Myth & LegendGreek → English
Perseus
/ˈpɜːrsiəs/proper noun
The hero who beheaded the Gorgon Medusa and gave his name to a northern constellation.
The Greek roots
Περσεύς
Perseús
Perseus, the hero
Literally: “uncertain, perhaps the destroyer”
Follow a root:Περσεύς2 words
The story of the word
Perseus is the hero who comes back: he kills the Gorgon, keeps the head as a weapon, and founds the line that eventually produces Heracles. His name has no settled derivation, though it is often linked to πέρθω, to sack or destroy. His constellation still holds the Gorgon's head as the star Algol, which dims every 2.87 days because two stars there eclipse each other, and every August the Perseid meteors appear to fall out of the same patch of sky.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
In a sentence
Perseus gets a flying start in every version: winged sandals, a cap of invisibility, and a god for a father.