Dictys' Discovery

The island of Serapis was ruled by a king named Polydectes. Polydectes had a younger brother named Dictys who was fond of the ocean and spent many hours each day sitting on the beach and fishing. He had heard that some of the fish in the ocean were magical, and if caught, they could give men great gifts. He wanted to catch one.

One afternoon, while staring off into the ocean and waiting for a fish to bite, Dictys saw a strange object far out in the water. He watched it for a while and saw that it was moving towards the beach. With a great feeling of excitement, he waited for the object to reach the shore. When it came close, Dictys could see that it was a large wooden box and hoped that there might be some great treasure inside.

He was surprised when he opened the box and found a beautiful young woman and baby inside. "This is a great treasure, indeed," thought Dictys. "I must bring this young lady to meet my brother, the king!"

When King Polydectes saw Danae, he fell in love with her immediately and promised himself that she would one day be his bride.

"This lady came to our island in a wooden box, which floated here over the sea," said Dictys.

Danae bowed to the king.

"Beautiful young girl," began the king, "you do not need to bow to me. You are welcome in my land and will be treated like a part of my family. Your child also, I will raise him as if he were my own son. You will never lack food or safety and do not need to worry about your old land and old life anymore."

Danae thanked the king and began her life on the island of Serapis. Everything she wanted was given to her and her life was quite happy. Her life was not perfectly happy though, because after one year on the island, during the New Year's Festival, the king asked Danae to marry him.

"Oh, great king," said Danae, "I cannot marry you. I am married already to the god Zeus."

At hearing this, king Polydectes became very angry. "Have I not treated you and your son like a part of my family, showing you every kindness and giving you everything you ask?"

"Yes, my king," Danae answered.

"Your husband, Zeus, is not here now and will never come. Certainly he wishes you to marry a man of this earth and be happy. Why will you not marry me?" The king tried to persuade Danae.

"It is too soon, my king. Only when I am sure that Zeus will not return for me, will I agree to marry you," said Danae.

"When will you be sure of that?" the king asked.

"In twenty more years," answered Danae, "if he has not come for me by then, I will marry you."

Truthfully, Danae did not want to marry Polydectes at all. She both loved Zeus and feared his anger. But she knew that if she didn't agree to marry the King sometime, he might become jealous and hurt her or Perseus in his anger.

King Polydectes was not at all pleased by Danae's answer, for he did not want to wait twenty years to marry her. But there was nothing else he could do, so he agreed to wait anyway. "Lovely Danae, I will wait twenty years to take you as my bride. Still, I will ask you to marry me each New Year's Festival—just in case you have changed your mind."

(end of section)