The Constellation: Perseus
Mythology
Perseus was a demi-god, the son of Zeus and a mortal named Danae. Perseus killed the famed monster Medusa, the hideous gorgon with snakes for hair who turned anyone with the misfortune of looking into her eyes into stone. Cepheus and Cassiopeia were king and queen, and had a beautiful daughter, Andromeda. She was so beautiful that her mother claimed her to be more beautiful than the sea nymphs of Poseidon, god of the ocean. This outraged Poseidon, who had Andromeda chained to a rock to be eaten by the fearsome sea monster, Cetus. Perseus killed Cetus and saved the princess Andromeda, whom he then took to be his wife. Because he was so brave in fighting a fearsome monster to save the life of someone else, he was given a place in the stars forever.
Can you find Perseus?
Perseus the slayer of Cetus is most easily seen rising in the East in the winter. The constellation is most easily identifiable as what almost appears to be a wishbone of brightest stars, with the brightest being the center and chest of Perseus. The legs of Perseus are pointing southward and are the forked part of the wishbone and the body and head are the straight line leading up northward. It is easy to find Perseus by either looking southward from Cassiopeia or just to the left of Taurus the Bull.
