My short story �Richard and the Seven Brigands� is based on the Legend of Perseus. The Legend of Perseus is the oldest fairytale in the world.
Richard and the Seven Brigands
The villagers told Richard that only Norna knew where the brigands were keeping Cynthia. They also told him that if he looked directly at Norna he would be turned to stone. Ordinarily Richard had no time for village superstitions. Unfortunately, his time was running out. So were his options.
Norna was an old woman, reputed to be a witch, who lived by herself in a cottage in the woods. She supported herself by spinning yarn. None of the villagers in Wodensdale knew Norna. They only knew that she had always lived there. She seemed to know everything.
One of the villagers gave Richard an old, ornate hand mirror and the advice, �If you look at Norna�s reflection in this you will be safe, Sir. �
�Many thanks, � Richard said. �How can I find Norna�s cottage?�
�On the other side of Lord de Boinville�s manor house you will find a path seldom trodden on. Follow that. �
Richard did as advised, walking through a wooded area that looked as though it had never been cleared. When he finally saw a cottage that looked as old as the woods he knocked on the door, and turned around, looking at the door through the mirror. �Who is it who knocks?� came the sound of an old woman�s voice.
�I am Richard Crawford. I teach at the village school. I live in the vicarage with Vicar Wedgewood. �
�Why do you disturb me at this time?�
A canting crew of seven brigands has kidnapped Cynthia de Boinville. The villagers have told me you might know where they are keeping her. �
Norna opened the door. Through the mirror she looked timeless �Wait for Edgar Smallwood to pay the ransom, � she said. � That is safer. �
�He got the ransom note yesterday. Lord Johnnie is the upright man of the brigands. He demanded over half of Edgar�s patrimony. When Edgar read that he got drunk in the village inn. He left Wodensdale this morning. �
�Why do you care about Cynthia? She is not your betrothed. �
�She loves me and I love her. We were going to elope, get married, and move to Canada. Then we learned that the de Boinville estate is badly in debt. If the family loses the estate, the villagers will be evicted. Their forefathers have lived here for centuries. They know no other way of life. I know what it is like to work in a factory. Edgar Smallwood�s father owns coal mines. He offered to pay off the debts. �
�The brigands are keeping Cynthia at the top of Thunors Pike, � Norna said, naming the small mountain that overlooked Wodensdale. �They have not violated her yet. They will in three days if the ransom is not paid. Lord Johnnie will go first. Then the others will enjoy her. She just turned twenty. That will be a bad wedding night for her. Then they will kill her. �
�You make me so angry I want to run to the top of Thunor�s Pike right now, � Richard said.
�What good will you do Cynthia by getting killed?� Norna asked. �The Duke of Wellington did not defeat Napoleon that way. Lord Johnnie has already bested you in a fist fight. You must use surprise. Follow the creek that goes through Wodensdale. It has its source near the top of Thunors Pike. Where it goes into the mountain, the brigands have their camp. Attack at dawn when they are asleep, but you can see. �
Norna went back into her cottage and came out with a dagger. �Take this, � she said giving it to Richard. �It is a good stabbing knife. It is a good throwing knife. �
�Thank you. This will help. �
Richard walked back to Wodensdale, and entered his room in the Vicarage.
Lord Johnnie had no pity for Cynthia. He got his name because he looked aristocratic. Nevertheless, he hated all aristocrats, especially his father. His father forced his mother when she was his servant girl. When Lord Johnnie�s mother got pregnant, his father fired her to please his wife. He never did anything to help Lord Johnnie and his mother.
Lord Johnnie admired the French Revolution. He wanted something like that in England. He wanted to watch his father die on the guillotine.
At the camp of the canting crew Lord Johnnie gathered the brigands. �If Edgar Smallwood pays the ransom we will be rich, � he told them. �If he will not pay, we need to keep a guard at the camp every night. We also need to make sure Cynthia does not escape. �
�Who would attack us?� one of the brigands asked.
�Richard Crawford. �
�He could not rescue Cynthia. �
�No, � Lord Johnnie said, �But he would try. I respect him. After we fought, I found him walking through the woods alone. We talked. Before Richard was born his father was killed keeping his mother from being raped. Two swells were out on the night in search of intrigues. They came into the shop owned by Richard�s father, and grabbed his mother. Richard�s father killed one. The other killed Richard�s father. He was knocked out by an Army veteran who lived upstairs.
�Because the swell who killed Richard�s father was the son of a lord he got off with a caning.
�When Richard was eighteen he challenged the man who killed his father to a duel. He killed him. Because Richard was not a lord, he might have been sentenced to hang. But the judge was a fair man. Because he knew about what had happened to Richard�s father, he gave Richard clemency in return for Richard joining the Army to fight Napoleon.
�Because of his bravery Richard was given a battlefield commission to lieutenant. Then in a battle in Spain, Richard�s captain ordered Richard to kill three French prisoners. Two were enlisted men. One was an officer. The order was of course illegal. Richard could tell that his captain would kill the prisoners if he did not. He took the prisoners over a hill, where the captain could not see. With his two double barreled pistols he fired three times into the ground. Then he said to the French soldiers, �Go back to your lines. �
�The French officer asked Richard, �What is your name Lieutenant?�
��Richard Crawford. Why do you ask?�
��I would like to thank you some day. �
��When you are shooting at us again, aim poorly. �
��You are a credit to the British Army, � the French officer said. He gave Richard a French gold coin. The three French soldiers left. But one of them got a grenade, and threw it into a hospital tent killing several wounded British soldiers. When the French soldier was killed, Richard�s captain denied telling Richard to kill the prisoners. He said Richard�s orders were to take the prisoners to join other French prisoners. The gold coin in Richard�s pocket was considered proof of his guilt.
