Week 7 Story: The “Death” of Perseus
The current version of this story can be found at my Portfolio here!
The battle was near, and both sides waited in a moment of tense anticipation.
On one side, Perseus’ dad stood armed and ready ahead of his troops, prepared to charge forward at any second. Poseidon had led them thus far, and those who followed him had faith in his ability to lead them to victory. On the other side, his nemesis Zeus stood in a similar manner. Both knew that they would be the deciding factor in the battle, as each was capable of wiping out the other’s entire army with ease. In a moment of weakness, Zeus came up with a plan to defeat Poseidon in battle.
With both sides about to rush forward, Zeus raised his hand in the air, as if he wanted to pause and say something.
Poseidon was confused. “What is the meaning of this?”, he asked.
Zeus smirked, and yelled across the battlefield. “Oh nothing. I just thought you’d like to know that we captured your son Perseus and killed him.”
“That can’t be, Perseus said he was safe far away!” Poseidon didn’t buy it, but he began to panic.
But Zeus knew he’d really have to sell it, and had gotten his whole army on board.
“He’s dead, I saw him killed!”
“Just yesterday it was, he didn’t see it coming!”
At this point Poseidon knew that it must be true, and it crushed him. Perseus was his favorite son, and he wasn’t sure he could live on without him. He sat down and froze, unaware of anything else going on. Zeus saw this and knew that his trickery had worked, as for all he knew Perseus was still alive and well. He had no idea where he was, and had simply hoped his father didn’t either.
Seeing Poseidon sit down, Zeus commanded his lieutenant who was an expert as stealth to sneak across the battlefield to the other side and to slay Poseidon in his state of weakness.
The battle began, and both armies went at each other. Zeus calmly dispatched hundreds of warriors, as none were a match for his strength, and waited patiently for his lieutenant to complete his task.
Halfway through the battle, Poseidon’s army heard a loud cry from behind them. They all turned around swiftly to see their leader with a blade in his chest, placed there by the stealthy lieutenant. Poseidon had been so lost in his misery that he hadn’t noticed the lieutenant approach him with a sword and hadn’t been quick enough to stop him once he did.
Poseidon died shortly thereafter on the battlefield and the battle was won. He never realized that his son was still alive and well, though Perseus would hear this story and come soon with a vengeance.
Author’s Note:
For my story this week, I chose to write a retelling of the Death of Drona. In the original epic from the Mahabharata, the Pandavas resort to trickery to kill Drona, similar to the trickery used in my story. I’ve written stories in this class in the past with a Greek mythology theme behind them, and thought I’d continue that pattern for this story. The plot is slightly changed along with the characters and motives, but the general idea is consistent with the original epic.
The battle was near, and both sides waited in a moment of tense anticipation.
On one side, Perseus’ dad stood armed and ready ahead of his troops, prepared to charge forward at any second. Poseidon had led them thus far, and those who followed him had faith in his ability to lead them to victory. On the other side, his nemesis Zeus stood in a similar manner. Both knew that they would be the deciding factor in the battle, as each was capable of wiping out the other’s entire army with ease. In a moment of weakness, Zeus came up with a plan to defeat Poseidon in battle.
With both sides about to rush forward, Zeus raised his hand in the air, as if he wanted to pause and say something.
Poseidon was confused. “What is the meaning of this?”, he asked.
Zeus smirked, and yelled across the battlefield. “Oh nothing. I just thought you’d like to know that we captured your son Perseus and killed him.”
“That can’t be, Perseus said he was safe far away!” Poseidon didn’t buy it, but he began to panic.
But Zeus knew he’d really have to sell it, and had gotten his whole army on board.
“He’s dead, I saw him killed!”
“Just yesterday it was, he didn’t see it coming!”
At this point Poseidon knew that it must be true, and it crushed him. Perseus was his favorite son, and he wasn’t sure he could live on without him. He sat down and froze, unaware of anything else going on. Zeus saw this and knew that his trickery had worked, as for all he knew Perseus was still alive and well. He had no idea where he was, and had simply hoped his father didn’t either.
Seeing Poseidon sit down, Zeus commanded his lieutenant who was an expert as stealth to sneak across the battlefield to the other side and to slay Poseidon in his state of weakness.
The battle began, and both armies went at each other. Zeus calmly dispatched hundreds of warriors, as none were a match for his strength, and waited patiently for his lieutenant to complete his task.
Halfway through the battle, Poseidon’s army heard a loud cry from behind them. They all turned around swiftly to see their leader with a blade in his chest, placed there by the stealthy lieutenant. Poseidon had been so lost in his misery that he hadn’t noticed the lieutenant approach him with a sword and hadn’t been quick enough to stop him once he did.
Poseidon died shortly thereafter on the battlefield and the battle was won. He never realized that his son was still alive and well, though Perseus would hear this story and come soon with a vengeance.
Image of the Death of Drona
Author’s Note:
For my story this week, I chose to write a retelling of the Death of Drona. In the original epic from the Mahabharata, the Pandavas resort to trickery to kill Drona, similar to the trickery used in my story. I’ve written stories in this class in the past with a Greek mythology theme behind them, and thought I’d continue that pattern for this story. The plot is slightly changed along with the characters and motives, but the general idea is consistent with the original epic.
Hi, Dylan! I thought that it was cool that you changed the story about Drona's death and put it in a Greek mythology setting. There are tons of similarities with all of the strong personalities, dramas, and wars that occur in Greek mythology and the Mahabharata, so I can see how you made the connection. You did a good job seamlessly combining elements of the story with your chosen setting and it was fun to read!
ReplyDeleteHi Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI like the Greek take on this original story. Why did you choose Zeus and Poseidon out of all the gods? I didn't realize how many similarities there were between Greek and Indian mythology until I took this class! Props to you for combining them together. Also, your image didn't appear by the way!
Hello again Dylan!
ReplyDeleteNot gonna lie... at first I thought I clicked on the wrong class to read stories from and comment on. Haha! I know you were following the original story line, but I low-key hoped for the loud cry behind Poseidon's army to be from Perseus charging toward Zeus's army - surprising and conquering all. Unfortunately we don't always get happy endings :( Nonetheless, great story!