“I swear it by the beard of Zeus.” A little while later Perseus stumbled home across the sands to find his mother waiting up for him. “You’re late, darling.” “Mum, what’s a ‘Medusa’?” “Perseus, have you been drinking?” “Maybe. Just a cup or two.” “A hiccup or two, by the sound of it.” “No, but seriously, what’s a Medusa?” “Why do you want to know?” “I heard the name and wondered, that’s all.” “If you’ll stop pacing around like a caged lion and sit down, I’ll tell you,” said Danaë. “Medusa, so they say, was a beautiful young woman who was taken and ravished by the sea god Poseidon.”7
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