ARGUMENT.
Perseus was the Son of Jupiter by Danae,
whom he deceived under the Form of a
Shower of Gold. Acrisius, the Father of Danae,
exposed her and her Son Perseus in a Chest on
the Sea, for fear of a Prediction (which Perseus
afterwards fulfill'd) that he should be
slain by his Grandson; but the Lady and her
Son were, notwithstanding, by the Care of Jupiter
preserved. When Perseus came of Age, he was
presented by Mercury with a Falchion and Pair
of Wings, by Minerva with the celebrated Shield
Ægis: And thus equipp'd and mounted on Pegasus,
he set out in quest of Adventures. His
first was against the Gorgons, whom he overcame;
and cutting off the Head of Medusa,
which had the miraculous Property of turning
whoever look'd on it into Stone, he placed it
on his Shield, and by the Force thereof transformed
Atlas into a Rock. After this Atchievement,
flying to the Ethiopian Shore, he
there found Andromeda naked, and chained to
a Rock by the Sea-side. This Lady was the
Daughter of Cepheus King of Ethiopia by
Cassiope, who having been imprudent enough
to rival the Nymphs in Beauty, they in Revenge
caused her Daughter Andromeda to be
thus bound and exposed to the Fury of a Sea-Monster;
her Father and Mother at the Time
of Perseus's Arrival were standing by her, deploring
their Misfortunes: The Hero after
hearing her Story, promised, on Condition of
her becoming his Wife, to release her: But
while they were speaking, the Monster with a
prodigious roaring and lashing the Waves with
his Tail, approached the Shore: Perseus immediately
attack'd him, and a most terrible
Combat ensued; but at last he slew the Monster,
and delivered the Lady. The joyful Parents
performed their Promise of giving him
their Daughter; and the Marriage of Perseus
and Andromeda being solemnized with the utmost
Magnificence, they resigned to him their
Kingdom.