�For the second time in his life, Richard was waiting to be hanged. � Lord Johnnie said. �After nine days he was flogged and drummed out of the Army. Richard went to London, and got a job in a factory. Vicar Wedgewood, who had baptized and married Richard�s parents, and baptized Richard, found him there, and offered him a position teaching at the village school.
�I have fought in the prize ring, but my fight with Richard was one of my toughest fights. I almost lost. I did not expect that. I am taller and heavier than he is. The cove does not look like much, but he knows how to handle his fists. �
�I like Richard, � Lord Johnnie said, �He hates the swells like I do, but he loves Cynthia. I am afraid of him. He can harm us. �
In his room in the vicarage Richard cleaned and loaded his two double barreled pistols. He was sharpening his saber when there was a knock at his door. �Yes?� he asked. �
�Lord de Boinville wants to talk to you, � Vicar Wedgewood told him.
�Send his Lordship in, � Richard said.
Lord de Boinville had suffered polio as a boy. He entered, walking with a cane. Richard stood respectfully. �Edgar Smallwood will not pay the ransom, � Lord de Boinville said.
�I know. �
Lord de Boinville looked at the weapons on Richard�s bed, realized what was happening, looked relieved, and said, �I do not deserve this after the way I treated you. You are a better man than I am. �
�Don�t thank me yet. I expect to be killed. If I do not try, Cynthia will die. �
�May I sit down?�
�Of course, � Richard said, getting him a chair. Richard sat on his bed.
�When I was your age I was in love with your mother, � Lord de Boinville began, �But I am as you see me now. Most women would have chosen me because of my estate and title. Your mother preferred your father. The two of them left Wodensdale to move to London, where your father became a shop keeper. By the time your father was killed I had married someone else. She gave me Cynthia. I helped your mother with some money. �
�When you came to Wodensdale to teach at the school I could tell that Cynthia loved you. I also knew that I was about to lose the estate. Without it the village would die. So would many of the villagers. I cannot do any more to save my tenants. If you and Cynthia survive this ordeal I give my blessing to your marriage. I will manage somehow. A nobleman with a title can always live on another man�s estate. �
Lord de Boinville and Richard rose, and shook hands. �God be with you, my son, � Lord De Boinville said.
Fifteen miles away Captain Phillip McPherson, an old friend of Richard, was approaching Wodensdale with the French officer Richard refused to kill, and two men who had been in Richard�s platoon. They wanted to reach Wodensdale that day, but it was getting late, so they stopped at an inn for the night.
After the conversation had been lubricated by several pints of ale, the French officer said, �I have told you how difficult it was for me to find out what had happened to Richard Crawford, and to find you, Captain McPherson. Please tell us how you became a friend of his. �
�I used to be a friend of his father, � Captain McPherson began. �When Richard was a boy I signed him up for boxing lessons. The studio that taught boxing also taught fencing and the use of the quarter staff. He learned those too. Before Richard joined the Army I taught him how to clean, load, and shoot a musket and a pistol. I introduced him to a gunsmith friend of mine named �Roger Wayland. � He made Richard two doubled barreled pistols. When Richard was in the Army I tried to advise him. �
Back at Wodensdale, when Richard finished sharpening his saber he put it in its scabbard, fastened the scabbard to his waist, and put his two pistols in his belt. Together with the dagger Norna had given him he left the vicarage, and walked along the creek that ran through Wodensdale to find the brigand�s camp. After the sun set, a full moon showed the way, as the creek ran up Thunor�s Pike.
The next day around noon Captain McPherson, the French officer, and the two enlisted men rode into Wodensdale to see a commotion. Villagers were gathering with muskets and knives. When Captain McPherson asked what was happening, a villager said, �We are going to fight the brigands, Sir. They have killed Richard and Cynthia. �
The night before, when Richard reached the camp of the brigands he could see several tents by the light of the moon, and a sentry keeping watch. The sentry was drowsy and inattentive. Richard quietly approached the sentry from behind, put his left hand over the sentry�s mouth, and plunged his knife into the sentry�s kidney, killing him.
When another brigand emerged from a tent Richard threw his knife at his jugular vein. The brigand died in an explosion of blood, and fell back against a tent.
The brigands were awake. With one of his double barreled pistols Richard shot two brigands, killing them. With his saber Richard killed a fifth brigand.
Lord Johnnie shot Richard, knocking him down. Before Lord Johnnie could shoot Richard a second time in the heart, Cynthia shot Lord Johnnie in the heart with a pistol that had been dropped by a brigand. Lord Johnnie, the upright man of the canting crew, was dead.
Cynthia cradled Richard�s head. �Please live, � she said, �I love you so much. �
�And I love you, � Richard said.
�What happened to Edgar?� Cynthia asked.
