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Encyclopedia · Greek Mythology

Andromeda

The chained princess rescued by Perseus.

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The myth

In Greek mythology Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia of Aethiopia. According to the legend, after Cassiopeia boasted of her family's beauty, the sea god Poseidon sent a monster to ravage the coast, and an oracle declared that only the sacrifice of Andromeda could appease it.

Her story

The myths tell how Andromeda was chained to a rock by the sea to await the monster. The hero Perseus, passing by, saw her, slew the creature, and freed her, and the two were afterward married. In time the storytellers placed her, with her parents and her rescuer, among the constellations.

In the sky

The constellation Andromeda lies in the northern sky near Perseus and Cassiopeia, the very figures of her legend. It is also the direction in which the Andromeda Galaxy is found — the great spiral galaxy that takes its name from this constellation.

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