Acrisius (Ancient Greek: Ἀκρίσιος) was a mythical king of Argos. He was the father of Danaë and thus maternal grandfather of Perseus. He was eventually killed by his grandson. His brother Proetus originally shared the kingship with him until Acrisius was forced to expel him. Proetus approached his father-in-law, King Iobates of Lycia, for an army but Acrisius made peace with his brother and gave him half the kingdom.
Mythology[]
Rivalry of twins[]
Acrisius and Proetus were said to have quarreled even in the womb of their mother and when Abas died and Acrisius had grown up, he expelled Proetus from his inheritance. On his exile, Proetus was supported by his father-in-law Iobates, the Lycian, Proetus returned, and Acrisius was compelled to share his kingdom with his brother by giving Tiryns to him, while he retained Argos for himself.
In one version of the myth, there is no mention of the dispute between the two brothers but they divided the kingdom, Acrisius remained where he was at Argos and Proetus took over the Heraeum, Mideia, Tiryns, and the Argive coast region.
Prophecy and Death[]
Acrisius received a prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson. He locked his only daughter into a tower in Argos, away from men. However, Zeus, who lusted for Danae, turned into a golden shower and seduced her. She eventually gave birth to Perseus.
When Acrisius found out about the birth, he locked her and the child into a chest and pushed it out to sea, not wanting to be directly responsible for the death of his unarmed daughter and her child. Zeus guided the chest onto the island of Seriphos, where she was greeted by Dictys, a humble fisherman and the king's brother.
Eventually, King Polydectes lusted for Danae and sent Perseus on a quest to kill Medusa, in order to have him out of the way and unable to protect his mother. Eventually, when Perseus returned and defeated the king, he participated in the funeral games of Amyntor, in Thessaly, which Acrisius was also attending. When Perseus threw the discus, it whirled up into the royal box and struck Acrisius on the head, killing him instantly.
Perseus, ashamed of this, traded the kingdom of Argos to his cousin Megapenthes and obtained the kingdom of Tiryns and later founded Mycenae.
Family[]
Acrisius was the son of Abas and Ocalea (or Aglaea, depending on the author), grandson of Lynceus, great-grandson of Aegyptus. He was the twin brother of Proetus and the half brother of Lyrcus. Acrisius was the husband of Eurydice and thus grandfather of the hero Perseus through their daughter Danae.
The Roman author Hyginus in his account state that Acrisius' wife is Aganippe and his other daughter was Evarete, wife of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis.
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| Preceded by: Abas |
King of Argos (with Proetus) Mythic |
Succeeded by Proetus (sole rule) |
| Preceded by: Proetus (sole rule) |
King of Argos Mythic |
Succeeded by Perseus |