroMelodia wtf are you talking about lady?
NecroMelodia ... Medusa literally got seduced by Poseidon quite easily for the sole reason of offending Athena because Medusa was a priestess in Athena’s temple who was gorgeous. Nothing was cool about her sexuality.
Perseus: “Mom, how come one of the other kids have two moms?”
His mum: “Because you’re special!”
Mr. absentee: “That is NOT what makes him special!”
Fisherman: *You get to decide that when you raise him*
Oof sick burn!!!
Rosa belle that is an adorable interaction and nothing anyone says will ever change my mind on that
It's not like he could do that with Hera breathing down his neck.
Does that mean the two women are raising him together??? So sweet!!!
1:33
It's cute!
most anticlimactic prophecy ever
*Guitar solo starts, but then the strings break*
No, it's a prophecyyyyyyyyyyyyYYYYYYYYYYY*YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY*
illustrating, once again, that in the greek world, no matter how hard you try, you can't escape your fate.
No, matter how lame, it turns out to be.
At least it was a much happier ending
Genuinely love this version where it’s just a poly couple vibing and their god son
I think Perseus and his mom just live with the couple, like, I don't think they had anything going on. But I suppose most of that is up to interpretation, it is an ancient myth after all.
I thought the Fisherman and his wife adopted Perseus's mum, and he was like their adoptive grandson
@@AsterixCodix I think it depends on the age difference between them? Like, how much older is the couple to Danae? Do we even know?
@@thebighurt2495 I don't know if the source says anything, but if it's noteworthy that the fishing couple has no children, then you'd expect they would be on the older side (at least 30s or 40s, possibly 50s onward) with it being seen as unlikely that they would have children at this point. Danae's age probably isn't established, but knowing Zeus, I could easily see her being mid-to-late teens. That would make an adoption thing make more sense. Also, Danae has to still be beautiful enough for the other evil king to fall in love with her while Perseus is 15-20 years old, so Danae being 15-20 when he was born would make her 30-40 when the king comes knocking.
Tip: Killing your kin was a BIG no-no in greek mythology. If you did that, you were inviting yourself to a fate worse than death. It was also taboo. so If the guy had killed her, he would have had the harpies banging down his door in the middle of the night. Hope that answers the question! Also, AWESOME CHANNEL.
not harpies
Furies aka Erinyes
You're right - also the king figured that if Danae died in the cell (or later in the box) then technically he wouldn't be responsible for her death and he'd get away with it. It's a pity we don't get to see if that ploy would've worked, bet the Erinyes still would've gone avenging angel on his ass.
is there a death counter of deaths by discus in Greek mythology? Like, seriously...
I believe its 2
@@archdruidbookwalter951 The fact that death by discus happened more than once is still quite concerning
@@WelcomeToWonderland The first time doesn't really count as a wind god changed the trajectory of the discus mid throw
Archdruid Bookwalter DISCUS IS A DISCUS
It's not just discus. It's gravity, man. I swear falling or having things fall on you has killed more epic heroes...
Our King he was killed!
By wot?!
A stray flying discus!
Pathetic
Well, King Pyrrhus, a man compared to Alexander and revered by Hannibal, got killed by a roof tile thrown by an old lady.
@@liamjm9278 Man, imagine being an old lady that gets to say "I killed King Pyrrhus of Epirus."
I love how the sound effect for "The Prophecy" keeps changing.
I love how some of the dramatic music peters out whenever the scene ends anti-climactically.
Oh um side note:
She was kept alive in the box because Poseidon kept her afloat and fed her fish or something.
Because Zeus is a suck up
@@Alex-rv6sq Zeus has pro asskissing abilities
After Zeus humiliating him by making him the slave of the Trojans, Poseidon knew better then to mess with Zeus.
@@levongevorgyan6789 story of Perseus is much before Troy
I just realized Percy using Medusa's head to petrify his stepfather at the end of the Lightning Thief is a reference to this
Well, technically, Sally petrified Gabe; Percy just gave the head to her.
*M A G I C*
*H E L M E T*
😂😂
Red: "This will be the first in a *long-ish* series of Miscilanious Myths."
Me: "Ha...haha...hahahA...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Why yes, I do say "The Prophecy" is a deep, dramatic voice because of this channel
me too lol
THE PROPHECY *Earbleeding guitar riff from Ainead summarized*
Damn it, they've got me doing it now.
