Danaë

Danaë is a figure from Greek mythology, the daughter of King Acrisius of Argos and his wife Eurydice. According to the myth, Acrisius was warned by an oracle that he would be killed by his grandson. To prevent this, he locked Danaë in a bronze chamber or tower, hoping to keep her from having any children.

Despite Acrisius's precautions, Zeus, the king of the gods, desired Danaë. He visited her in the form of a shower of gold, and she conceived a son, Perseus. When Acrisius discovered the child, he was still afraid to kill Danaë and his grandson directly, fearing the gods' wrath. Instead, he placed Danaë and the infant Perseus in a wooden chest and cast them into the sea.

The chest drifted to the island of Seriphos, where Danaë and Perseus were found and rescued by a fisherman named Dictys. Dictys cared for them, and Perseus grew up to become a renowned hero, most famous for slaying the Gorgon Medusa. Later, in a tragic twist of fate, Perseus accidentally killed his grandfather Acrisius during an athletic competition, fulfilling the prophecy. The story of Danaë is a prominent example of divine intervention and the inescapable nature of fate in Greek mythology.