Danae

This article is about an Argive princess and mother of Perseus. You may be looking for a Spartan girl of the 5th century BCE.

Danaë visited by Zeus, a painting by Titian

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Danae was the daughter of King of Argos Akrisios and the mother of the hero Perseus in Greek mythology.

Biography

The only child of Akrisios, Danae was locked in a room of bronze when the Delphic Oracle prophesied that Akrisios would be killed by his own grandson. The god Zeus saw Danae, though, and smitten by her beauty, he visited her in the form of golden rain.

In fullness of time, Danae gave birth to a boy, and trying to prevent the prophecy, Akrisios had them both shut into a crate and cast into the sea. The fisherman Diktys found them, and took them under his wing, raising Perseus.

Influence

5th century BCE

The stories of Perseus' life, including Danae, lived long past their time. Within the Temple of Dionysos Kolonatas in Sparta, Lakonia, relics allegedly related to them were kept, including a piece from the wooden crate Danae and Perseus had been locked up in. The misthios Kassandra was charged by Damia, a member of the Spartan nobility, to tell the story of Perseus to her children Danae and Kristos and their friends.

2010s

In 2010s Clay Kaczmarek included Danae, as well as her son Perseus, in a set of puzzles he'd hidden within the Animus for his follower to find. In Clay's puzzle it was suggested that Danae's story was one of those in which "The seeds were planted as two worlds became one."

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (Glyphs only)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only)