Me wrote paper!
Bwahaha - I wrote a three-page paper in an hour! Go me! It was for Mr. H's Mythology class, comparing/contrasting Clash of the Titans with the real Perseus epic. I pretty much just retold the two stories, though - hopefully that'll be enough for an 'A'!
Clash of the Titans or Apollodorus' Perseus?
Desmond Davis' 1981 epic Clash of the Titans was billed as the timeless story of the half-god hero Perseus and the beautiful princess Andromeda. It contains all of the poem's central characters: Perseus himself, a handsome prince, the heir of Argos; Andromeda, the beautiful but beset princess; and the gods themselves, omnipotent beings with their hands eternally in mortals' business. However, as much as the film claims to tell the tale of Perseus, it really rather botches the myth, keeping some core elements and events but often rearranging them and otherwise drastically changing the Perseus that the ancient Greeks would have known.
The movie starts out on the right foot. Danaë, a princess unfortunate enough to have caught the eye of the god Zeus, is cast off to sea in a box upon her father's discovery of her newborn child. After some time, her boat washes up onto the shores of a fishing village, and a kindly old fisherman takes her in as his own daughter, and raises baby Perseus as though it were his own grandson.
Now, however, is when the movie breaks away from the myth.
In Apollodorus' Perseus, the young half-mortal grows into a fine young man, strong from years of fishing but intensely proud. Danaë, though approaching middle age, catches the eye of the ruling king, Polydectes, her uncle. King Polydectes, lusting after his niece, devises a plan to get rid of his grand-nephew Perseus so that he can marry the princess: announce his wedding and invite (the incidentally very poor) Perseus to the party. Perseus, a proud man, stings from his disability to bring the king a gift. So, when Polydectes slyly mentions that the head of Medusa the Gorgon is his ultimate desire, Perseus volunteers to get it for him. Hermes and Athena, wise and gracious, leap immediately to the beautiful youth's assistance. In Clash of the Titans, however, Perseus is sent immediately to a foreign land by the goddess Thetis, who, in retribution to Zeus for disfiguring her son Calibos, decides to take out her wrath on Zeus' son. Polydectes and Danaë do not make appearances. The young prince sets off to find Medusa's head because his betrothed, Andromeda of Joppa, will be eaten by the Kraken if he does not kill this unkillable beast.
So Perseus is thrust into a difficult situation, one which must have been doubly so for one who had been raised the son of a fisherman! But, in the poem, he has the gods Hermes and Athena to guide him. Hermes, the swift messenger god, gives him an unbreakable sword, and Athena a polished shield. He is sent to the Hyperboreans, a people of perpetual merry-making, who give him a cap of darkness. In the film, however, these gifts are sent to Perseus by Zeus, who appears to him in the shield and gives him directions; a mechanical owl of Hephaestus' handiwork is Perseus' travel guide.
Hermes guides Perseus to the land of twilight, instructing him to steal the magical eye of the Gray Women, known in the film as the Stygian Witches. Perseus does so, and in return for their sight back, the witches tell him to visit the Hyperboreans for directions to the isle where Medusa abides. In the film, Perseus, the fiancé of the beautiful princess Andromeda, heads straight to the isle with a few soldiers at his side, taking no time for the gods. His only hindrance is Andromeda's stilted lover, the disfigured Calibos, who steals her soul every night.
Next, Perseus is flown to the Gorgons' isle by the god Hermes, where the three hideous beings lie together on a rock in fitful rest. Guided by Athena's hand and reflective shield, Perseus strikes off the head of Medusa and is borne away again, his task done as simply and easily as that. But Hollywood takes this encounter to the next level. Perseus stalks Medusa in her torch-lit lair, sweating profusely as he stares into his shield for any sign of movement. In the end, after a long and difficult struggle, he slays her with an arrow and cuts off her head.
Subsequently in the poem, Hermes bears him to Ethiopia. There, Perseus happens upon young princess Andromeda chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea monster, for her mother had dared to compare her own beauty to that of the sea goddess Nereus. Captivated by her loveliness and now desperately in love, Perseus waits for the sea monster to come above water, and when it does, cuts off its head with Hermes' sword and saves all of Ethiopia from the monster's reign of terror. He and Andromeda marry and live thenceforth happily ever after.
In the film, however, Perseus must struggle much harder than that for Andromeda's hand. She is under a curse, for all her suitors (and there are many) must answer a riddle, which Calibos gives her each night. If they fail to answer it correctly, which all do, they are burned to death. Perseus, upon learning this and seeing her soul being stolen away by Calibos one night, falls in love with her and vows to set her free. After spying on Calibos, Perseus learns the answer to the riddle and wins Andromeda's hand. She, in turn, falls in love with him. At the wedding ceremony, however, her mother dares to compare Andromeda's beauty to that of Thetis, Calibos' mother. The vengeful goddess demands Andromeda's life as restitution, and all of Joppa is resigned to the fact that their princess is to be eaten by the Kraken. Perseus, however, thus undertakes his journey to get Medusa's head. Arriving just in time, he shows the Kraken the Gorgon's eyes and it crumbles into stone, setting the princess and all of Joppa free.
The end, though, is the same in both versions: Medusa is slain, Andromeda freed, and Perseus made king. In the words of William Shakespeare, "All's well that ends well," though the film version of Apollodorus' epic leaves one wanting more in the way of mythological accuracy; there is much it left unexplored. Still and all, perhaps that is a job for today's young and able filmmakers to undertake.