�When he received the ransom note fron Lord Johnnie he did not want to pay the ransom. He got drunk at the village inn, and left. �
�I could not have been a good wife for him. I despised him. �
�When I was preparing my weapons your father visited me at the vicarage. He told me why he had tried to get you and Edgar married. He said it was dishonorable, but he wanted to save the village and the only life the villagers knew. � Richard paused because it was difficult for him to talk with his wound. �He said he knew that we loved each other, and would give his blessing to our marriage. �
As the sun rose, Richard grew weaker from loss of blood.
Early in the afternoon Cynthia and Richard, who was still alive, could hear the approach of a group of people. It was Captain McPherson, the French officer, the two men from Richard�s platoon, Norna, and the youngest brigand. He was about fourteen. He had fled when the shooting began. Now his eyes were blackened and swollen. His nose was bleeding. He had been beaten up. Captain McPherson was carrying a stretcher.
Captain McPherson said, �We thought the villagers would get in the way, if it would be necessary to fight the brigands. As tacitly as I could I asked them to stay behind to guard Wodensdale. �
Richard could barely talk. �Philip, I hoped it would be you. I got your letter. �
�I wish we had come yesterday, � Captain McPherson said. �We could have helped you with the brigands. �
�We caught this one, � one of the men from Richard�s platoon said, pushing the young brigand forward. �We brought him with us so you can watch him die. �
�Don�t kill him, � Cynthia pleaded. �They were going to rape me. He talked them out of it. �
Richard looked at the two men from his platoon, naming them. �John Carpenter. Henry Baker. Where are the others?� he asked.
�Waterloo, Sir. �
Norna looked at Richard�s wound. She cleaned it as best as she could, and put bandages around it, after anointing it with balm. �This is a flesh wound, � she said. �You will recover. Take this potion. It will reduce the pain, and help you sleep. Everyone can look at me now. You broke the spell by trusting me. �
As Richard grew sleepy, he saw the French officer. �You look familiar, � he said.
�I hope so, � the French officer said. �I can never forget you. You saved my life. My father was a rich merchant. His other two sons were killed in the War. In his will Father set aside a large sum of money for you, if I could find you. It is enough to pay off the debts of the de Boinville estate, and invest in new farm equipment. None of the villagers will have to leave. You and I have saved Wodensdale. �
After Richard dozed off from Norna�s potion he was gently put on the stretcher, and carried down to the foot of Thunors Pike. They placed him on a wagon, and took him back to the village.
The six killed brigands were buried in a mass grave in the village churchyard, and given a Christian burial from The Book of Common Prayer.
When Richard recovered from his wound there was a wedding ceremony in the village church. Vicar Wedgewood presided. The villagers were present, along with Lord deBoinville, the French officer Richard refused to kill, the fourteen year old brigand who survived, Capt. McPherson, John Carpenter, Henry Baker, and Norna. Capt. McPherson, John Carpenter, and Henry wore their Army uniforms. Roger Wayland was also present. Edgar Smallwood attended as an uninvited guest.
When Vicar Wedgwood read from the Book of Common Prayer:
�It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort that the one ought to have the other, both in prosperity and in adversity. Into which holy estate these two persons present come not to be joined. Therefore, if any man can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak or else hereafter for ever hold his peace. �
Edgar Smallwood stood up and said, �Cynthia was promised to me in marriage. I demand that the promise be kept. �
Richard was amused, �Welcome to my wedding to Cynthia, Edgar. I am sorry that you missed the rescue. I could have used your help against the brigands. �
Cynthia was not amused. �Eric you are the most detestable person I have ever known. You have plenty of nerve, but no shame. �
Lord deBoinville said, �Edgar, agreeing to have Cynthia marry you was the hardest decision I ever made, and the one I most regret. �
The French officer said, �Edgar go away. Wodensdale does not need your blood money. �
Norna said, �Edgar, you deserve to be turned to stone. �
Because Edgar showed no willingness to leave John Carpenter and Henry Baker led him outside, punched him a few times to get their message across, and warned him against reentering the church.
Without further interruption Richard and Cynthia said their �I do�s. � Richard gave to Cynthia her wedding ring and said, �With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all ny worldly goods I thee endow: In the Name fo the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen�`
When the wedding ceremony was complete, the members of the congregation walked to De Boinville manor house for a reception. They were relieved that Edgar Smallwood had left.
Years later Richard Crawford became the squire of Wodensdale. Earlier he had been knighted for his service in the British Army.
The End
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�Richard and the Seven Brigands� is based on the Legend of Perseus. In ancient Greek and Roman literature the Legend of Perseus is alluded to by Homer, Simonides, Hesiod, and Pindar. It is told in its entirety by Appollodorus and Ovid.
When most people could not read or write, popular stories were transmitted orally. The Legend of Perseus appears in Grimm�s Fairy Tales as �The Two Brothers, �
http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Two_Brothers
http://www. cs. cmu. edu/~spok/grimmtmp/047. txt
in Italian fairy tales as �The Dragon with Seven Heads, �
http://books. google. com/books?id=WZCPAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT221&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false
and, �The Sorceress�s Head. �
In my story I replace a dragon with seven heads with a canting crew of seven brigands. I place my story in England in the early nineteenth century, right after the Napoleonic wars. A canting crew was a gang of criminals.
