Danaë

Danaë is a person in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Akrisios of Argos. She is the mother of Perseus by Zeus.

Danaë and the golden rain

Akrisios was told by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandchild. Because of that he put his daughter Danaë in a tower where noone was allowed to enter, so she could not have a child. But the god Zeus could enter in the form of a golden rain, and with him her child was Perseus.

Akrisios then put Danaë and her baby Perseus in a box and threw it into the sea. But Zeus convinced the sea-god Poseidon to help them, and so Danaë and her son came to the island Seriphos. There they were found by Diktys, who let them live with him.

Years later King Polydectes decided to marry Danaë, but she did not want to marry him and Perseus protected her. To get rid of Perseus, Polydectes sent him to kill the monster Medusa, who could turn people to stone. While he was gone Polydectes tried to force Danaë to marry him, but Perseus returned and used Medusa's head to turn the king to stone and save his mother.

Some time after that, Perseus took part in some funeral games. During the games Perseus threw a discus, which accidentally hit and killed Akrisios, fulfilling the oracle's prophecy.