I always try to imitate a guitar riff after I say it all dramatic
**Pfweeeeee!**
That ending almost had me laughing my ass off because of how nonchalant you said it.
EarthBoneScythe I think if I had to choose how I'll die, I'd wanna be beaned by a discus. it sounds funny.
I laugh every time this video gets to that point.
Aaron King I
Well to be honest, the way this prophecy actually happens feels like a downright after thought. Like Perseus has all his super adventures and were about to finish his story till someone comes chiming in about the plot point that was set up on the first part of the tale. Then theres just no time to make it all dramatic so lets jsut bean him with a discus!
Can I just tell you guys you have the best TH-cam channel in existence? No really though. You do.
CajBaj the White I like the vileplume in the little picture thingy
1:29 i like the idea that zeus chimes in randomly with any of his kids like "hey what the hell man", and the actual parents are just like "nah man im not listening"
You know why Greece has so many amazingly lifelike stone statues, yeah?
Isn't that what Medusa told Batman and Zatanna when they went down to meet her in order to get info of Circe's whereabouts so that she can magic Wonder Woman back to normal after turning her into a pig?
I really hope people get this reference...
@@infinityalbi9840 I do!
Perseus is THE FRIST demigod, so Hera was not pissed of, Yet
Perseus is Herc's older brother...trash.
Yunglex313 Or she was in a good mood that day. She can probably have those.
joaocisne556 The frist?
@@Yunglex313 Older brother and great grandfather...
Or she figured that Perseus would fail and be turned to stone.
The discus irony anticlimax never fails to crack me up
The phrase “divine nepotism” is truly amazing
I dated your daddy - Medusa, Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief Movie
Aquaswordz WE DON’T TALK OF THE MOVIE!
Burn the Movies
@@Taiiveon What movie? I know of no movie.
I have only seen the movies...
Completely Tired burn the witch
Red: "So this is probably the first in a series."
Me: The playlist is IN ORDER?!?! I didn't know that was possible on TH-cam! 100 POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!!!
Red*
@@gabrote42 Corrected. Thanks!
my reaction was exactly the same xD
Tbh same. Normally creators don’t have their playlist in order, there missing videos, or they don’t even have a playlist
I thought she was a Slitherin
This is the best goddamn thing I have ever seen and as a student taking a greek mythology class I salute you
Red: King Acrisius locks his daughter Danae in an underground cell
Me: Erm....is that where the phrase so popular among parents come from? 'You're grounded'? I'm just asking
Edit: Love the cute Perseus, pretty princess Andromeda and the parents!! Mama Danae combing the hair of the other mom! Sweet! She's so sassy when confronting that obsessed king.
*"Comedy too can sometimes discern what is right. I shall not please, but I shall say what is true."*
-Perseus, _Greek Mythology_
Depending on the version of the myth, Poseidon raped Medusa in Athena's temple(Medusa was a priestess of Athena), in some version Athena turns her into a snake monster out of anger, in other she does it in a weird form of pity and does it as a way to prevent her from being raped in the future.
Also the thing in the video where Athena goes "What do you think this is, Aphrodite's temple?" is amusing. See all the "priests" and "priestesses" of Aphrodite were prostitutes.
Oh and the Grey Sisters all shared a single eye and tooth.
And in some versions, Medusa and her two sisters were the children of minor deities and were Gorgons from birth. Also, the depiction of Medusa as beautiful AND terrifying started in the 5th century B.C. (I think).
And in a third version Medusa willingly sleeps with Poseidon in the temple.
Malcom Alexander lol what is the function of a single tooth?
I find it adorable that Dinae (hope I spelled that right) kinda sits around and brushes the fisherman's wife's hair
It's Danae. Sorry. ^^;
This inspired me to write a book/comic about Medusa deciding to instead be a villian, but adopt blind children who weren't treated well.
I would like a link to this comic please
"Medusa for the last time, you can't help orphans and also be evil."
"Shuddup, there's nothing more villainous than helping children."
Huh, in the version I read about she's locked in the highest room of a really tall tower, which is also how Zeus notices her, he comes in and is all like: "Hey, you look bummed out, I can fix that", and promptly proceeds to turn her room into a beautiful forest, that somehow fits in one room (it was a big room okay). So Zeus visits a few more times, ends up banging her and they have a kid, Perseus, (but you already knew that). Anyway, her father notices a bunch of plants growing out her window (about time, if you ask me) and proceeds to go to her room, where he finds his daughter, baby Perseus, and a whole buttload of plants and woodland animals (wow, how big was that room anyway). The rest you already know: King freaks out, puts em both in a chest, yeets them out to sea, and they end up somewhere else.
