Cepheus
Ethiopian king who chained his own daughter Andromeda to a rock to appease Poseidon's sea monster.
The Legend of Cepheus
He chained his own daughter to a rock to be eaten alive — because his wife would not stop bragging. Cepheus was king of Ethiopia (or Joppa) and husband of the vain Cassiopeia. When Poseidon sent a sea monster to punish Cassiopeia's boast, the oracle of Ammon said only Andromeda's sacrifice would stop it. Cepheus, weeping, chained his daughter to the coastal rocks. Perseus arrived and negotiated: he would kill the monster in exchange for Andromeda's hand. Cepheus agreed. But at the wedding, he supported Phineus's attempt to reclaim Andromeda, breaking his word. Perseus turned the attackers to stone. Athena placed Cepheus in the sky near his wife and daughter — the family reunited as stars.
Parents
Belus
Children
Andromeda
Symbols
Fun Fact
The constellation Cepheus sits near Cassiopeia and Andromeda — the entire family drama is mapped in the sky.
Explore Further
Cepheus
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Aethiopia who nearly sacrificed his daughter Andromeda to a sea monster
Andromeda
🗡 heroPrincess chained to a rock, saved by Perseus
Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess chained to a sea cliff as sacrifice to a monster — rescued by Perseus, who petrified the beast with Medusa's head.
Andromeda
🗡 herorescue
Ethiopian princess chained to a rock as sacrifice to a sea monster, rescued by Perseus, and placed among the stars.
Cassiopeia
🗡 heroQueen whose vanity endangered her daughter
Cassiopeia was the queen who boasted her beauty exceeded the sea nymphs — provoking Poseidon to demand her daughter Andromeda as sacrifice.
Cassiopeia
🗡 heroNone recorded
Vain queen of Aethiopia whose boast brought a sea monster upon her kingdom
Peleus
🗡 heroMortal who married a goddess
The king of Phthia who wrestled and won the sea-nymph Thetis, fathering Achilles — the greatest warrior of the Trojan War.
Pandion
🗡 herokingship
King of Athens who married off his daughters Procne and Philomela, both of whom suffered terribly at the hands of Tereus.
Perseus
🗡 heroHero who slew Medusa
The son of Zeus and Danae who beheaded Medusa, rescued Andromeda, and founded the Perseid dynasty of Mycenae.
Erechtheus
🗡 herokingship
Legendary king of Athens who sacrificed his own daughter to win a war and was killed by Poseidon's trident.
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Telegonus
🗡 herotragedy
Son of Odysseus and Circe who unknowingly killed his own father, fulfilling a prophecy that death would come to Odysseus from the sea.
Icarius
🗡 heroNone recorded
A legendary king of Sparta and father of Penelope who tried to prevent his daughter from leaving with Odysseus after her marriage