The Legend of Perseus is explained in a book by that name that was written by Edwin Sidney Hartland, and published in 1894. I discovered that book at the Library of Congress.
https://www. amazon. com/gp/customer � reviews/R2BNFG2C30C7OV/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1355850630
To the Legend of Perseus I add archetypes of the collective unconscious, written about by Carl G. Jung. Signumd Freud discovered the personal uncounscious. This consists of forgotten or repressed memories that continue to influence a person�s behavior and feelings.
Jung claimed to have found a collective unconscious. This consists of images created when the human mind thinks about a human instinct. The archetypes can be found in myths, legends, fairy tales, and dreams. These are the archetypes in my story:
Hero � Richard Crawford
Anima � Cynthia de Boinville
Shadow � Lord Johnnie
Wise Old Man � Capt. McPherson
These archetypes appear in the �Star Wars� movie:
Hero � Luke Skywalker
Anima � Princess Leia
Shadow � Darth Vader
Wise Old Man � Obe Wan Kenobi
I borrowed the motif of the hero avenging the murder of his father, from ancient Egyptian mythology, pre Christian Germanic legend, The Volsunga Saga,
https://www. amazon. com/gp/customer � reviews/RXBXO3QU602KI?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp
and a Chinese fairy tale,
Old Tales Retold, �Forging the Swords. �
https://www. amazon. com/Old � Tales � Retold � Lu � Hsun/dp/0898752507/ref=sr_1_2?crid=5U808NDT3A82&dchild=1&keywords=Old+Tales+Retold%2C+Lu+Hsun&qid=1635172866&sprefix=old+tales+retold%2C+lu+hsun%2Caps%2C174&sr=8 � 2
In Egyptian mythology Seth kills Osiris. Osiris� son Horus defeats Seth. In The Volsunga Saga Sigurd kills King Lyngi, who killed Sigurd�s father Sigmund before Sigurd was born. In Lu Hsun�s retelling of the fairly tale �Forging the Swords� Mei Chien Chih, with the help of a wise old man, kills the evil king who had killed his father before Mei Chin Chih was born.
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The Library, Book 2, by Apollodorus, translated by J. G. Frazer
[2. 4. 1] When Acrisius inquired of the oracle how he should get male children, the god said that his daughter would give birth to a son who would kill him. 49 Fearing that, Acrisius built a brazen chamber under ground and there guarded Danae. 50 However, she was seduced, as some say, by Proetus, whence arose the quarrel between them51; but some say that Zeus had intercourse with her in the shape of a stream of gold which poured through the roof into Danae s lap. When Acrisius afterwards learned that she had got a child Perseus, he would not believe that she had been seduced by Zeus, and putting his daughter with the child in a chest, he cast it into the sea. The chest was washed ashore on Seriphus, and Dictys took up the boy and reared him.
[2. 4. 2] Polydectes, brother of Dictys, was then king of Seriphus and fell in love with Danae, but could not get access to her, because Perseus was grown to man s estate. So he called together his friends, including Perseus, under the pretext of collecting contributions towards a wedding gift for Hippodamia, daughter of Oenomaus. 52 Now Perseus having declared that he would not stick even at the Gorgon s head, Polydectes required the others to furnish horses, and not getting horses from Perseus ordered him to bring the Gorgon s head. So under the guidance of Hermes and Athena he made his way to the daughters of Phorcus, to wit, Enyo, Pephredo, and Dino; for Phorcus had them by Ceto, and they were sisters of the Gorgons, and old women from their birth. 53 The three had but one eye and one tooth, and these they passed to each other in turn. Perseus got possession of the eye and the tooth, and when they asked them back, he said he would give them up if they would show him the way to the nymphs. Now these nymphs had winged sandals and the kibisis, which they say was a wallet. [But Pindar and Hesiod in The Shield say of Perseus: � � 54 �But all his back had on the head of a dread monster, and round him ran the kibisis. �
The kibisis is so called because dress and food are deposited in it. ]55 They had also the cap. When the Phorcides had shown him the way, he gave them back the tooth and the eye, and coming to the nymphs got what he wanted. So he slung the wallet (kibisis) about him, fitted the sandals to his ankles, and put the cap on his head. Wearing it, he saw whom he pleased, but was not seen by others. And having received also from Hermes an adamantine sickle he flew to the ocean and caught the Gorgons asleep. They were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Now Medusa alone was mortal; for that reason Perseus was sent to fetch her head. But the Gorgons had heads twined about with the scales of dragons, and great tusks like swine s, and brazen hands, and golden wings, by which they flew; and they turned to stone such as beheld them. So Perseus stood over them as they slept, and while Athena guided his hand and he looked with averted gaze on a brazen shield, in which he beheld the image of the Gorgon, 56 he beheaded her. When her head was cut off, there sprang from the Gorgon the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaor, the father of Geryon; these she had by Poseidon. 57
[2. 4. 3] So Perseus put the head of Medusa in the wallet (kibisis) and went back again; but the Gorgons started up from their slumber and pursued Perseus: but they could not see him on account of the cap, for he was hidden by it.
