Danaë was a princess of Argos, the daughter of King Acrisius and mother of Perseus.
Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes
Danaë was born to King Acrisius of Argos and his wife Eurydice. When the Oracle of Delphi foresaw that she would birth a son who would one day kill her father, she was locked in a small bronze cell with only a hole for air and a flap for meals. She was not allowed to be released and her father kept the only key.
One day, she was praying and caught the attention of Zeus and the two had a brief relationship that resulted in the birth of a boy. When the king found out her father had mother and son put in a trunk and sent it out to sea. They survived with the help of Zeus and Poseidon before being fished out the sea by Dictys, brother of the king of Serifos, Polydectes. He brought the mother and son to his brother who, knowing who she was and that her father was sonless, decided to give her shelter on his island so he could marry her and become king of both Argos and Serifos. However, he did not notice she had an infant son until after he agreed to shelter her and sent him to live at the Temple of Athena on the other end of the city.
She and her son were kept separated for seventeen years before Polydectus created a plan to get rid of Perseus by having the son of Zeus bring the head of Medusa as a wedding present and the demigod accepted. Just as she was about to be forcibly wed to the king, her son returned and used the head to petrify everyone at the wedding except for her, Andromeda, and Dictys.
Later, the three went back to Argos, Perseus became the king and everybody lived happily ever after.
Trivia
- Danaë may be the inspiration for Sally Jackson.