Perseus
A son of Jupiter and Danae, the daughter of Acrisius. It had been predicted by the oracle that Acrisius was to perish by his daughter's offspring, so Perseus, soon after his birth, was, with his mother Danae, thrown into the sea. Both were saved, and reached the island of Seriphos, where they were treated kindly by Polydectes, the king, who, however, soon became jealous of the genius of Perseus. Perseus had promised Polydectes to bring him the head of the Gorgon Medusa. To enable him to obtain this, Pluto lent him a helmet which made the wearer invisible, Minerva gave him her buckler, and Mercury furnished him with wings. Thus equipped he found the Gorgons, and cut off Medusa's head, with which he fled through the air, and from the blood which dropped from it sprang the horse Pegasus. During his flight Perseus discovered Andromeda chained to a rock to be devoured by a sea monster, which he destroyed, and married Andromeda. He now returned to Seriphos, where he turned into stone Polydectes by showing him Medusa's head. By an accident, in throwing a quoit, he killed Acrisius, thus fulfilling the prediction of the oracle.
Perseus or Perses. A son of Philip, king of Macedonia. He distinguished himself by his enmity to the Romans, and when he had made sufficient preparations he declared war against them. He, however, wanted courage and resolution, and though he at first obtained some advantages over the Roman armies, his timidity proved destructive to his cause. He was defeated at Pydna, and soon after was taken prisoner, and died in prison at Rome.
Persicus Sinus, Persicum Mare. The name given by the later geographers to the great gulf of the Mare Erythraeum (Indian Ocean), extending between the coast of Arabia and the opposite coast of Susiana, Persis, and Carmania, now called the Persian Gulf.
Persis (Persia). Originally a small district of Asia, bounded on the southwest by the Persian Gulf, on the northwest and north by Susiana, Media, and Parthia, and on the east towards Carmania by no definite boundaries in the desert. In reading the Roman poets, it must be remembered that they constantly use Persae, as well as Medi, as a general term for the peoples east of the Euphrates and Tigris, and especially for the