As for Amdromeda, the version I read was that she herself decided to go out to sacrifice herself, Athena apparently notices this and sends a giant owl down that grabs her and brings her to a giant rock, that conveniently had a sword, shield and helmet on top of it, which she wears to ready herself against the giant sea monster, at which point Perseus promptly arrives and offers to help her, she agrees and they both end up slaying the bastard.
A precursor to the story of Rapunzel, perhaps?
Comic Sans Zeus made a TARDIS.
Comic Sans sounds... to modern for Ancient Greece. Look I worship these deities but a Christian doesn’t have to agree with the crusades. Anyway. I don’t think a Greek writer or reseller of this tale would include such badassery for a woman if she wasn’t an amazon
I mean. Better than the version I read. In that one she was locked in a small cell.
Golden Shower is a phrase for a reason. Modern versions of myths, while I agree with them on general principles, don't tell you a lot about the Culture that existed.
Funny thing about people trying to avoid prophecies, I noticed... When they actually TRY to avoid it, the whole avoiding thing sort of ACTUALLY makes the prophecy true because, one way or another, the gods are involved -_-
Yeah I noticed that too
That's the point
♫ Percys mom has got it goin on! ♫
*concerned rick riordan fan noises*
@@archdruidbookwalter951 *whimpers in blue food*
@@user-jf7rk9vu4s thank you lol
I like your name heather Sawyer
Send a kid on an impossible quest so his mom would be available? Did Perseus manage to return as the region's champion with all 151 pokémon in his Pokedex?
I honestly love how Percy's story, at least in the first series, parallels that of his namesake. Like, he ends up doing quite a few things that the original Perseus did. It reminds me of the whole "names are powerful" thing which was mentioned in the very first book. I think it applies to mortal names just as much as it does godly names. Like, maybe having the same name as a hero results in your life at least somewhat paralleling theirs. Better yet, his mom must've been at least somewhat aware of this. There's a quote in the Sea of Monsters, where Percy says that his mother named him after this specific hero because she hoped he would "inherit Perseus's luck" as he was "one of the only heroes in the Greek myths who got a happy ending."
Anyway I just wanted to say that I loved how Rick did that lol
and like, did you notice how each book is loosely based off of a myth?
The Lightning Thief: Perseus
The Sea of Monsters: Odysseus
The Titan's Curse: Hercules
The Battle of the Labyrinth: Theseus
The Last Olympian: Achilles
"Patterns repeat themselves in history" ~ Prometheus, The Last Olymian_Page205
I actually remembered that quote so went to find what page it was on in the book (I've re-read the series millions of times, okay?)
TBH Can we just hear a Greek myth for onc3 without that far off garbage
Rachel Fish no persassy is life
Riordan did his homework.
My thought on why Hera didn’t kill Perseus instantly is because he is one of the few Zeus kids who she respects for not having Hubris like most others of Zeus’ demigod offsprings
“Starts with a prophecy”
Percy Jackson fans: Here we go again.....
*music starts playin*
Context: percy is on Olympus pacing infront of the gods thrown room yelling at them.
percy *retired* : no no no n- gods no - not again, I went through _nearly 10_ quests from the ages of 12-18 and now I'm finally done, I'm f*cking done. I ain't doing anything for anyone ever again. just let me sit here and drink my blue coke in peace!
Yup
Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.
@@ginjaninja7147 Whats funny is that he *is* retired from doing this shit. He actually didn't help out directly (as in, there in person) in the ToA series because he already had a great life ahead of him and, well, frankly had enough of this quest bs.
I'm loving it. I couldn't help but notice how similar the stories of perceus and Percy are and I was like "dang uncle Rick u did ur research"
Red: Why doesn't he just kill her?!
Me: Because, well, THE FURIES.
Two grave sins of Greek mythology
1. Killing your family memeber
2. Eating people
2:22 "How are you so unprepared!?" Story of my life
I thought that Perseus killed the sea monster with Medusa's head
And oh my gosh, the end music!
Hey Sophie, it depends on which myth depiction someone is looking at. In this depiction, he killed it with his Scimitar and winged sandals
Thanks for responding. I've read a lot of different versions of the myth, though the turning-monster-to-stone one is the one I'm most familiar with.
Although some versions say he killed it with his sword, making the Red Sea.
