e brothers, Proetus, took Tiryns,
and built the great walls of huge stones, and the palace; while the
other brother, Acrisius, took Argos, and he married Eurydice, a princess
of the Royal House of Lacedaemon, where Menelaus and Helen were King and
Queen in later times.

Acrisius had one daughter, Danae, who became the most beautiful woman in
Greece, but he had no son. This made him very unhappy, for he thought
that, when he grew old, the sons of his brother Proetus would attack
him, and take his lands and city, if he had no son to lead his army. His
best plan would have been to find some brave young prince, like Theseus,
and give Danae to him for his wife, and their sons would be leaders of
the men of Argos. But Acrisius preferred to go to the prophetic maiden
of the temple of Apollo at Delphi (or Pytho, as it was then called), and
ask what chance he had of being the father of a son.

The maiden seldom had good news to give any man; but at least this time
it was easy to understand what she said. She went down into the deep
cavern below the temple floor, where it was said that a strange mist or
steam flowed up out of the earth, and made her fall into a strange
sleep, in which she could walk and speak, but knew not what she was
singing, for she sang her prophecies. At last she came back, very pale,
with her laurel wreath twisted awry, and her eyes open, but seeing
nothing. She sang that Acrisius would never have a son; but that his
daughter would bear a son, who would kill him.

Acrisius mounted his chariot, sad and sorry, and was driven homewards.
On the way he never spoke a word, but was thinking how he might escape
from the prophecy, and baffle the will of Zeus, the chief of the gods.
He did not know that Zeus himself had looked down upon Danae and fallen
in love with her, nor did Danae know.

The only sure way to avoid the prophecy was to kill Danae, and Acrisius
thought of doing this; but he loved her too much; and he was afraid that
his people would rise against him, if he slew his daughter, the pride of
their hearts. Still another fear was upon Acrisius, which will be
explained later in the story. He could think of nothing better than to
build a house all of bronze, in the court of his palace, a house sunk
deep in the earth, but with part of the roof open to the sky, as was the
way in all houses then; the light came in from above, and the smoke of
the fire went out in the same way. This chamber Acrisius built, a