Being come to Ethiopia, of which Cepheus was king, he found the king s daughter Andromeda set out to be the prey of a sea monster. 58 For Cassiepea, the wife of Cepheus, vied with the Nereids in beauty and boasted to be better than them all; hence the Nereids were angry, and Poseidon, sharing their wrath, sent a flood and a monster to invade the land. But Ammon having predicted deliverance from the calamity if Cassiepea s daughter Andromeda were exposed as a prey to the monster, Cepheus was compelled by the Ethiopians to do it, and he bound his daughter to a rock. When Perseus beheld her, he loved her and promised Cepheus that he would kill the monster, if he would give him the rescued damsel to wife. These terms having been sworn to, Perseus withstood and slew the monster and released Andromeda. However, Phineus, who was a brother of Cepheus, and to whom Andromeda had been first betrothed, plotted against him; but Perseus discovered the plot, and by showing the Gorgon turned him and his fellow conspirators at once into stone. And having come to Seriphus he found that his mother and Dictys had taken refuge at the altars on account of the violence of Polydectes; so he entered the palace, where Polydectes had gathered his friends, and with averted face he showed the Gorgon s head; and all who beheld it were turned to stone, each in the attitude which he happened to have struck. Having appointed Dictys king of Seriphus, he gave back the sandals and the wallet (kibisis) and the cap to Hermes, but the Gorgon s head he gave to Athena. Hermes restored the aforesaid things to the nymphs and Athena inserted the Gorgon s head in the middle of her shield. But it is alleged by some that Medusa was beheaded for Athena s sake; and they say that the Gorgon was fain to match herself with the goddess even in beauty.
[2. 4. 4] Perseus hastened with Danae and Andromeda to Argos in order that he might behold Acrisius. But he, learning of this and dreading the oracle, 59 forsook Argos and departed to the Pelasgian land. Now Teutamides, king of Larissa, was holding athletic games in honor of his dead father, and Perseus came to compete. He engaged in the pentathlum, but in throwing the quoit he struck Acrisius on the foot and killed him instantly. 60 Perceiving that the oracle was fulfilled, he buried Acrisius outside the city, 61 and being ashamed to return to Argos to claim the inheritance of him who had died by his hand, he went to Megapenthes, son of Proetus, at Tiryns and effected an exchange with him, surrendering Argos into his hands. 62 So Megapenthes reigned over the Argives, and Perseus reigned over Tiryns, after fortifying also Midea and Mycenae. 63
[2. 4. 5] And he had sons by Andromeda: before he came to Greece he had Perses, whom he left behind with Cepheus (and from him it is said that the kings of Persia are descended); and in Mycenae he had Alcaeus and Sthenelus and Heleus and Mestor and Electryon, 64 and a daughter Gorgophone, whom Perieres married. 65
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Metamorphous, Book 4, by Ovid, Translatd by Brookes More
PERSEUS AND ATLAS
[604] The fortune of their grandson, Bacchus, gave great comfort to them�as a god adored in conquered India; by Achaia praised in stately temples. �But Acrisius the son of Abas, of the Cadmean race, remained to banish Bacchus from the walls of Argos, and to lift up hostile arms against that deity, who he denied was born to Jove. He would not even grant that Perseus from the loins of Jupiter was got of Danae in the showering gold. So mighty is the hidden power of truth, Acrisius soon lamented that affront to Bacchus, and that ever he refused to own his grandson; for the one achieved high heaven, and the other, (as he bore the viperous monster � head) on sounding wings hovered a conqueror in the fluent air, over sands, Libyan, where the Gorgon � head dropped clots of gore, that, quickening on the ground, became unnumbered serpents; fitting cause to curse with vipers that infested land.
[621] Thence wafted by the never � constant winds through boundless latitudes, now here now there, as flits a vapour � cloud in dizzy flight, down � looking from the lofty skies on earth, removed far, so compassed he the world. Three times did he behold the frozen Bears, times thrice his gaze was on the Crab s bent arms. Now shifting to the west, now to the east, how often changed his course? Time came, when day declining, he began to fear the night, by which he stopped his flight far in the west�the realm of Atlas�where he sought repose till Lucifer might call Aurora s fires; Aurora chariot of the Day. There dwelt huge Atlas, vaster than the race of man: son of Iapetus, his lordly sway extended over those extreme domains, and over oceans that command their waves to take the panting coursers of the Sun, and bathe the wearied Chariot of the Day. For him a thousand flocks, a thousand herds overwandered pasture fields; and neighbour tribes might none disturb that land. Aglint with gold bright leaves adorn the trees, �boughs golden � wrought bear apples of pure gold.
[639] And Perseus spoke to Atlas, �O my friend, if thou art moved to hear the story of a noble race, the author of my life is Jupiter; if valiant deeds perhaps are thy delight mine may deserve thy praise. �Behold of thee kind treatment I implore�a place of rest. � But Atlas, mindful of an oracle since by Themis, the Parnassian, told, recalled these words, �O Atlas! mark the day a son of Jupiter shall come to spoil; for when thy trees been stripped of golden fruit, the glory shall be his. � Fearful of this, Atlas had built solid walls around his orchard, and secured a dragon, huge, that kept perpetual guard, and thence expelled all strangers from his land. Wherefore he said, �Begone! The glory of your deeds is all pretense; even Jupiter, will fail your need. �
[651] With that he added force and strove to drive the hesitating Alien from his doors; who pled reprieve or threatened with bold words. Although he dared not rival Atlas might, Perseus made this reply; �For that my love you hold in light esteem, let this be yours. � He said no more, but turning his own face, he showed upon his left Medusa s head, abhorrent features. �Atlas, huge and vast, becomes a mountain�His great beard and hair are forests, and his shoulders and his hands mountainous ridges, and his head the top of a high peak;�his bones are changed to rocks. Augmented on all sides, enormous height attains his growth; for so ordained it, ye, O mighty Gods! who now the heavens expanse unnumbered stars, on him command to rest.
PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA
[663] In their eternal prison, Aeous, grandson of Hippotas, had shut the winds; and Lucifer, reminder of our toil, in splendour rose upon the lofty sky: and Perseus bound his wings upon his feet, on each foot bound he them; his sword he girt and sped wing � footed through the liquid air. Innumerous kingdoms far behind were left, till peoples Ethiopic and the lands of Cepheus were beneath his lofty view. There Ammon, the Unjust, had made decree Andromeda, the Innocent, should grieve her mother s tongue. They bound her fettered arms fast to the rock. When Perseus her beheld as marble he would deem her, but the breeze moved in her hair, and from her streaming eyes the warm tears fell. Her beauty so amazed his heart, unconscious captive of her charms, that almost his swift wings forgot to wave. �Alighted on the ground, he thus began; �O fairest! whom these chains become not so, but worthy are for links that lovers bind, make known to me your country s name and your s and wherefore bound in chains. � A moment then, as overcome with shame, she made no sound: were not she fettered she would surely hide her blushing head; but what she could perform that did she do�she filled her eyes with tears.
[685] So pleaded he that lest refusal seem implied confession of a crime, she told her name, her country s name, and how her charms had been her mother s pride. But as she spoke the mighty ocean roared. Over the waves a monster fast approached, its head held high, abreast the wide expanse. �The virgin shrieked;�no aid her wretched father gave, nor aid her still more wretched mother; but they wept and mingled lamentations with their tears�clinging distracted to her fettered form. And thus the stranger spoke to them, �Time waits for tears, but flies the moment of our need: were I, who am the son of Regal Jove and her whom he embraced in showers of gold, leaving her pregnant in her brazen cell, �I, Perseus, who destroyed the Gorgon, wreathed with snake � hair, I, who dared on waving wings to cleave etherial air�were I to ask the maid in marriage, I should be preferred above all others as your son � in � law. Not satisfied with deeds achieved, I strive to add such merit as the Gods permit; now, therefore, should my velour save her life, be it conditioned that I win her love. � To this her parents gave a glad assent, for who could hesitate? And they entreat, and promise him the kingdom as a dower.
[706] As a great ship with steady prow speeds on; forced forwards by the sweating arms of youth it plows the deep; so, breasting the great waves, the monster moved, until to reach the rock no further space remained than might the whirl of Balearic string encompass, through the middle skies, with plummet � mold of lead. That instant, spurning with his feet the ground, the youth rose upwards to a cloudy height; and when the shadow of the hero marked the surface of the sea, the monster sought vainly to vent his fury on the shade. As the swift bird of Jove, when he beholds a basking serpent in an open field, exposing to the sun its mottled back, and seizes on its tail; lest it shall turn to strike with venomed fang, he fixes fast his grasping talons in the scaly neck; so did the winged youth, in rapid flight through yielding elements, press down on the great monster s back, and thrust his sword, sheer to the hilt, in its right shoulder � loud its frightful torture sounded over the waves. �So fought the hero � son of Inachus.
[724] Wild with the grievous wound, the monster rears high in the air, or plunges in the waves;�or wheels around as turns the frightened boar shunning the hounds around him in full cry. The hero on his active wings avoids the monster s jaws, and with his crooked sword tortures its back wherever he may pierce its mail of hollow shell, or strikes betwixt the ribs each side, or wounds its lashing tail, long, tapered as a fish. The monster spouts forth streams�incarnadined with blood�that spray upon the hero s wings; who drenched, and heavy with the spume, no longer dares to trust existence to his dripping wings; but he discerns a rock, which rises clear above the water when the sea is calm, but now is covered by the lashing waves. On this he rests; and as his left hand holds firm on the upmost ledge, he thrusts his sword, times more than three, unswerving in his aim, sheer through the monster s entrails. �Shouts of praise resound along the shores, and even the Gods may hear his glory in their high abodes. Her parents, Cepheus and Cassiope, most joyfully salute their son � in � law; declaring him the saviour of their house. And now, her chains struck off, the lovely cause and guerdon of his toil, walks on the shore.
[740] The hero washes his victorious hands in water newly taken from the sea: but lest the sand upon the shore might harm the viper � covered head, he first prepared a bed of springy leaves, on which he threw weeds of the sea, produced beneath the waves. On them he laid Medusa s awful face, daughter of Phorcys;�and the living weeds, fresh taken from the boundless deep, imbibed the monster s poison in their spongy pith: they hardened at the touch, and felt in branch and leaf unwonted stiffness. Sea � Nymphs, too, attempted to perform that prodigy on numerous other weeds, with like result: so pleased at their success, they raised new seeds, from plants wide � scattered on the salt expanse. Even from that day the coral has retained such wondrous nature, that exposed to air it hardens. �Thus, a plant beneath the waves becomes a stone when taken from the sea.
