Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic - John Matthews - Страница 350

In Greek mythology, Cetus was a sea monster that had the head of a greyhound, the body of a whale and a two-part tail. This monster was created by Zeus solely for the purpose of destroying Andromeda, the daughter of Queen Cassiopaea. The Queen had boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the goddesses and sea nymphs – a statement that so offended the gods that the queen was forced to chain her daughter to a rock in the sea in order to make restitution to the gods. While Andromeda turned and pulled against her chains, Cetus made ready to devour the maiden. Fortunately, the hero Perseus arrived just in time with the freshly-severed head of the Gorgon, Medusa. The property of this head was to turn everyone who saw it into stone. As Cetus emerged from the waters, it saw Medusa and was turned to stone. Andromeda was rescued, becoming the wife of Perseus. The rock where Andromeda was chained is still visible at the port of Joppa (Jaffa), the old part of the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel.