Acrisius was a mythical

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

 king of Argos

Argos

Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...

, and a son of Abas

Abas, son of Lynceus

In Greek mythology, Abas was the son of Lynceus of the royal family of Argos, and Hypermnestra, the last of the Danaides. Abas himself was the twelfth king of Argos...

 and Aglaea

Aglaea

Aglaea or Aglaïa is the name of several figures in Greek mythology.-Charis:The youngest of the Charites, Aglaea or Aglaia was one of three daughters of Zeus and the Oceanid Eurynome. Her other two sisters were Euphrosyne, and Thalia. Together they were known as the Three Graces, or the Charites...

 (or Ocalea

Ocalea (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Ocalea or Ocaleia was the daughter of Mantineus and the wife of Abas. Her sons were Proetus and Acrisius. Often, she is referred to as Aglaïa ....

, depending on the author), grandson of Lynceus

Lynceus

In Greek mythology, Lynceus was a king of Argos, succeeding Danaus. He is named as a descendant of Belus through his father Aegyptus, who was the twin brother of Danaus. Danaus had fifty daughters, the Danaides, while Aegyptus had fifty sons including Lynceus, whose name when translated means "wolf"...

, great-grandson of Danaus

Danaus

In Greek mythology Danaus, or Danaos , was the twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Achiroe and Belus, a mythical king of Egypt. The myth of Danaus is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus...

. His twin brother was Proetus

Proetus

Proetus was a mythical king of Argos and Tiryns. His father Abas, son of the last surviving and died Danaid Hypermnestra, had ruled over Argos and married Ocalea. However, Proetus quarreled continually with his twin brother Acrisius, inventing shields or bucklers in the process...

, with whom he is said to have quarreled even in the womb of his mother. When Abas died and Acrisius had grown up, he expelled Proetus from his inheritance; but, supported by his father-in-law Iobates

Iobates

In Greek mythology, Iobates , a.k.a. Jobates, was a Lycian king, the father of Antea and Philonoe. Bellerophon was sent into exile to the land of King Iobates. Proetus, King of Tiryns, wanted Iobates to kill Bellerophon, but Iobates feared the wrath of the gods if he murdered a guest...

, the Lycia

Lycia

Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...

n, Proetus returned, and Acrisius was compelled to share his kingdom with his brother by giving Tiryns

Tiryns

Tiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in the prefecture of Argolis in the Peloponnese, some kilometres north of Nauplion.-General information:...

 to him, while he retained Argos for himself.

Acrisius and Perseus

Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi, who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter Danaë

Danaë

In Greek mythology, Danaë was a daughter of King Acrisius of Argos and Eurydice of Argos. She was the mother of Perseus by Zeus. She was sometimes credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium....

's son. Danaë was childless and to keep her so, he imprisoned her in a bronze chamber open to the sky in the courtyard of his palace. Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

 had intercourse with her in the form of a golden shower (some accounts say it is her uncle, Proteus, who impregnates her). Danaë became pregnant with Perseus

Perseus

Perseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...

. Acrisius put the child and Danaë in a chest and threw it in the sea. Zeus asked Poseidon

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

 to calm the water; he did and Danaë and Perseus survived, washing up on the island of Seriphos. A fisherman named Dictys

Dictys

Dictys was a name attributed to four men in Greek mythology.* Dictys was a fisherman and brother of King Polydectes of Seriphos, both being the sons of Magnes by a naiad. He discovered Danaë and Perseus inside a chest that had washed up on shore. He immediately fell in love with Danae and wanted to...

, brother of king Polydectes

Polydectes

In Greek mythology, King Polydectes was the ruler of the island of Seriphos, son of Magnes and an unnamed naiad. Polydectes fell in love with Danaë when she and her son Perseus were saved by his brother Dictys . Perseus was very protective of his mother and wouldn't allow Polydectes near Danaë....

, found the pair and took care of them.

Perseus grew up to be a hero, killing Medusa and rescuing Andromeda

Andromeda (mythology)

Andromeda is a princess from Greek mythology who, as divine punishment for her mother's bragging, the Boast of Cassiopeia, was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. She was saved from death by Perseus, her future husband. Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek Ἀνδρομέδη...

. Perseus and Danaë returned to Argos but King Acrisius had gone to Larissa

Larissa

Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...

. When Perseus arrived in Larissa, he participated in some funeral games and accidentally struck Acrisius on the head with a discus

Discus

Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...

, killing him and accomplishing the prophecy.

Founder of Delphic amphictyony

According to the Scholiast on Euripides

Euripides

Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...

, Acrisius was the founder of the Delphi

Delphi

Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...

c amphictyony

Amphictyonic League

In the Archaic period of ancient Greece, an amphictyony , a "league of neighbors", or Amphictyonic League was an ancient association of Greek tribes formed in the dim past, before the rise of the Greek polis...

. Strabo believes that this amphictyony existed before the time of Acrisius, and that he was only the first who regulated the affairs of the amphictyons, fixed the towns which were to take part in the council, gave to each its vote, and settled the jurisdiction of the amphictyons.