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Figures in the ancient sources

Andromeda in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Andromeda

20 passages from 10 ancient authors that tell of Andromeda, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Andromeda's beauty led to a curse, a monster, and a rescue by Perseus. Explore her lineage, her marriage and her legacy in art and literature. For the story in one place, read our article on Andromeda.

Apollodorus (1)

  1. Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.4.1–5Perseus: Danae, Medusa and AndromedaAn oracle tells Acrisius that his daughter's son will kill him, so he shuts Danae in a brazen chamber, but she bears Perseus to Zeus and is cast into the sea with him in a chest. On Seriphus, Polydectes sends Perseus to fetch the Gorgon's head; with help from Hermes and Athena he gets the nymphs' gear from the Phorcides and beheads Medusa, from whom Pegasus and Chrysaor spring. He rescues Andromeda from a sea monster, turns Polydectes to stone, and accidentally kills Acrisius with a discus at Larissa, so fulfilling the oracle. The section ends with Perseus's descendants and the birth of Eurystheus.

Aristophanes (2)

  1. Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 1001–1135Episode: Andromeda and EchoBound to the plank, Mnesilochus plays the chained Andromeda and sings a lament, and Euripides answers from hiding in the part of Echo, repeating his words until the Scythian archer is baffled. Euripides then enters as Perseus to rescue the captive, but the Scythian refuses to let him loosen the prisoner and threatens him with a sword, and Euripides leaves.
  2. Aristophanes, Frogs 38–79Prologue: Heracles laughs at the disguise; Dionysus longs for EuripidesHeracles bursts out laughing at Dionysus dressed in a lion's skin and buskins. Dionysus says that he was serving on a ship and was reading Euripides' Andromeda when a sudden longing came over him, and he explains it with a comparison to a craving for soup. Heracles suggests Sophocles instead, but Dionysus wants to test Iophon first, and says that the longing is for the dead Euripides.

Ovid (2)

  1. Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.663–801Perseus and AndromedaPerseus sees Andromeda, chained to a rock to be devoured by a sea-monster because her mother Cassiope boasted of her beauty. He strikes the monster from the air with his sword, kills it, and wins Andromeda, and her parents agree to the marriage. He lays the Gorgon's head on a bed of seaweed, which turns to coral, and sets up altars to Athena (Minerva), Hermes (Mercury) and Zeus (Jupiter). At the wedding feast he tells how Medusa won her serpent hair.
  2. Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.1–148Perseus' wedding feast: the battleWhile Perseus is telling his story at the wedding feast, her former suitor Phineus bursts into the hall with an armed band and claims Andromeda. Perseus pleads that Phineus did nothing when she was chained to the rock, but Phineus hurls a spear, and a fierce battle begins, in which many are killed. Perseus kills many, but the numbers against him are too great.

Nonnus of Panopolis (2)

  1. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 25.80–193Book 25: The feats of Perseus and Minos set against those of DionysosThe poet continues the comparison with Perseus, setting his sea-monster, Polydectes and Andromeda against Dionysos' defeat of the Giants. He contrasts Minos' conquest of Megara, won through Scylla's love, with a victory won by hard fighting, and turns to Heracles, whose Nemean lion was matched by the boy Dionysos with his team of lions.
  2. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 47.496–593Book 47: An Argive taunts Dionysos; Hera arms PerseusAn Argive mocks Dionysos, setting Perseus the Gorgon-slayer against him and urging him to go back to Thebes. Hera, taking the shape of the seer Melampus, urges Perseus to defend Argos, and Argos's heroes muster. Dionysos arms his Bacchants and Satyrs and protects himself with a gem against the Gorgon's gaze.

[Eratosthenes] (3)

  1. [Eratosthenes], Catasterismi (Constellation Myths) 13–16The Charioteer, the Bull, Cepheus and CassiepeiaThe Charioteer is Erichthonius, born from Hephaestus's failed pursuit of Athena, and with him are the Goat and Kids of Zeus's infancy. The Bull is either Zeus's bull of Europa or an image of Io, and the Pleiad is explained from the Atlantid sisters. Cepheus and Cassiepeia belong to the story of Andromeda and the sea monster.
  2. [Eratosthenes], Catasterismi (Constellation Myths) 17–21Andromeda, the Horse, the Ram, the Triangle and the FishesAndromeda, saved by Perseus, and the Horse (Pegasus, or Hippe, daughter of Cheiron) are followed by the Ram that carried Phrixus and Helle. The Triangle is explained as the letter Delta, both for Zeus and for the shape of Egypt, and the Fishes are the offspring of the great Fish.
  3. [Eratosthenes], Catasterismi (Constellation Myths) 34–38The Hare, the Argo, the Sea Monster, the River and the FishThe Hare, the first ship Argo and the sea monster of the Andromeda myth are described briefly with their stars. The River is Eridanus or the Nile, and the great Fish is said to have saved Derceto, the Syrian goddess.

