Editing Andromeda (mythology) (section)

== Classical mythology ==

=== Central story ===

In [[Greek mythology]], Andromeda is the daughter of [[Cepheus, King of Aethiopia|Cepheus]] and [[Cassiopeia (Queen of Aethiopia)|Cassiopeia]], king and queen of the kingdom of [[A<!--not a typo-->ethiopia]]. Her mother Cassiopeia foolishly boasts that she is more beautiful than the [[Nereids]],<ref>Both ''[[Catasterismi]]'' 16 (Hard 2015, p. 19) and ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.10.1 2.10] cite [[Sophocles]]' lost play ''Andromeda'' as their source for this. According to [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#64 64] Cassiopeia boasts of her daughter Andromeda's beauty rather than of her own.</ref> a display of [[hubris]] by a human that is unacceptable to the gods. To punish the queen for her arrogance, [[Poseidon]] floods the kingdom's coast and sends a [[sea monster]] named [[Cetus (mythology)|Cetus]] to ravage its inhabitants. In desperation, King Cepheus consults the [[oracle]] of [[Amun|Ammon]], who announces that no respite can be found until the king [[human sacrifice|sacrifice]]s his daughter, Andromeda, to the monster. She is thus stripped naked and chained to a rock in [[Jaffa]] by the sea to await her death. [[Perseus]] is just then flying near the coast of Aethiopia on his [[winged sandals]] or on Pegasus the winged horse, having slain the [[Gorgon]] [[Medusa]] and carrying her severed head, which instantly [[Petrifaction in mythology and fiction|petrifies]] any who look at it. Upon seeing Andromeda bound to the rock, Perseus falls in love with her, and he secures Cepheus's promise of her hand in marriage if he can save her. Perseus kills the monster with the Medusa's head, saving Andromeda. Preparations are then made for their marriage, in spite of her having been previously promised to her uncle, [[Phineus (son of Belus)|Phineus]]. At the wedding, a quarrel between the rivals ends when Perseus shows Medusa's head to Phineus and his allies, turning them to stone.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Michael |last2=Hazel |first2=John |title=Who's Who in Classical Mythology |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-date=1973 |year=1993 |page=31 |isbn=978-0-19-521030-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kerenyi |first=Carl |author-link=Károly Kerényi |title=The Heroes of the Greeks |date=1997 |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |isbn=0-500-27049-X |pages=52–53}}</ref><ref>Hard 2004, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA240 240], [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA242 242]; Apollodorus, [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|''Library'']] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.3 2.4.3]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses (poem)|Metamorphoses]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi006.perseus-eng1:4.604-4.705 4.663&ndash;5.235]; [[Marcus Manilius]], ''[[Astronomica (Manilius)|Astronomica]]'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/manilius-astronomica/1977/pb_LCL469.345.xml 5.538&ndash;618 (pp. 344&ndash;51)].</ref>

Andromeda follows her husband to his native island of [[Serifos|Seriphos]], where he rescues his mother, [[Danaë]] from her unwanted wedding to the King of that island.<ref>Hard 2004, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA242 p. 242]; Apollodorus, [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|''Library'']], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.3 2.4.3].</ref> They next go to [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], where Perseus is the rightful heir to the throne. However, after accidentally killing his grandfather [[Acrisius]], the king of Argos, Perseus chooses to become king of neighboring [[Tiryns]] instead.<ref>Apollodorus, [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|''Library'']], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.4 2.4.4].</ref> The mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] states that Perseus and Andromeda have six sons: [[Perses (son of Andromeda and Perseus)|Perses]], [[Alcaeus (mythology)|Alcaeus]], [[Heleus]], [[Mestor]], [[Sthenelus (son of Andromeda and Perseus)|Sthenelus]], [[Electryon]], and a daughter, [[Gorgophone (Perseid)|Gorgophone]]. Their descendants rule [[Mycenae]] from Electryon down to [[Eurystheus]], after whom [[Atreus]] attains the kingdom. The Greek hero [[Heracles]] is also a descendant, as his mother [[Alcmene]] is the daughter of Electryon.<ref>Hard 2004, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA243 p. 243–244]; Apollodorus, [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|''Library'']], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.5 2.4.5]. The [[Hesiod]]ic ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' ([https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-other_fragments/2018/pb_LCL503.347.xml fr. 241 Most, pp. 346–349]) likely listed their children as Alcaeus, Sthenelus and Electryon (Hard 2004, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA634 p. 634 n. 113 to p. 243]), while [[Herodorus]] (''[[FGrHist]]'' 31 F15) adds [[Mestor]] to these three.</ref>

According to the ''[[Catasterismi]]'', Andromeda is placed in the sky by [[Athena]] as the [[Andromeda (constellation)|constellation Andromeda]], in a pose with her limbs outstretched, similar to when she was chained to the rock, in commemoration of Perseus' bravery in fighting the sea monster.<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=andromeda-bio-1 s.v. Andromeda]; ''[[Catasterismi]]'' 17 (Hard 2015, p. 18); see also [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.11.1 2.11.1]. The ''Catasterismi'' cites [[Euripides]]' lost play ''[[Andromeda (play)|Andromeda]]'' as the source of this account.</ref>

