Andromeda (mythology)

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Andromeda (mythology)

Andromeda was a woman from Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
who, as divine punishment for her mother's bragging, was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. She was saved from death by Perseus

Perseus

Perseus , the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Mycenae there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths in the cult of the Twelve Olympians....
, her future husband. Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek ??d??µ?d? (Androméde). The etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the roots and history of words; and how their form and meaning have changed over time.In languages with a long detailed history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time....
of the name is "to think of a man," from a?d??? (andros) "man" combined with µ?d?µa? (medomai) "to think, to be mindful of."

Myth
In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Cepheus, King of Aethiopia

In Greek mythology, Cepheus was ruler of the Phoenician nation of Ethiopia .Cepheus' parentage is usually given as Belus and Achiroe, making him the brother of Danaus, King of Libya, and Aegyptus, King of Egypt....
and Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia (mythology)

The Queen Cassiopeia, wife of King Cepheus, King of Aethiopia of the mythological Phoenician realm of Ethiopia , was beautiful but also arrogant and vain; these latter two characteristics led to her downfall....
, king and queen of the Phoenician

Phoenician

Phoenician may refer to:*Phoenicia, the ancient civilization*Phoenician alphabet*Phoenician languagePhoenician may also be:*A native or resident of Phoenix, Arizona...
kingdom Ethiopia

Ethiopia (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Ethiopia , literally meaning 'the land of burnt faces', was the name given to a kingdom based at Joppa in Phoenicia. Aethiopia also referred to an ancient Egyptian military colony in the Caucasus mountains on the river Alazani ....
.

Her mother Cassiopeia bragged that she was more beautiful than the Nereids

Nereids

In Greek mythology, the Nereids are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris . They often accompany Poseidon and are always friendly and helpful towards sailors fighting perilous storms....
, the nymph

Nymph

In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human form. They were typically associated with a particular location or landform....
-daughters of the sea god Nereus

Nereus

Nereus , in Greek Mythology, was the eldest son of Pontus and Gaia , a Titan who fathered the Nereids, with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea....
and often seen accompanying Poseidon

Poseidon

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Andromeda was a woman from Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Perseus

Etymology

Myth

In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Cepheus, King of Aethiopia

Cassiopeia (mythology)

Phoenician

Phoenician may refer to:*Phoenicia, the ancient civilization*Phoenician alphabet*Phoenician languagePhoenician may also be:*A native or resident of Phoenix, Arizona...
kingdom Ethiopia

Ethiopia (mythology)

Nereids

Nymph

Nereus

Nereus , in Greek Mythology, was the eldest son of Pontus and Gaia , a Titan who fathered the Nereids, with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea....
and often seen accompanying Poseidon

Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
. To punish the Queen for her arrogance, Poseidon, brother to Zeus and God of the Sea, sent a sea monster called Cetus

Cetus

Cetus is a constellation in the northern sky. Its name refers to Cetus , a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called 'the whale' today....
to ravage the coast of Ethiopia

Ethiopia (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Ethiopia , literally meaning 'the land of burnt faces', was the name given to a kingdom based at Joppa in Phoenicia. Aethiopia also referred to an ancient Egyptian military colony in the Caucasus mountains on the river Alazani ....
and the kingdom of the vain Queen. The desperate King consulted the Ammon

Ammon

Ammon or Ammonites , also referred to in the Bible as the "children of Ammon," were a people living east of the Jordan river whose origin the Old Testament traces to an illegitimate son of Lot , the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, as with the Moabites....
, the Oracle

Oracle

An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophecy opinion; an infallible authority, usually Spirituality in nature....
of Zeus, who announced that no respite would be found until the king sacrificed his virgin daughter Andromeda to the monster. She was chained naked to a rock on the coast of Jaffa

Jaffa

File:Jaffa StPeter church.jpgJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world.Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea....
.

Perseus, returning from having slain the Gorgon

Gorgon

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a vicious monster with sharp fangs. She was a protective deity from early religious concepts. Her power was so strong that one attempting to look upon her, would be turned to stone, therefore, such images were put upon items from temples to wine kraters for protection....
Medusa

Medusa

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a gorgon, a chthonic female monster; gazing upon her would turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her Aegis....
, found Andromeda and slew the monster Cetus. He set her free, and married her in spite of Andromeda having been previously promised to Phineus

Phineus

Phineus may refer to:* Phineus, killed by Perseus. See Boast of Cassiopeia* Blind King Phineus or Phineas of Thrace, visited by Jason and the Argonauts...
. At the wedding a quarrel took place between the rivals, and Phineus was turned to stone by the sight of the Gorgon's head (Ovid

Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman Empire poet known as Ovid to the English language-speaking world, who wrote about love, seduction, and Roman mythology transformation....
, Metamorphoses
Metamorphoses (poem)

The Metamorphoses by the Ancient Rome poet Ovid is a Narrative poetry in fifteen books that describes the Creation myth and history of the world....
v. 1).