Aratus (2)

  1. Aratus, Phaenomena 116–265Justice leaves the earth; Auriga, Andromeda and PerseusThe Maiden Justice leaves the earth as the Golden, Silver and Bronze Races succeed one another, and takes her place in the sky. Aratus then places the Twins, the Crab and the Lion, and describes Auriga with the Goat and the Kids, the Bull and the Hyades, and the family of Cepheus: Cepheus, Cassiepeia and Andromeda. He continues with the Horse and the spring Hippocrene, the Ram, the Deltoton and the Fishes, and with Perseus and the Pleiades, whose seven names are given.
  2. Aratus, Phaenomena 571–737Risings and settings of the constellationsAratus tells which constellations set and which rise as each sign of the Zodiac rises, from the Crab to the Twins, among them Ophiuchus, Boötes, Orion, Cetus, Cepheus, Cassiepeia and Perseus. In explaining why Orion flees when the Scorpion rises, he tells how Orion offended Artemis in Chios and was killed by the Scorpion. The section ends by turning to the Moon's phases as a guide to the month.

Conon (1)

  1. Conon, Narrations 37.1–43.1Cadmus, Melanthus and AndromedaConon replaces the myth of Cadmus with a political voyage, and a Milesian banker's hollow staff exposes a false oath. Melanthus wins the kingship of Athens by a strange single combat against Xanthus. Andromeda's rescue, the Pelasgian foundations of Antandrus and Cyzicus, Stesichorus' fable of the horse and the deer and the pious sons of Catana complete the section.

Hyginus (5)

  1. Hyginus, De astronomia 3.9.1–3.15.1Book 3: Cassiepia to the EagleThe next group describes Cassiepia, Andromeda, Perseus, the Charioteer, Ophiuchus with his Serpent, the Arrow and the Eagle. Hyginus defends Aratus's word for Perseus against those who took it to mean that the hero was dusty.
  2. Hyginus, Fabulae 49–65Asclepius, Admetus, the sufferers of the underworld, and PerseusAsclepius and Admetus lead into a run of short tales: Aegina, Tityus, Busiris, Stheneboea, Smyrna and Phyllis. Sisyphus, Salmoneus and Ixion are shown with their punishments, and Danae, Andromeda and Alcyone close the group.
  3. Hyginus, De astronomia 4.11.1–4.12.12Book 4: Why stars set later, and what rises with each signThe first part explains why stars near the northern pole set later than those near the southern. The second goes through the twelve signs one by one, saying which other constellations rise and which are hidden as each sign rises.
  4. Hyginus, De astronomia 2.9.1–2.13.7Book 2: Cepheus, Cassiepia, Andromeda, Perseus and the CharioteerThe family of Andromeda and Perseus, rescued from the sea monster, is placed among the stars in four short chapters, with the story of Perseus and the Gorgons. The Charioteer is Erichthonius, born of Hephaestus's desire for Athena, and the chapter ends with the Goat and the Kids, Amalthea and the aegis.
  5. Hyginus, De astronomia 3.16.1–3.23.1Book 3: The Dolphin to the LionThe Dolphin, the Horse and the Triangle lead into the twelve signs of the zodiac, beginning with the Ram. The Ram, the Bull, the Twins, the Crab and the Lion are each described with their stars.

Lucian of Samosata (1)

  1. Lucian of Samosata, Dialogues of the Sea-Gods 9.1–15.4The floating island; Xanthus; Io; Danae; Andromeda; EuropaIris brings Zeus's order to raise the floating island on which Leto is to give birth, and the river Xanthus complains to the Sea that Hephaestus has burnt him. The South Wind and the West Wind discuss Zeus's love for Io, Doris and Thetis pity Danae set adrift in a chest, and Triton tells the Nereids that Perseus has killed the monster sent against Andromeda. The winds describe the bull that carried Europa to Crete.

Strabo (1)

  1. Strabo, Geography 16.2.25–33From Ptolemais to Pelusium: Joppa and GazaStrabo follows the coast from Ptolemais, with its glass-making sand, past Mount Carmel to Joppa, where some place the exposure of Andromeda to the sea-monster. He names Gadara and Ascalon with their philosophers, Gaza razed by Alexander, Rhinocolura and its mutilated colonists, and Casium, where Pompey the Great is buried. He ends with Artemidorus' distances.