Perseus
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1):
(n.) A consellation of the northern hemisphere, near Taurus and Cassiopea. It contains a star cluster visible to the naked eye as a nebula.
(2):
(n.) A Grecian legendary hero, son of Jupiter and Danae, who slew the Gorgon Medusa.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [2]
PERSEUS. ‘King of Chittim,’ i.e . Macedonia ( 1Ma 8:5 ). His kingdom was brought to an end with his defeat by the Romans at Pydna (b.c. 168).
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [3]
the name of a Grecian character in mythology, was the son of Zeus and Danae, and grandson of Acrisius. Acrisius had been warned by an oracle that he should be killed by the hand of the son of Danae, so he shut her up in a brazen tower. Zeus visited her there in the form of a shower of gold, and became the father of Perseus. Hence his is called Aurigena. When Acrisius discovered the birth of the boy, he put both him and his mother into a chest and cast it into the sea, but Zeus carried it ashore at Seriphos (and there Perseus was brought up), one of the Cyclades, where Polydectes reigned, who, wishing to get rid of him to be free in his approaches to Danae, with whom he had become enamored, sent Perseus, when yet a youth, to bring the head of the Gorgon Medusa, on the pretense that he wanted to present it as a bridal gift to Hippodaania. Perseus set forth under the protection of Athena and Hermes, the former of whom gave him a mirror, by which he could see the monster without looking at her (for that would have changed him into stone); the latter, a sickle; while the nymphs provided him with winged sandals, and a helmet of hades, or invisible cap. After numerous wonderful adventures, he reached the abode of Medunsa, who dwelt near Tartessus, on the coast of the ocean, and succeeded in cutting off her head, which he put into a bag and carried off. On his return he visited Ethiopia, where he liberated and married Andromeda, by whom he subsequently had a numerous family, and arrived at Seriphos in time to rescue his mother from the annoyance of the too ardent addresses of Polydectes, whom, along with some of his companions, he changed into stone. After this he went to Argos, from which Acrisius fled to Thessaly, but Perseus followed him in disguise, hoping to persuade him to return. While taking part in the games there, he threw the discus in such a way that Acrisius was killed by it, without Perseus's intention. Then Perseus assumed the vacant throne. Perseus was worshipped as a hero in various parts of Greece, and according to Herodotus in Egypt too. In ancient works of art the figure of Perseus much resembles that of Hermes. See Vollmer, Mythologisches Worterbuch, s.v.; Mrs. Clement, Sacred and Legendary Art and Mythol. p. 478, 479.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [4]
pûr´sūs , pûr´sḗ - us ( Περσεύς , Perseús ): In 1 Maccabees 8:5 the conquest of "Perseus, king of the Citims" (the Revised Version (British and American) "king of Chittim") was part of the "fame of the Romans" which reached the ears of Judas. This Perseus, the son and successor of Philippians 3 of Macedonia, came to the throne in 178 Bc and was the last king of Maccedonia. In 171 Bc began the war with Rome which ended in his disastrous defeat and capture at Pydna, 168 Bc (to which 1 Maccabees 8:5 refers), by L. Aemilius Paulus. Macedonia soon became a Roman province. Perseus was led to Rome to grace the triumph of his conqueror, by whose clemency he was spared, and died in captivity at Rome (Polyb. xxix. 17; Livy xliv. 40 ff).
Kittim or Chittim, properly of the people of the town of Citium in Cyprus, then signifying Cyprians, and extended by Jewish writers (Genesis 10:4; Numbers 24:24; Isaiah 23:1; Jeremiah 2:10; Ezekiel 27:6; Daniel 11:30; Josephus, Ant. , I, vi) to include the coasts of Greece generally, is here applied to Maccdonia. In 1 Macc 1:1 Macedonia (or Greece) is called "the land of Chittim."
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [5]
In the Greek mythology the son of Zeus and Danaë, and the grandson of Acrisius, king of Argos, of whom it was predicted before his birth that he would kill his grandfather, who at his birth enclosed both his mother and him in a chest and cast it into the sea, which bore them to an island where they became slaves of the king, Polydectes, who sought to marry Danaë; failing in his suit, and to compel her to submission, he ordered Perseus off to fetch him the head of the Medusa; who, aided by Hermes and Athena, was successful in his mission, cut off the head of the Medusa with the help of a mirror and sickle, brought it away with him in a pouch, and after delivering and marrying Andromeda in his return journey, exposed the head before Polydectes and court at a banquet, which turned them all into stone, whereupon he gave the Gorgon's head to Athena to place on her shield, and set out for Argos; Acrisius hearing of his approach fled, but was afterwards killed accidentally by his grandson, who in throwing a discus had crushed his foot.