Sophie the Jedi Knight I agree that the end music is amazing, so i must ask how is the song called?
"Kiss from a Rose." It's epic.
Sophie the Jedi Knight what's that song called?
2:35 When you find a hidden boss but are too low level to start the encounter
Haven't seen the rest of the video yet but did you mention the part where in some iterations Medusa's corpse gives birth to Pegasus since Poseidon was the god of horses
yep her dead giant snake corpse gives birth to bellaphorn
Bellorophon perhaps?
I thought It was Chrysaor
Yeah she gave birth to Pegasus and Crysaor
She mentions it in Miscellaneous Myths: Bellerophon
I love this overly sarcastic prophecy-videos with guitar-riffs :D
0:55
So uh
there are these things
called the furies
they really dislike murder within families n stuff
just sayin
Markmallow i sense what book you might be eventually revering to if you are revering to a teen love battle greek mythology drama
Also at first i read that as furries
I'm FAIRLY certain that the Furies only go after you if you DELIBERATELY murder your family. Since Perseus did it by ACCIDENT no matter which version you know, the Furies never bother him.
@@DavidbarZeus1 well the thing is perseus's grandfather can't murder perseus's mother because that's a big no no but if he say locks her in a chest and throws her out to sea he can say he didn't kill them the sea did although by that logic he could stab her and claim he didn't kill her the knife did
@@zealousdoggo but like if he stabbed her and she died that is a direct murder, but throwing her in a chest in the sea is indirect murder because my guess is he was hoping she'd never find shore or maybe it's only considered murder if that's the intent
"Modern interpretations tend to make her hot anyway"
I know one where she doesn't even have snakes for hair and she rides Pegasus and is also somehow Bellerophon(?)
Medusa (Rider Version) from Fate/Stay Night. Accord to Nasuverse Lore, this version of her is before the Gorgon transformation started.
Theirs also the Avenger Version, which is her before the Gorgon Transformation finished.
FYI, both versions are smoking hot.
Wow, this is making the "nice housewife who once helped save the kingdom by turning armies of its enemies to stone" Gorgon from Xanth sound freaking normal...
(and yes, she's also extremely hot--it's kind of a running gag that people kinda don't have to WORRY about looking at her face; they never get past her chest...)
So she rides her son...
Yes, I know how it sounded...
Her hair does actually work like snakes, in a Hollow Ataraxia scene it's part of the shenanigans
@@mide2476 In some versions, Medusa was supposedly so gorgeous Aphrodite got jealous and cursed her. So Medusa (pre-gorgon) being smoking hot checks out.
and this is the reason i love this channel so much
it helps me study and procrastinate at the same time
Zeus: Hera im going to be out late again!
Hera: DONT YOU DARE!
the comics in these videos are great!
“The last person I slept with was Zeus” who is KING OF (most) GODS
I'm pretty sure the way the "mirror shield" worked is that the reflection wasn't clear enough for him to see her clearly. Like, he saw a shadow in the shield, not Medusa herself.
The ancient Greeks used copper and bronze for mirrors. That's why Venus's symbol became the mirror and her associated element copper.
*Rick Riordan fans, squealing in the background.*
Perseus Javkson
YES
*IT'S OUR LORD AND SAVIOR'S REAL NAME*
We're always squealing in the background. Here, we're in the foreground
@Jem PAKSOY I don't think you get it
1:15 Aww little Perseus looks so adorable!
Seriously, those Ancient Greeks were, like, the Disney of that time: missing parents, attractive powerhouse hero, princess in distress, MONSTERS, a final showdown, geeh! XD
Curious fact: There is a major meteor shower, the Perseids, that seems to come out of the Perseus constellation. A shower of gold? And one of the stars that now comprises Medusa's head is Algul, which, because it is actually a binary star system, winks out every three days as one star eclipses the other. The eye of the Graeae?
"...despite her typical reaction to Zeus' kids"
Maybe she finally realized that victim blaming won't address the problem? Or perhaps the fact that the woman in question had even less say in the matter than normally, given she couldn't even run away?
I think that it also has to do with Perseus character. He is one of the only Greek hero not absolutely possessed with hubris and isn't a dick to anyone.