=== In classical art ===

The myth of Andromeda was represented in the [[Ancient Greek art|art of ancient Greece]] and [[Roman art|of Rome]] in media including [[red-figure pottery]] such as [[pelike]] jars,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Vermeule |first=Cornelius |title=Department of Classical Art Annual Report for the Year 1963 |journal=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |volume=88 |year=1963 |pages=33–43 |jstor=43481008}}</ref> [[fresco]]es,<ref name="Small 1999"/> and [[mosaic]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beeson |first1=A. J. |title=Perseus and Andromeda as lovers. A mosaic panel from Brading and its origins |journal=Mosaic |date=1986 |issue=17 |pages=13–19}}</ref> Depictions range from straightforward representations of scenes from the myth, such as of Andromeda being tied up for sacrifice, to more ambiguous portrayals with different events depicted in the same painting, as at the [[Villa of Agrippa Postumus|Roman villa in Boscotrecase]], where Perseus is shown twice, space standing in for time.<ref name="Small 1999">{{cite journal |last=Small |first=Jocelyn Penny |title=Time in Space: Narrative in Classical Art |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=81 |issue=4 |date=December 1999 |pages=562–575 |doi=10.2307/3051334 |jstor=3051334}}</ref> Favoured scenes changed with time: until the 4th century BC, Perseus was shown decapitating Medusa, while after that, and in Roman portrayals, he was shown rescuing Andromeda.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Karoglou |first=Kiki |title=Dangerous Beauty: Medusa in Classical Art |date=2018 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |journal=Museum of Art Bulletin |volume=73 |issue=3 |page=11 |isbn=978-1-58839-642-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SZKDwAAQBAJ&pg=11}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="180px" heights="180px">
File:Corinthian amphora, Andromeda, Perseus, Cetus, 575-550 BC, Berlin F 1652, 141650.jpg|Perseus defends Andromeda from the monster Cetus by pelting it with stones. [[Corinthia]]n [[amphora]], 575–550 BC
File:Cratere a volute con la liberazione di Andromeda, inv. 19.M325-1.6 - Marta -Mitomania (9).jpg|Andromeda being tied for sacrifice. [[Apulian]] [[Red-figure pottery|red-figure vase]], {{c.|430–420 BC}}
File:Perseus and Andromeda MAN Napoli Inv8995.jpg|Perseus holds up [[Medusa]]'s head so Andromeda may safely see its reflection in the pool below. [[Fresco]], 1st century AD, [[Pompeii]]
File:Persée et Andromède, Boscotrecase, Italie.jpg|Roman wall painting of Perseus and Andromeda from [[Boscotrecase]], late 1st century BC 
File:Gaziantep Zeugma Museum Andromeda mosaic 4170.jpg|Detail of Andromeda mosaic from 'House of Poseidon' in [[Zeugma (Commagene)|Zeugma]], Turkey, 2nd–3rd century AD
</gallery>

=== Variants ===

There are several variants of the legend. In [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]]'s account, Perseus does not ask for Andromeda's hand in marriage before saving her, and when he afterwards intends to keep her for his wife, both her father Cepheus and her uncle Phineas plot against him, and Perseus resorts to using Medusa's head to turn them to stone.<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'', [https://topostext.org/work/206#64 64].</ref> In contrast, Ovid states that Perseus kills Cetus with his magical sword, even though he also carries Medusa's head, which could easily turn the monster to stone (and Perseus does use Medusa's head for this purpose in other situations). The earliest straightforward account of Perseus using Medusa's head against Cetus, however, is from the later 2nd-century AD [[Satire|satirist]] [[Lucian]].<ref>[[Lucian]], ''The Hall'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/lucian-hall/1913/pb_LCL014.201.xml 22 (pp. 200, 201)].</ref>

The 12th-century [[Byzantine]] writer [[John Tzetzes]] says that Cetus swallows Perseus, who kills the monster by hacking his way out with his sword.<ref>[[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], [https://archive.org/details/isaakioukaiiann00mlgoog/page/819/mode/2up?view=theater 836 (pp. 820&ndash;1)].</ref> [[Conon (mythographer)|Conon]] places the story in Joppa (Iope or [[Jaffa]], on the coast of modern [[Israel]]), and makes Andromeda's uncles Phineus and Phoinix rivals for her hand in marriage; her father Cepheus contrives to have Phoinix abduct her in a ship named ''Cetos'' from a small island she visits to make sacrifices to [[Aphrodite]], and Perseus, sailing nearby, intercepts and destroys ''Cetos'' and its crew, who are "petrified by shock" at his bravery.<ref>[[Conon (mythographer)|Conon]], ''Narrations'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=lWruCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 40 (Trzaskoma, Smith and Brunet, p. 88)].</ref><!-- Conon thus explains away all the exotic and magical elements of the story.-->