Cetus 'Perseus' Andromeda Myth

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Recommended: Constellations in ancient Greece

Cetus deserves mention because some say the constellation represents the sea monster sent to Ethiopia as punishment for the boasting of Queen Cassiopeia. The monster nearly kills Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia and Cepheus, but is itself killed by the hero Perseus.

More frequently, though, Cetus is represented as a whale, which implies no connection to the Andromeda myth--though it certainly is possible that the ancients perceived whales as monstrous creatures. Either way, the constellation is appropriately a large one, and is relegated to the southern sky--far from Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus.

When Queen Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, this invoked the wrath of Poseidon who sent the sea monster Cetus to attack Ethiopia. Upon consulting a wise oracle, King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia were told to sacrifice Andromeda to Cetus. They had Andromeda chained to a rock near the ocean so that Cetus could devour her. Perseus found Andromeda chained to the rock and learned of her plight. When Cetus emerged from the ocean to devour Andromeda, Perseus managed to slay it. In one version, Perseus drove his sword into Cetus' back. In another version, Perseus used Medusa's head to turn Cetus to stone. …show more content…

Zeus or Poseidon created the dragon as punishment for Cepheus and Cassiopea, the royal couple of Joppa because Cassiopea boasted that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the goddesses and the Nereids, or sea nymphs. Depending on the source, either the Nereids petitioned Poseidon for retaliation or the gods demanded

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