Hera is both the goddess of marriage, but also of protecting women generally, and of families (particularly from the motherly perspective). Danae's primary character trait is being a good parent; despite all that she goes through, instead of getting rid of her kid and going off to be a princess somewhere, she suffers through getting chucked in a hole to die, chucked in a box to die, surviving at sea and going from being a princess to a random peasant, and raises him well enough that he's willing to go on a suicidal quest for her. From that perspective, Perseus could be seen to be honouring Hera by being a good family man and protecting his mother, and for Danae's crimes to be relatively less egregious because while she wasn't married, she managed to create a healthy family in spite of multiple things trying to kill them. By contrast, Heracles' mum Alcmene abandons him on a hill to die, which is kind of the opposite of good parenting.
...or I'm reading into this too deeply and Mycenae wanted their epic founder to be cooler than everyone else.
@@Thomas-rk4rl Also, Hera has actually ignored a lot of Zeus's infidelities as well. Think about it, Zeus has 200+ known kids in the myths while Hera punishes like 5 or 6 kids (Apollo,Artemis,Heracles,Children of lamia,....and ? ) And Zeus had as much mistresses but we've only seen hera punish again 5 or 6 mistresses ( Leto,Io,Lamia,semele, Callisto...and...? Idk) so, many times When Hera was in good mood and satisfied by Zeus she kinda didn't mind his affairs. Sometimes many of these might've been with Hera's permission for Zeus to give his special baby juice to mankind to make powerful kings and heroes who would glorify the name of Olympus.
@@azidahaka8543 How many times can you write the same story though, before it fails to be passed down for over two thousand years?
@@Thomas-rk4rl I mean yeah, but considering that many huge texts existed in oral tradition with thousands of characters like in Illiad, Odyssey etc and they were finally codified into books. So, if there really were other stories of Hera's vengeance they would've reached us, at least a bunch of them. But all we have are limited same repeated stories of 5 or 6 victims.
I just came back to reminisce past videos and watch how the channel progressed and it startled me for a minute the pitch difference from the video I just watch to this one when I clicked it, you guys are amazing
Ok, tired of posting this as a reply to other people's comments so I will just put this here...
The rape backstory for Medusa was entirely invented by Ovid centuries, or maybe even millennia, later because he loved writing anti-authority poems/stories after being exiled by Emperor Augustus. It had 0 basis in the original mythology. It was essentially fanfiction that has since gotten way out of hand. Yes Red brings this up in later videos.
All of that is true, but the trouble is that there is no canon when it comes to mythology. Once a storyteller adds something, other storytellers may follow. It's tough to say what is a valid interpretation or not.
@@Blokewood3 also Ovid could have had a lost source. Medusa and Poseidon go way back, there is lots of basis in mythology
"Persephone and Hades are a love story", "Zeus is grey haired", "Menelaus is weak old and abusive unlike woke Paris", those are takes not represented in legit mythology. but I never see complaints about them.
Hot woman: *Exists
Zeus: >:3 hmmm.
Haha, pregnancy go brrr
Poseidon: :3
Hades: 🤦♂️
*woman : exists
@@helix2331 something that moves: *exists
Hera: DON'T YOU DARE
I cant wait for the 10 year anniversary of this "long-ish" series
3:26 Aw hell yeah, epic fight scene, yes I am happy-
X'D
Love that the actual quest was just him cutting off her head when she was sleeping but he goes on a side quest and actually has an epic battle, good shit.
Now I just like to imagine that... until he meets Andromeda, Perseus was just a literal child and that's why he's so unprepared
3:38 That sweet animation though-
1:44 BEHOLD!
‘Operation: Get Some’
I love this. So much.
Love how the adoptive dad's there with the crown going 'WTF?'
Operation: Get Some
Nocturne I'm ded
I’ve seen ever one of these episodes so many times. I love this channel.
"Modern interpretation tends to make her super hot anyway"
Yep. Type Moon and Fate series certainly did so.
I looked up the Fate version and all I could focus on was the fact that she's an attractive pink-haired lady voiced by Yuu Asakawa (Vocaloid fans out there know what I mean).
Can you do a video about Medusa specifically? I just think she deserves her own, especially with all the different meanings people derive from her story
Agree, I'm actually trying to write a web toon base on Medusa killing Perseus and her vengeance against the gods. I really would love some more concrete research on the subject because there's so many interpretations.
@@icysisdee9547 that's only if you go with Ovid's rewriting of the myth. In the original version Medusa is one of three sisters : the Gorgons, which all have the same characteristics. All three are primordial monsters, with only Medusa being mortal.
So if you want to be consistent with the myth make sure to use a roman setting, since the "raped by Neptune" version of the myth is completely foreign to ancient Greek mythology.
