Acrisius in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Acrisius

7 passages from 4 ancient authors that tell of Acrisius, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. In Greek mythology, Acrisius was the king of Argos, son of Abas and Aglaea and twin brother of Proetus. When their father died, Acrisius slyly possess... For the story in one place, read our article on Acrisius.

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Fragments 1.14–18Atalanta, Danaus and the daughters of ProetusThe longest fragment describes the suitors of Atalanta and the foot-race in which Hippomenes distracts her with golden apples. Shorter pieces record that Danaus made waterless Argos well-watered and that Aegyptus sent his fifty sons there. A last group tells how the daughters of Proetus lost their beauty because of their wantonness.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.4.1–5Perseus: Danae, Medusa and AndromedaAn oracle tells Acrisius that his daughter's son will kill him, so he shuts Danae in a brazen chamber, but she bears Perseus to Zeus and is cast into the sea with him in a chest. On Seriphus, Polydectes sends Perseus to fetch the Gorgon's head; with help from Hermes and Athena he gets the nymphs' gear from the Phorcides and beheads Medusa, from whom Pegasus and Chrysaor spring. He rescues Andromeda from a sea monster, turns Polydectes to stone, and accidentally kills Acrisius with a discus at Larissa, so fulfilling the oracle. The section ends with Perseus's descendants and the birth of Eurystheus.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.2.1–2Acrisius and Proetus; the daughters of ProetusTwin brothers Acrisius and Proetus quarrel in the womb and, once grown, fight for the kingdom of Argos and invent the shield; they end by splitting the land, Acrisius ruling Argos and Proetus Tiryns. Proetus's daughters go mad and roam the Peloponnese, for reasons that Hesiod and Acusilaus give differently, and the seer Melampus cures them in return for a share of the kingdom, although Iphinoe dies in the chase. Proetus marries them to Melampus and Bias.

Ovid (1)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.563–662Cadmus and Harmonia; Perseus and AtlasCadmus and Harmonia, grieving at their misfortunes, go away from Thebes, and Cadmus, remembering the serpent he killed, is turned into a serpent, and Harmonia follows him. Perseus, flying over Libya with the head of Medusa, comes at nightfall to the kingdom of Atlas, who has been told that a son of Zeus (Jupiter) would steal his golden apples, and who refuses him shelter. Perseus holds up the head of Medusa, and Atlas is turned into the mountain that holds up the sky.

Pausanias (3)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.16.1–7Mycenae: Perseus, the Argive kings, the Lion Gate and the tombsPausanias lists the Argive kings from Argos and Triopas to Danaus and Lynceus, the division between Acrisius and Proetus, and the death of Acrisius by Perseus’ quoit. He gives accounts of why Perseus founded Mycenae, and of how the Argives later destroyed it. He describes the surviving walls with the lion gate, the Persea fountain, the treasuries of Atreus and the graves of Agamemnon and his companions, with Clytemnestra and Aegisthus outside the walls.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.23.1–8Argos: Hollow Street, the Asclepieum and disputed Argive tombsAlong Hollow Street are a temple of Dionysus, brought from Euboea, the house of Adrastus, and shrines of Amphiaraus, Eriphyle, Asclepius and Baton. Pausanias disputes Argive claims to hold the tombs of Hyrnetho, Deianira and Helenus and the Palladium, noting that the Palladium went to Italy and Deianira died near Trachis. He also describes the underground chamber of Acrisius’ daughter, the tomb of Crotopus, and the temple of Cretan Dionysus, where Ariadne’s coffin was said to be found.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.25.1–10Argive roads: Oenoe, Lyrcea, Orneae, Tiryns, Midea and LessaPausanias follows the roads leading out of Argos. The Mantinea road passes a double sanctuary of Aphrodite and Ares, Oenoe named for Oeneus, and Mount Artemisius with the springs of the Inachus; another leads to Lyrcea and Orneae. On the Epidaurus road he notes the pyramid-like monument of the fight between Proetus and Acrisius, the Cyclopean walls of Tiryns, the ruins of Midea, and Lessa with its temple of Athena and Mount Arachnaeus.