The Gorgon’s Head and Perseus
The Greek’s myth has great influence on both English literature and idioms. On the other side, the stories have always been attractive and interesting. The story I read this time is The Gorgon’s head. This story is mainly talking about a young man who is skillful in using weapons and was demanded to finish a difficult task by a mean king. In the beginning of the story, Perseus, the young man and his mother, Danäe, were rescued by a kind-hearted fisherman. After Perseus grew up, the wicked king, who is also the fisherman’s brother, asked Perseus to repay him and his brother in some way. As a result, Perseus was made to obtain the Gorgon Medusa’s head as a payment to the king.
During the process of getting the Gorgon Medusa’s head, Perseus was very upset and worried at first, since he knew that the Gorgon Medusa was very terrible. While he was thinking about the solution to the problem, Quicksilver came to help, who had helped a lot of young men. He told Perseus the methods to get the Gorgon’s head and had Athene to help him. Although they had met a lot of difficulties and challenges, Perseus had reached the goal at the end. As soon as he got the Gorgon Medusa’s head, he made the wicked king and his cruel man into stone statue by showing them the Medusa’s head.
The story has inspired me several important things. One is that evil couldn’t defeat the good at the end. The other is once a person wants to success; he will definitely win some help. As the saying goes, “God help those who help themselves.” In the beginning of the story, Perseus seems to be lonely and helpless. Luckily, he received Quicksilver and Athene’s help so that he could obtain the Gorgon Medusa’s head. The third thing I have learned is that, no matter how difficult the task is, we have to do our best to finish it. As Perseus did, when he accepted the king’s demand, he has been teased by the people who looked down on him at first, but he has struggled to complete the task and hasn’t given up until he finished it. I really look up to him because he reached his goal and hasn’t put it away until the last minute. This kind of spirit is what we should learn. Besides learning not to give up easily, we have to learn how to bear stress. Perseus also felt stressful when he first received the mission, he told himself to go over it. Learning how to overcome pressure is very important for all of us.
“The Gorgon’s head” is not only a myth. In addition to the interesting story, the writer has also conveys some sensible reasons through it. By readings these western mythologies, we can not only improve our reading ability but also learn lots of life-long truth.
