The Andromeda Rock is a rock jutting out of the Mediterranean in front of the old town of Jaffa, in present-day Israel, where it serves as a local tourist attraction. According to Greek mythology, this was the site where King Cepheus's daughter Andromeda was chained and sacrificed to a sea monster, but was timely rescued by Perseus, who then married Andromeda. [1] [2]
The name Andromeda Rock originates from Greek mythology, which recounts that Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess whose mother, Cassiopeia, daughter of the wind god Aeolus, married the founder of the city Cepheus. When her mother boasted of her daughter's great beauty, she incurred the wrath of Poseidon, god of the sea, who believed his daughters were more beautiful than Andromeda. He stirred up waves that threatened to destroy the city, and to appease him. Andromeda was chained to a rock on the seashore and given as a sacrifice to the sea monster. The hero Perseus freed her from her chains and killed the sea monster that wanted to devour Andromeda using the head of Medusa, which turned anyone who looked at it into stone. [3]
Ze'ev Vilnai in his book "Legends of the Land of Israel" describes this legend in another version, according to which a terrible fish lived in the sea opposite the shores of Jaffa that sank ships and killed many sailors, and its wrath was only appeased if the most beautiful of Jaffa's daughters was sacrificed to it each year. One year Andromeda was chosen as the annual sacrifice and chained in iron chains to the rock on the beach. As the fish approached to swallow her, her lover Perseus appeared, riding a winged horse, killed the fish with his sword and saved Andromeda. [3]
Pliny the Elder, from the 1st century BCE, tells of the rib of the fish, named Cetus, which was 40 feet long and was brought to Rome, and of the city of Jaffa, saying And in front of it is found a rock which shows marks made by the chains with which Andromeda was bound to it. In Jaffa the cult of the mythical goddess called Cetus was widespread.
There is also an ancient legend states that Japheth son of Noah built the city of Jaffa even before the Flood, and that Noah's grave is under the rock that is within the sea of Jaffa.
An ancient legend states that Japheth son of Noah built the city of Jaffa even before the Flood, and that Noah's grave is under the rock that is within the sea of Jaffa. Professor Nahum Slouschz wrote:
"A legend... according to which the city of Jaffa was built by the three sons of Noah who dwelt there. And on one of the rocks found about a parasang [ancient Persian unit of length] within the sea Noah their father is buried underneath a rock to which the Greek myth's giant Andromedus chained [Andromeda]...". [4]
In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the daughter of Cepheus, the king of Aethiopia, and his wife, Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she is more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sends the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast of Aethiopia as divine punishment. Queen Cassiopeia understands that chaining Andromeda to a rock as a human sacrifice is what will appease Poseidon. Perseus finds her as he is coming back from his quest to decapitate Medusa, and brings her back to Greece to marry her and let her reign as his queen. With the head of Medusa, Perseus petrifies Cetus to stop it from terrorizing the coast any longer.
In Ancient Greek ketos, Latinized as cetus, is any huge sea monster. According to the mythology, Perseus slew a cetus to save Andromeda from being sacrificed to it. The term cetacean derives from cetus. In Greek art, ceti were depicted as serpentine fish. The name of the mythological figure Ceto is derived from kētos. The name of the constellation Cetus also derives from this word.
Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy, and one of the 88 modern constellations. Located in the northern celestial hemisphere, it is named for Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopeia, in the Greek myth, who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus. Andromeda is most prominent during autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, along with several other constellations named for characters in the Perseus myth. Because of its northern declination, Andromeda is visible only north of 40° south latitude; for observers farther south, it lies below the horizon. It is one of the largest constellations, with an area of 722 square degrees. This is over 1,400 times the size of the full moon, 55% of the size of the largest constellation, Hydra, and over 10 times the size of the smallest constellation, Crux.
In Greek mythology, Perseus is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles.
Clash of the Titans is a 1981 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Desmond Davis and written by Beverley Cross, loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Starring Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier, the film features the final work of stop-motion visual effects artist Ray Harryhausen.
Princess and dragon is an archetypical premise common to many legends, fairy tales, and chivalric romances. Northrop Frye identified it as a central form of the quest romance.
In Greek mythology, Cepheus was the name of two rulers of Aethiopia, grandfather and grandson.
Iris Bannochie was a Barbadian horticulturalist who was the leading expert on horticulture on the island of Barbados.
Astronomy is the fourth studio album by Swedish power metal band Dragonland, released in Europe on 13 November 2006 and in North America on 28 November 2006. While their third album Starfall focused heavily on keyboards and had a more upbeat lyrical tone, according to guitarist Olof Mörck, Astronomy is "gloomier, more stygian and packed with crunching guitars; both furiously fast and bone-grindingly heavy."
Persée (Perseus) is a tragédie lyrique with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault, first performed on 18 April 1682 by the Opéra at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.
The Double Cluster consists of the open clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884, which are close together in the constellation Perseus. Both visible with the naked eye, NGC 869 and NGC 884 lie at a distance of about 7,500 light years in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
Star lore or starlore is the creating and cherishing of mythical stories about the stars and star patterns ; that is, folklore based upon the stars and star patterns. Using the stars to explain religious doctrines or actual events in history is also defined as star lore. Star lore has a very long history; it has been practiced by nearly every culture recorded in history, dating as far back as 5,500 years ago. It was practiced by prehistoric cultures of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods as well.
Andromeda is a lost tragedy written by Euripides, based on the myth of Andromeda and first produced in 412 BC, in a trilogy that also included Euripides' Helen. Andromeda may have been the first depiction on stage of a young man falling in love with a woman. The play has been lost; however, a number of fragments are extant. In addition, a number of ancient sources refer to the play, including several references in plays by Aristophanes.
Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1630) is a 34 cm × 24.5 cm oil-on-panel painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt. It is now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands. Andromeda represents Rembrandt's first full length mythological female nude history painting and is taken from a story in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
In Greek mythology, Phineus was a son of Belus by Anchinoe and thus brother to Aegyptus, Danaus and Cepheus.
Perseus and Andromeda is a 1622 painting in the Hermitage Museum by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens of the ancient Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda after the former's defeat of the Gorgon. The composition is similar to that of an earlier painting by Rubens, Perseus frees Andromeda.
Perseus and Andromeda is an oil painting by Lord Frederic Leighton. Completed in 1891, the year it was displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts, it depicts the Greek mythological story of Andromeda. In contrast to the basis of a classical tale, Leighton used a Gothic style for the artwork. The painting is in the collection of National Museums Liverpool at the Walker Art Gallery.
Cassiopeia or Cassiepeia, a figure in Greek mythology, was Queen of Aethiopia and wife of King Cepheus. She was arrogant and vain, characteristics that led to her downfall.
Perseus and Andromeda is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Titian, now in the Wallace Collection in London. It was painted in 1554–1556 as part of a series of mythological paintings called "poesie" ("poetry") intended for King Philip II of Spain. The paintings took subjects from the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses, in this case Book IV, lines 663–752, and all featured female nudes.
Perseus and Andromeda is a 1723 oil on canvas painting by the French artist François Lemoyne (1688-1737), measuring 184 by 151 cm. It is now in the Wallace Collection in London, which also houses Titian's version of the same subject, whose composition Lemoyne borrowed and reversed for his work.