Women, Weird and Wonderful: Danae, impregnated by golden rain

Danae was the only child of king Akrisios of Argos. The oracle had predicted that he would be unalived by his future grandson, so he took no chances and locked Danae up in a bronze chamber. For supreme god Zeus though, this was no more than a small inconvenience. He took the form of gold coloured drops of a nondescript substance, usually translated as “golden rain”, and seeped through the ceiling. To king Akrisios’ horror, a baby boy was born, little Perseus. Akrisios then put mother and child in a wooden chest, and set it adrift. But ocean god Poseidon brought them safely to shore. After all her trials, Danae just craved a quite life, but as soon as Perseus learned he was the son of Zeus, he dreamed of becoming the new Herakles. As foreseen, he did unalive old Akrisios, albeit by accident. And he would make quite a name for himself, but never got his hero’s welcome at Olympos. While his mother put his ambitions above her desires, and backed him all the way. Because that’s what mothers do.

Danae, Bell Crater, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Danae, Gustav Klimt, Collection Hans Dichand, Vienna, Austria