Perseus and Andromeda

After slaying Medusa, Perseus flew southward on his winged sandals and came upon an astonishing sight: a beautiful young woman chained to a sea cliff, waves crashing at her feet, awaiting death.‍​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‌​‍​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌ She was Andromeda, princess of Aethiopia, daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia had boasted that her daughter's beauty surpassed that of the Nereids, the sea nymphs. The Nereids complained to Poseidon, who punished the kingdom by sending a devastating flood and a sea monster (kētos) to ravage the coast. The oracle of Ammon declared that only the sacrifice of Andromeda to the monster would appease the god. Cepheus, in despair, chained his daughter to the rocks. Perseus, arriving just as the monster rose from the waves, struck a bargain with Cepheus: he would save Andromeda in exchange for her hand in marriage. Accounts differ on how Perseus defeated the beast — some say he slew it with the harpe from the air, swooping down like an eagle; others say he petrified it by revealing Medusa's head. In either version, Andromeda was freed and the kingdom saved. At the wedding feast, Andromeda's former betrothed Phineus arrived with armed men to claim her by force. Perseus drew forth the Gorgon's head and turned Phineus and his followers to stone. Perseus and Andromeda returned together to Seriphos, where he similarly petrified King Polydectes for having persecuted his mother Danaë. After all his labours, Perseus gave the divine gifts back to the gods and the Gorgon's head to Athena, who mounted it on her aegis. Perseus and Andromeda ruled together and were eventually placed among the stars as neighbouring constellations.