Clash of the Titans or Apollodorus' Perseus?
Desmond Davis' 1981 epic Clash of the Titans was billed as the timeless story of the half-god hero Perseus and the beautiful princess Andromeda. It contains all of the poem's central characters: Perseus himself, a handsome prince, the heir of Argos; Andromeda, the beautiful but beset princess; and the gods themselves, omnipotent beings with their hands eternally in mortals' business. However, as much as the film claims to tell the tale of Perseus, it really rather botches the myth, keeping some core elements and events but often rearranging them and otherwise drastically changing the Perseus that the ancient Greeks would have known.
The movie starts out on the right foot. Danaë, a princess unfortunate enough to have caught the eye of the god Zeus, is cast off to sea in a box upon her father's discovery of her newborn child. After some time, her boat washes up onto the shores of a fishing village, and a kindly old fisherman takes her in as his own daughter, and raises baby Perseus as though it were his own grandson.
Now, however, is when the movie breaks away from the myth.
In Apollodorus' Perseus, the young half-mortal grows into a fine young man, strong from years of fishing but intensely proud. Danaë, though approaching middle age, catches the eye of the ruling king, Polydectes, her uncle. King Polydectes, lusting after his niece, devises a plan to get rid of his grand-nephew Perseus so that he can marry the princess: announce his wedding and invite (the incidentally very poor) Perseus to the party. Perseus, a proud man, stings from his disability to bring the king a gift. So, when Polydectes slyly mentions that the head of Medusa the Gorgon is his ultimate desire, Perseus volunteers to get it for him. Hermes and Athena, wise and gracious, leap immediately to the beautiful youth's assistance. In Clash of the Titans, however, Perseus is sent immediately to a foreign land by the goddess Thetis, who, in retribution to Zeus for disfiguring her son Calibos, decides to take out her wrath on Zeus' son. Polydectes and Danaë do not make appearances. The young prince sets off to find Medusa's head because his betrothed, Andromeda of Joppa, will be eaten by the Kraken if he does not kill this unkillable beast.
So Perseus is thrust into a difficult situation, one which must have been doubly so for one who had been raised the son of a fisherman! But, in the poem, he has the gods Hermes and Athena to guide him. Hermes, the swift messenger god, gives him an unbreakable sword, and Athena a polished shield. He is sent to the Hyperboreans, a people of perpetual merry-making, who give him a cap of darkness. In the film, however, these gifts are sent to Perseus by Zeus, who appears to him in the shield and gives him directions; a mechanical owl of Hephaestus' handiwork is Perseus' travel guide.
Hermes guides Perseus to the land of twilight, instructing him to steal the magical eye of the Gray Women, known in the film as the Stygian Witches. Perseus does so, and in return for their sight back, the witches tell him to visit the Hyperboreans for directions to the isle where Medusa abides. In the film, Perseus, the fiancé of the beautiful princess Andromeda, heads straight to the isle with a few soldiers at his side, taking no time for the gods. His only hindrance is Andromeda's stilted lover, the disfigured Calibos, who steals her soul every night.
Next, Perseus is flown to the Gorgons' isle by the god Hermes, where the three hideous beings lie together on a rock in fitful rest. Guided by Athena's hand and reflective shield, Perseus strikes off the head of Medusa and is borne away again, his task done as simply and easily as that. But Hollywood takes this encounter to the next level. Perseus stalks Medusa in her torch-lit lair, sweating profusely as he stares into his shield for any sign of movement. In the end, after a long and difficult struggle, he slays her with an arrow and cuts off her head.
Subsequently in the poem, Hermes bears him to Ethiopia. There, Perseus happens upon young princess Andromeda chained to a rock to be eaten by a sea monster, for her mother had dared to compare her own beauty to that of the sea goddess Nereus. Captivated by her loveliness and now desperately in love, Perseus waits for the sea monster to come above water, and when it does, cuts off its head with Hermes' sword and saves all of Ethiopia from the monster's reign of terror. He and Andromeda marry and live thenceforth happily ever after.
In the film, however, Perseus must struggle much harder than that for Andromeda's hand. She is under a curse, for all her suitors (and there are many) must answer a riddle, which Calibos gives her each night. If they fail to answer it correctly, which all do, they are burned to death. Perseus, upon learning this and seeing her soul being stolen away by Calibos one night, falls in love with her and vows to set her free. After spying on Calibos, Perseus learns the answer to the riddle and wins Andromeda's hand. She, in turn, falls in love with him. At the wedding ceremony, however, her mother dares to compare Andromeda's beauty to that of Thetis, Calibos' mother. The vengeful goddess demands Andromeda's life as restitution, and all of Joppa is resigned to the fact that their princess is to be eaten by the Kraken. Perseus, however, thus undertakes his journey to get Medusa's head. Arriving just in time, he shows the Kraken the Gorgon's eyes and it crumbles into stone, setting the princess and all of Joppa free.
The end, though, is the same in both versions: Medusa is slain, Andromeda freed, and Perseus made king. In the words of William Shakespeare, "All's well that ends well," though the film version of Apollodorus' epic leaves one wanting more in the way of mythological accuracy; there is much it left unexplored. Still and all, perhaps that is a job for today's young and able filmmakers to undertake.