Perseus
 |
"It turns out winged sandals aren't
as practical as you might think." |
So now that Perseus had the information from the Graeae,
1 he headed off for the Hesperides, which was at the end of the world.
At the Hesperides, the gods gave him several gifts.
From Zeus he got an adamantine sword, from Hermes a pair of winged sandles so he could fly, and from Hades a helmet that made him invisible, and Athena gave him a polished shield.
Someone else gave him a sack.
I wonder what Perseus’ reaction was when he got the sack.
“Hey!
It’s a … sack…
No, it’s great, really.
I needed a sack.
Hermes gave me the power of flight and you gave me a sack.
Terrific.
Thanks loads.” Now with these gifts, he was ready to set off for the isle of the Gorgons.
Remember, he’d set off on this adventure at the behest of evil King Polydectes who wanted to ravish Perseus’ mother.
If he wanted to get back before that happened, he’d really have to step on it.
Fortunately, Polydectes turned out to be an extremely slow ravisher.
1. Or possibly Greaea or Graaeeaa. I can never keep the spelling straight.