[753] Three altars to three Gods he made of turf. To thee, victorious Virgin, did he build an altar on the right, to Mercury an altar on the left, and unto Jove an altar in the midst. He sacrificed a heifer to Minerva, and a calf to Mercury, the Wingfoot, and a bull to thee, O greatest of the Deities. Without a dower he takes Andromeda, the guerdon of his glorious victory, nor hesitates. �Now pacing in the van, both Love and Hymen wave the flaring torch, abundant perfumes lavished in the flames. The houses are bedecked with wreathed flowers; and lyres and flageolets resound, and songs�felicit notes that happy hearts declare. The portals opened, sumptuous halls display their golden splendours, and the noble lords of Cepheus court take places at the feast, magnificently served.
[765] After the feast, when every heart was warming to the joys of genial Bacchus, then, Lyncidian Perseus asked about the land and its ways about the customs and the character of its heroes. Straightway one of the dinner � companions made reply, and asked in turn, � Now, valiant Perseus, pray tell the story of the deed, that all may know, and what the arts and power prevailed, when you struck off the serpent � covered head. � �There is, � continued Perseus of the house of Agenor, �There is a spot beneath cold Atlas, where in bulwarks of enormous strength, to guard its rocky entrance, dwelt two sisters, born of Phorcys. These were wont to share in turn a single eye between them: this by craft I got possession of, when one essayed to hand it to the other. �I put forth my hand and took it as it passed between: then, far, remote, through rocky pathless crags, over wild hills that bristled with great woods, I thence arrived to where the Gorgon dwelt. Along the way, in fields and by the roads, I saw on all sides men and animals�like statues�turned to flinty stone at sight of dread Medusa s visage. Nevertheless reflected on the brazen shield, I bore upon my left, I saw her horrid face. When she was helpless in the power of sleep and even her serpent � hair was slumber � bound, I struck, and took her head sheer from the neck. �To winged Pegasus the blood gave birth, his brother also, twins of rapid wing. �
[787] So did he speak, and truly told besides the perils of his journey, arduous and long�He told of seas and lands that far beneath him he had seen, and of the stars that he had touched while on his waving wings. And yet, before they were aware, the tale was ended; he was silent. Then rejoined a noble with enquiry why alone of those three sisters, snakes were interspersed in dread Medusa s locks. And he replied:��Because, O Stranger, it is your desire to learn what worthy is for me to tell, hear ye the cause: Beyond all others she was famed for beauty, and the envious hope of many suitors. Words would fail to tell the glory of her hair, most wonderful of all her charms�A friend declared to me he saw its lovely splendour. Fame declares the Sovereign of the Sea attained her love in chaste Minerva s temple. While enraged she turned her head away and held her shield before her eyes. To punish that great crime minerva changed the Gorgon s splendid hair to serpents horrible. And now to strike her foes with fear, she wears upon her breast those awful vipers�creatures of her rage.
� � � � � � � � �
Of the three fairy tales I mentioned that were copied down in the nineteenth century, only �The Sourceress�s Head� adheres closely to the stories told by Apollodorus and Ovid. Apollodorus and Ovid relied on written and oral versions of the story.
The telling of fairy tales was a profession mastered by largely illiterate bards with prodigious memories. The Legend of Perseus was probably passed down orally for as long as two thousand years before it emerged as �The Two Brothers� in German, and �The Dragon with Seven Heads� in Italian.
In these stories the encounter with the Medusa witch is moved to after the rescue of the maiden from the dragon. I am not sure why this happened. The fight with the dragon is the climax of the story.
�The Sorceress�s Head� was told to Italo Calvino in the nineteenth century by an illiterate peasant woman. However, it appears to be the result of a reading of the version by Appollodorus, Ovid, or both several centuries earlier. The story may have been remembered by a bard, and passed down orally.
Thus, the Legend of Perseus went from the oral tradition, to several literary works, and back to the oral tradition, before again being written down in the nineteenth century. I am including �The Sorceress�s Head� because it is closest the versions recorded in classical literature, and because I think it is told better than �The Two Brothers� and �The Dragon with Seven Heads. �
� � � � � � � � �
�The Sorceress�s Head, � retold by Italo Galvino, translated by George Martin
There was once a king who had no children. He was always imploring heaven to send him a child, but all his prayers were in vain. One day he had gone to pray as usual, when he heard a voice. �Do you want a boy who will die, or a girl who will flee?�
He didn�t know what to say and kept silent. He went home, summoned all his subjects, and asked what reply he should make. They answered, �If the boy is to die, that�s the same as having no child. Ask for the girl. You can keep her under lock and key and she can�t flee. �
The king went back to his prayers and heard the voice. �Do you want a boy who will die, or a girl who will flee?�
�A girl who will flee, � he replied.
So nine months later the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Many miles outside the city the king had a large park with a palace in the middle of it. He took the baby girl there and shut her up with a nurse. Her father and mother rarely visited her, so that she wouldn�t think about the city and decide to run away.
When the maiden was sixteen, the son of King Giona came by there. Seeing her, he fell in love with her and bribed the nurse with a great deal of money to let him into the palace. Overcome with love for one another, the two young people got married without their parents� knowing a thing about it.
Nine months later the princess gave birth to a fine baby boy. The next time the king called on her, he was met by the nurse, whom he asked how his daughter was getting along. �Beautifully, Your Highness, � replied the nurse. �Would you believe she�s just had a baby?� The king refused to have anything more to do with the girl.
