Historiae Romanorum

Acrisius

The king of Argos and a grandson of Danaus.  His wife was Eurydice, who bore him only a daughter, Danae.

He and his brother Proetus constantly quarreled, even from the time they were still in the womb.  When they were grown, the two battle for control of the Argive kingdom.  Acrisius gained the upper hand, and drove Proetus from the land.  Later, Proetus returned with a new army, and forced Acrisius to halve the kingdom.  Acrisius ruled from Argos, and Proetus from Tiryns.

Because he had no heirs to his throne, only his daughter Danae, Acrisius consulted the Oracle at Delphi about the possibility of him having a male heir.  The oracle responded that Danae would give birth to a male son, but he would eventually kill Acrisius.

To try to prevent this, Acrisius had a large bronze tower created beneath the ground, and he placed his daughter Danae within.  Her only access was a small hole at the top, through which food would be lowered.  Despite his precautions, Zeus nevertheless impregnated Danae with a golden shower, which he rained down through he top of the tower.  Danae was impregnated, and she later gave birth to a son, whom she named Perseus.

When he found out, Acrisius refused to believe that Zeus was the father.  He placed Danae and Perseus in a chest and cast it out to sea, with the intention of killing them.  Instead, the were carried in the chest to the island of Seriphos.

Source(s):

1. Apollodorus.  Bibliotece.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.