ABSTRACT
Whether or not Perseus was indeed a greater hero than his greatgrandson Heracles, he has remained at the forefront of the western imagination since emerging into it in ca. 700 bc. His story was celebrated in poetry, prose, drama and art throughout antiquity, and in ever wider swathes of the ancient world as power passed from the Greek east to the Latin west. Even in dark medieval days Perseus’ tradition remained a living one in the fine star-pictures that illustrated astronomical and astrological codices. With the Renaissance, Perseus came to flourish again in all media, painting not least, reaching a crescendo of popularity in the Victorian age.
