Geography Index

Seriphos

An island in the Aigean (Aegean) Sea; one of the Cyclades.¹

  Seriphos entered the mythological records as the island where Perseus, a son of the god Zeus, was raised.

  King Akrisios (Acrisius) of Argos was told by an oracle that his daughter Danae would have a son who would kill him and take his throne. To thwart the oracle, Akrisios had Danae locked in a bronze vault so she could not be seduced or wed. Zeus came to Danae inside the vault as a shower of gold—Danae's son Perseus was a result of Zeus' presence.

  Enraged, Akrisios placed Danae and her new-born son in a coffin-like box and cast them into the sea. The box washed ashore on the island of Seriphos and was found by a man named Diktys (Dictys), who happened to be the brother of the island's reigning monarch, King Polydektes (Polydectes).

  Danae and Perseus made their home on Seriphos and King Polydektes fell in love with Danae, but she did not return his affection. As Perseus grew older, he became an imposing young man and King Polydektes thought that if he could get rid of Perseus, he would be able to seduce Danae.

  Polydektes devised a plan to send Perseus on what he thought would be a suicidal mission—he convinced Perseus to bring him the head of Medusa. She and her sisters were so hideous that the shock of seeing them would turn anyone to stone.

  With the help of the goddess Athene (Athena) and the god Hermes, Perseus was able to cut off Medusa's head before she could defend herself. Perseus was able to escape with Medusa's head hidden in a bag that Hermes had given him.

  The situation on Seriphos had worsened during Perseus' absence. King Polydektes had become obsessive and violent in his treatment of Danae. Perseus confronted Polydektes and his comrades in the palace. With eyes averted, Perseus showed Polydektes the head of Medusa. All those present were turned to stone in whatever pose they happened to be in when Perseus revealed Medusa's severed head.

  Diktys married Danae and became king of Seriphos. With his mother's safety and happiness assured, Perseus left Seriphos and gave Medusa's head to Athene to place on Zeus' shield.

  The oracle prophesying that Akrisios would be killed by his grandson came to pass. While Perseus was participating in an athletic competition, he accidentally threw a discus into the spectators and killed Akrisios.

  History records that when Persian King Xerxes was preparing to invade Greece in 480 BCE, he sent out envoys to the various Greek cities and islands demanding "earth and water" as a token of their subservience. The inhabitants of Seriphos, Siphnos and Melos were the only islanders who refused to comply.

1. Cyclades—the group of islands that "circle around" the sacred island of Delos.

Latitude North, Longitude East
37.1560, 24.4823