She continued to live in her palace with her husband and their son. When the boy reached fifteen without ever having seen his grandfather, he said to his mother, �Mamma, I would like to meet my grandfather. �
�Go to his palace, then, and meet him, � answered his mother.
He rose bright and early, took a horse and a goodly supply of money, and departed.
His grandfather made no fuss over him; he hardly looked at him and said nothing. Cut to the quick by such a cold welcome, the young man said three or four months later, �What do you have against me, Grandfather? Why won�t you even talk to me? For you, I�d go and cut off the sorceress�s head. �
�That�s just what I wanted, � replied the grandfather, �for you to go and cut off the sorceress�s head. �
Now this sorceress was so hideous that all who laid eyes on her turned to stone, and the old king was certain that would be his grandson�s fate. The youth chose a fine horse, a goodly supply of money, and departed.
Along the way he met a little old man, who asked, �Where are you going, my boy?�
�To the sorceress, to cut off her head. �
�Oh, goodness me! For that you�ll need a horse that can fly, since you�ll have to go over a mountain swarming with lions and tigers that would devour you and your horse in a flash. �
�But where can I find a horse that flies?�
�Just a minute, and I�ll get you one, � replied the old man. He disappeared and returned with a magnificent flying horse.
�Now listen to me, � said the old man. �You cannot look directly at the sorceress, or you�ll turn to stone. You must watch her in a mirror, which I�ll now explain how to get. Walk down the road a little way and you�ll come to a marble palace and a garden of flowering peach trees. There you will see two blind women, who have only one eye between the two of them. Those women have the mirror you need. The sorceress spends her time in a meadow full of flowers, whose scent alone is enough to cast a spell over you. Beware of it. And look at the sorceress only in the mirror, or you�ll turn to stone. �
With the flying horse he hurdled the mountain infested with bears, tigers, and snakes, which all lunged after him. But he soared high and escaped them.
With the mountain behind him, he traveled and traveled and finally saw a marble palace in the distance. �That must be the blind women�s palace, � he said to himself. These blind women had only one eye between the two of them, and they passed it back and forth to one another. The young man didn�t dare knock, but went for a stroll in the garden while the women ate their dinner. When they�d finished, they too strolled into the garden, and he climbed a tree so they wouldn�t see him. They were in conversation, and the one who had the eye at the moment held it up to glance about her. �Oh, you should see these fine new mansions the king has built!� she exclaimed.
�Give me the eye, � replied her sister, �and let me look too. �
The woman held out the eye, and the young man reached down from the tree and took it.
�So you�re not giving it to me?� said the other sister. �You want to see everything all by yourself?�
�But I gave it to you!�
�No, you did not!�
�I put it right into your hand. �
They argued and argued until it dawned on them that neither sister had the eye. Then they said very loudly, �That means somebody�s in the garden and has taken our eye. If this person is here, please give us back our eye, since we have only one between the two of us. Name what you want in return, and we�ll reward you with it. �
The youth then came down the tree and said, �I took the eye. You must give me your mirror in exchange for it, since I have to kill the sorceress. �
�Gladly, � replied the blind women, �but you must first return the eye so we can find the mirror. � He courteously returned it, and the blind women went into the palace and came back out with the mirror, for which he thanked them and continued on his way.
On and on he traveled until the air grew sweet with flowers, and the nearer he got to them, the stronger the scent became. He reached a handsome palace in the middle of a meadow full of flowers. The sorceress was strolling in the meadow. He had meanwhile mounted his horse backward and looked at her only in the mirror, with his back to her. The sorceress, who was confident of her power to turn people to stone, did not run or make any effort to protect herself. Facing the other way and looking into the mirror, he rode right up to her, swung his sword around behind him, and cut off her head. Then he put the head into a bag out of sight. It had dripped a little blood, though, which changed into serpents on contact with the ground. Thanks to the flying horse, he got safely away.
He took a different road home, passing through a seaport along the way. Beside the sea was a chapel, which the youth entered and found a beautiful maiden dressed in mourning and weeping. At the sight of the young man, she cried, �Be gone! Be gone! If the dragon comes, he will eat you, too! I�m here waiting for him, since today it�s my turn to be eaten. He eats one person alive every day. �
�No, no, beautiful maiden, I will free you. �
�It�s impossible to kill a dragon like this one!� she said.
�Don�t be afraid. Jump up on my horse, � said the youth, and helped her into the saddle.
In that instant a great din and splashing was heard. The youth, after telling the maiden to close her eyes, pulled the sorceress�s head from the bag. Just as the dragon stuck his head out of the water, he saw the sorceress�s head, turned to stone, and sank to the bottom of the sea.
The maiden was the king�s daughter, and the king gave her in marriage to the young man, promising to make him his heir if he stayed there. But the youth thanked him and said he already had his own kingdom to which he had to return. He took the princess with him and went first to his grandfather, who was surprised and dismayed to see him come back alive.
�Grandfather, � said the youth, �didn�t you want me to go and cut off the sorceress�s head? I went, and I�ve brought it back to you. If you don�t believe me, just look!�
He pulled it from the bag, and his grandfather turned to stone. Then the young man went to his parents, and they all returned to the grandfather�s kingdom.
And there they lived a life happy and long,
But nothing did they ever give me for my song.