@@paulbrule5897 thank you for the help! I'll dig into a little bit more. I still want her to have her sisters in it so I'm not sure how to do it.
@@icysisdee9547 Not sure if you're still writing that web comic but always thought it would have been cool if Perseus and Medusa teamed up in a version of the ovid version of the myth. Perseus never really had any context for how Medusa became the way she did in the ovid version and his quest was more justifiable than most Greek heroes(looking at you Heracles) in that he was trying to save his mother from an abusive relationship from the same man who sent him against /medusa specifically to kill him. And quite frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the gods helped set it all off ,and after Medusa specifically because they wanted her head.
Thank you for reminding me that one of my goals in life was to remind everyone that Medusa was not originally raped. That is part of Ovid's propaganda.
Also the term “Aethiopia” is in no way related to ancient Ethiopia, which was called Abyssinia.
Aethiopia, as a generic or ethnic designation, comprises the inhabitants of Africa who dwelt above the equator, between the Atlantic ocean and the Indian ocean; the term Aethiopian refer to all the "sun-burnt" races, so designated from their being of a darker hue than their immediate Hellenic neighbours.
The word _Aithiops_ is derived from the two Greek words, from αἴθω + ὤψ (aitho “I burn” + ops “face”); translating as Burnt-face in noun form and red-brown in adjectival form, as a reference to the light-to-dark red-brown skin tones of the North Africans, Middle Easterners and Indians.
The Ancient Greeks didn’t called black people Αἰθίοψ (Aethiops) they called them Μαυρούσιοι (Maurusii/Mavroúsioi) which translates as ‘black people’ or simply ‘black, dark’.
In Heliodorus’ tale the “Aethiopica” a white skinned girl is born despite having black parents, long story short it’s revealed at the end of the tale that the girl was born white because her mother had gazed upon the image of Andromeda while she was pregnant. A single black spot on the girl’s elbow confirms the story.
In Philostratus’ Imagines Andromeda, though Aethiopian, was white; making a clear contrast to all the other natives who assembled to cheer Perseus.
Ovid in his Metamorphosis mentions that her appearance was like that of a marble statue,
Manilius in his Poetica Astronomica describes Andromeda as ‘nivea cervice’ (white-throated).
_"...And if he had consulted the Imagines of Philostratus, Heliodorus would have been assured that Andromeda, though Ethiopian, was nonethe less depicted as white. ...
Philostratus describes Andromeda as delightful or charming in her white beauty.
... The authors of mythological compendia seem to confirmAndromeda's whiteness, or at least do not contradict it. Manilius, indeed, describesher in the Poetica astronomica as white-throated ('nivea cervice'..." _(The Black Andromeda)
But who cares because this is how she was portrayed in vase portrayals and ancient artwork. (www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&channel=ipad_bm&biw=1150&bih=812&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=mDRYW733GoGc0gTqjLKACg&q=andromeda+theoi&oq=andromeda+theoi&gs_l=img.3..0i24k1.26901.29324.0.29584.9.8.1.0.0.0.216.986.0j3j2.5.0....0...1c.1.64.img..3.3.625...0.0.XLKzHYh7o8Y)
Reminder that the Greeks called Persians, Romans, Phoenicians, Scythians, Egyptians - all barbarians. They weren't fond of foreigners, so it's unlikely that the woman who (in one account) helped found Mycenae was a foreigner as the Palastine had been a region where Greeks had settled. In other words, Aethiopia =/= Ethiopia; she was never depicted or even referred to as being "black", so your depiction of her as a girl with flowing hair is accurate. Calling her Aethipion simply referred to the fact that if you lived there, your skin would be sun burnt.
Side note, this is how a well known modern Greek artist (Eirini Skoura) depicts Andromeda: www.deviantart.com/ninidu/art/Mythology-with-a-twist-Perseus-and-Andromeda-467079939 and www.deviantart.com/ninidu/art/Andromeda-doodle-469913676
So cool! Thanks!
I don't know --Medusa being raped kinda makes more sense for her character.
@Serah Caleb But in the video Red mentioned Medusa being a beautiful woman who was cursed by Athena. And since Red does her research very, very well..I'm gonna assume that the "original" Medusa was indeed a beautiful woman before Athena cursed her *(shrug)*
@Serah Caleb I mean, it would at least be consistent with the hundreds of other random mortals getting raped by gods in this mythos.
Does this mean Andromeda is albino?
Ah yes, “long-ish” series. 8 years later still going strong.