Everything about Andromeda Mythology totally explained
» For other uses, see Andromeda.
Andromeda was a woman from
Greek mythology who was chained to a rock to be a sacrifice to a sea monster as divine punishment for her mother's bragging. She was saved from death by
Perseus, her future husband. Her name is the
Latinized form of the Greek
Ανδρομέδη (
Andromēde). The
etymology of the name is "to think of a man," from
ανδρός (
andros) "man" combined with
μήδομαι (
mēdomai) "to think, to be mindful of."
Myth
In
Greek mythology, Andromeda was the daughter of
Cepheus and
Cassiopeia, king and queen of the
Phoenician kingdom
Ethiopia.
Her mother Cassiopeia bragged that she was more beautiful than the
Nereids, the
nymph-daughters of the sea god
Nereus and often seen accompanying
Poseidon. To punish the Queen for her arrogance, Poseidon, brother to Zeus and God of the Sea, sent a sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the coast of
Ethiopia and the kingdom of the vain Queen. The desperate King consulted the
Ammon, the
Oracle of Zeus, who announced that no respite would be found until the king sacrificed his virgin daughter Andromeda to the monster. She was duly chained to a rock on the coast.
Perseus, returning from having slain the
Gorgon Medusa, found Andromeda and slew the monster Cetus. He set her free, and married her in spite of Andromeda having been previously promised to
Phineus. At the wedding a quarrel took place between the rivals, and Phineus was turned to stone by the sight of the Gorgon's head (
Ovid,
Metamorphoses v. 1).
Andromeda followed her husband to
Tiryns in
Argos, and together they became the ancestors of the family of the
Perseidae through the line of their son Perses. Perseus and Andromeda had six sons
Perseides,
Perses,
Alcaeus,
Heleus,
Mestor,
Sthenelus, and
Electryon, and one daughter,
Gorgophone. Their descendants ruled Mycenae from
Electryon down to
Eurystheus, after whom
Atreus attained the kingdom, and would also include the great hero
Heracles. According to this mythology, Perses is the ancestor of the
Persians.
After her death she was placed by
Athena amongst the
constellations in the northern sky, near Perseus and
Cassiopeia.
Sophocles and
Euripides (and in more modern times
Corneille) made the story the subject of tragedies. The tale is represented in numerous ancient works of art.
Constellations
Andromeda is represented in the northern sky by the
constellation Andromeda which contains the
Andromeda Galaxy.
Four constellations are associated with the myth. Viewing the fainter stars, visible to the naked eye, the constellations are rendered as:
- A large man wearing a crown, upside down with respect to the ecliptic. (The constellation Cepheus)
- A smaller figure, next to the man, sitting on a chair. As it's near the pole star, it can be seen the whole year, although sometimes upside down. (The constellation Cassiopeia)
- A maiden, chained up, facing/turning away from the ecliptic. (The constellation Andromeda), next to Pegasus.
- A sea monster just under the ecliptic. (The constellation Cetus)
Other constellations related to the story are:
Perseus
The constellation Pegasus, who was born from the stump of Medusa's neck, after Perseus had decapitated her.
The constellation Pisces, which may have been treated as two fish caught by Dictys the fisherman who was brother of Polydectes king of Seriphos where Perseus and his mother Danaë were stranded.
Portrayals of the myth
Sophocles and Euripides (and in more modern times Corneille) made the story the subject of tragedies, and its incidents were represented in numerous ancient works of art.
The 1981 film Clash of the Titans retells the story of Perseus, Andromeda, and Cassiopeia, but makes a few changes (notably Cassiopeia boasts that her daughter is more beautiful than Thetis as opposed to the Nereids as a group). Thetis was a Nereid, but also the future mother of Achilles. Andromeda is also depicted as being strong-willed, whereas in the stories she's only really mentioned as being the princess whom Perseus saves from the sea monster. Also, a subplot about Thetis' son Calibos was added to the plot of the film. However, he more closely resembles Caliban from Shakespeare's Tempest than any creature truly found in Greek myth.
Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera Persée also dramatizes the myth. At the port city of Jaffa, Israel, an outcropping of rocks near the harbour is reputed by local legend to have been the place from which Andromeda was rescued by Perseus.
Sources
Apollodorus, Bibliotheke II, iv, 3-5.
Ovid, Metamorphoses IV, 668-764.
Edith Hamilton, Mythology, Part Three, 204-207.Further Information
Get more info on 'Andromeda Mythology'.
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