Andromeda followed her husband to Tiryns

Tiryns

Tiryns is a Mycenaean civilization archaeological site in the Greece Prefectures of Greece of Argolis in the Peloponnese peninsula, some kilometres north of Nauplion....
in Argos

Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
, and together they became the ancestors of the family of the Perseidae through the line of their son Perses. Perseus and Andromeda had seven sons: Perseides

Perseides

In Greek mythology the Perseides, "those born of Perseus " and Andromeda , are the members of the House of Perseus, descended, according to Valerius Flaccus through Perse and Perses....
, Perses

Perses

Perses is an ancient Greek name given to:* Greek mythology people:*Perse...
, Alcaeus

Alcaeus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Alcaeus or Alkaios was the name of a number of different people:*Alcaeus, a son of Perseus and Andromeda , and married to Hipponome, the daughter of Menoeceus of Thebes, Greece, by whom he became the father of Amphitryon and Anaxo....
, Heleus

Heleus

In Greek mythology, Heleus was a son of Perseus and Andromeda . He was brother of Perses , Alcaeus , Perseides, Sthenelus, Electryon, Mestor, Cynurus, Gorgophone and Autochthoe....
, Mestor

Mestor

In Greek mythology, Mestor was name of two men.# Mestor was a son of Perseus and Andromeda . He was brother of Perses , Alcaeus , Heleus, Sthenelus, Electryon, Perseides, Cynurus, Gorgophone and Autochthoe....
, Sthenelus

Sthenelus (son of Andromeda and Perseus)

Sthenelus was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and a king of Mycenae. He exiled Amphitryon, for the murder of his brother Electryon. Amphitryon was also the lover of his niece, Alcmene....
, and Electryon

Electryon

In Greek mythology, Electryon was the son of Perseus and Andromeda , and king of Mycenae. He married either Anaxo, daughter of his brother Alcaeus and sister of Amphitryon, or Eurydice of Mycenae daughter of Pelops....
, and one daughter, Gorgophone

Gorgophone

In Greek mythology, Gorgophone was a daughter of Perseus and Andromeda . Her name means "Gorgon Slayer", a tribute to her father who killed Medusa, the mortal Gorgon....
. Their descendants ruled Mycenae from Electryon

Electryon

Eurystheus

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus , as was his opponent Heracles....
, after whom Atreus

Atreus

In Greek mythology, Atreus was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, a king of Mycenae, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, his descendants are known as Atreidai or Atreidae....
attained the kingdom, and would also include the great hero Heracles

Heracles

In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles meaning "glory of Hera", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus " was a hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus....
. According to this mythology, Perses is the ancestor of the Persians.

After her death, Andromeda was placed by Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
amongst the constellation

Constellation

A constellation is a group of stars that appear to have a physical proximity in the sky. The stars in a constellation are often vastly distant from each other, but they appear close to each other from the perspective of Earth....
s in the northern sky, near Perseus and Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia (constellation)

Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky. In Greek mythology it was considered to represent the vain queen Cassiopeia , who boasted about her unrivaled beauty....
. Sophocles

Sophocles

Sophocles was the second of the three classical Greece tragedy whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides....
and Euripides

Euripides

Euripides was the last of the three great tragedy of classical Athens . Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias....
(and in more modern times Corneille

Pierre Corneille

Constellations

Andromeda is represented in the northern sky by the constellation

Constellation

Andromeda (constellation)

Andromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda , the princess of a mythological kingdom Ethiopia in Greek mythology....
which contains the Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda . It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way Galaxy....
.

Four constellations are associated with the myth. Viewing the fainter stars, visible to the naked eye, the constellations are rendered as:

A large man wearing a crown
Crown (headgear)

A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents Political power, legitimacy, Crown of Immortality, righteousness, victory, Roman triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death....
, upside down with respect to the ecliptic
Ecliptic

The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun traces out in the sky during the year. As it appears to move in the sky in relation to the stars, the apparent path aligns with the planets throughout the course of the year....
. (The constellation Cepheus
Cepheus (constellation)

Cepheus is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Cepheus, King of Aethiopia in Greek mythology, and is considered to represent a king....
)
A smaller figure, next to the man, sitting on a chair. As it is near the pole star
Polaris

Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. It is very close to the north celestial pole , making it the current northern pole star....
, it can be seen the whole year, although sometimes upside down. (The constellation Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia (constellation)

Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky. In Greek mythology it was considered to represent the vain queen Cassiopeia , who boasted about her unrivaled beauty....
)
A maiden, chained up, facing/turning away from the ecliptic. (The constellation Andromeda
Andromeda (constellation)

Andromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda , the princess of a mythological kingdom Ethiopia in Greek mythology....
), next to Pegasus
Pegasus (constellation)

Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations....
.
A sea monster
Sea monster

Sea monsters are sea-dwelling legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts; they can be slimy or scaly, often spouting jets of water....
just under the ecliptic. (The constellation Cetus
Cetus

Cetus is a constellation in the northern sky. Its name refers to Cetus , a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called 'the whale' today....
)

Other constellations related to the story are:

Perseus
Perseus (constellation)

Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the Greek hero Perseus. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union....
The constellation Pegasus
Pegasus (constellation)

Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 1st century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations....
, who was born from the stump of Medusa
Medusa

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a gorgon, a chthonic female monster; gazing upon her would turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her Aegis....
's neck, after Perseus had decapitated her.
The constellation Pisces
Pisces (constellation)

Pisces is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is the Latin plural for fish, and its symbol is . It lies between Aquarius to the west and Aries to the east....
, which may have been treated as two fish caught by Dictys
Dictys

Dictys was a name attributed to four men in Greek mythology.*Dictys was a fisherman and brother of King Polydectes of Seriphos, both being the sons of Magnes by a naiad....
the fisherman
Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who gathers shellfish, or captures fish and other animals from a body of water. Worldwide, there are about 38 million Commercial fishing and Artisan fishing fishermen and fish farmers....
who was brother of Polydectes
Polydectes

In Greek mythology, King Polydectes was the ruler of the island of Seriphos, son of Magnes and an unnamed naiad. Polydectes fell in love with Dana? when she and her son Perseus were saved by his brother Dictys ....
king of Seriphos where Perseus and his mother Danaë
Danaë

File:Danae gold shower Louvre CA925.jpgIn Greek mythology, Dana? was a daughter of King Acrisius of Argos and Eurydice of Argos . She was the mother of Perseus by Zeus....
were stranded.

Portrayals of the myth

Sophocles

Euripides

Pierre Corneille

File:Pierre Corneille 3.jpgPierre Corneille was a French tragedy who was one of the three great seventeenth Century French dramatists, along with Moli?re and Jean Racine....
) made the story the subject of tragedies, and its incidents were represented in numerous ancient works of art.

The 1981 film Clash of the Titans
Clash of the Titans

For the metal concert tour by the same name, see Clash of the Titans Clash of the Titans is a 1981 in film fantasy and mythology film based on the myth of Perseus....
retells the story of Perseus, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia, but makes a few changes (notably Cassiopeia boasts that her daughter is more beautiful than Thetis

Thetis

Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths as Proteus ....
as opposed to the Nereids as a group). Thetis was a Nereid, but also the future mother of Achilles

Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
. Andromeda is also depicted as being strong-willed, whereas in the stories she is only really mentioned as being the princess whom Perseus saves from the sea monster. Also, a subplot about Thetis' son Calibos was added to the plot of the film. However, he more closely resembles Caliban

Caliban (character)

File:Shakespear's Caliban.jpgCaliban is one of the primary antagonists in William Shakespeare's The Tempest....
from Shakespeare's Tempest than any creature truly found in Greek myth.

Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera Persée

Persée

Pers?e is a trag?die lyrique with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault, first performed in 1682 in Paris....
also dramatizes the myth. At the port city of Jaffa

Jaffa

File:Jaffa StPeter church.jpgJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world.Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea....
, Israel

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, an outcropping of rocks near the harbour is reputed by local legend to have been the place from which Andromeda was rescued by Perseus.

Sources

Apollodorus
Apollodorus

Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greeks scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace....
, Bibliotheke II, iv, 3-5.
Ovid
Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman Empire poet known as Ovid to the English language-speaking world, who wrote about love, seduction, and Roman mythology transformation....
, Metamorphoses
Metamorphoses (poem)

The Metamorphoses by the Ancient Rome poet Ovid is a Narrative poetry in fifteen books that describes the Creation myth and history of the world....
IV, 668-764.
Edith Hamilton
Edith Hamilton

Edith Hamilton was an United States educator and author, and was "recognized as the greatest woman classicist." She was 62 when she published her first book, The Greek Way, in 1930....
, Mythology
Mythology (book)

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes is a 1942 in literature book written by Edith Hamilton. It is an anthology of Greek mythology, Roman mythology, and Norse mythology compiled from classical sources....
, Part Three, 204-207.