and winged sandals here stood him in good stead; for
the former concealed him from the view of the Gorgons, whilst the latter
bore him swiftly over land and sea, far beyond the reach of pursuit. In
passing over the burning plains of Libya the drops of blood from the head
of the Medusa oozed through the wallet, and falling on the hot sands below
produced a brood of many-coloured snakes, which spread all over the
country.

Perseus continued his flight until he reached the kingdom of Atlas, of whom
he begged rest and shelter. But as this king possessed a valuable orchard,
in which every tree bore golden fruit, he was fearful lest the slayer of
the Medusa might destroy the dragon which guarded it, and then rob him of
his treasures. He therefore refused to grant the hospitality which the hero
demanded, whereupon Perseus, exasperated at the churlish repulse, produced
from his wallet the head of the Medusa, and holding it towards the king,
transformed him into a stony mountain. Beard and hair erected themselves
into forests; shoulders, hands, and limbs became huge rocks, and the head
grew up into a craggy peak which reached into the clouds.

Perseus then resumed his travels. His winged sandals bore him over deserts
and mountains, until he arrived at AEthiopia, the kingdom of King Cepheus.
Here he found the country inundated with disastrous floods, towns and
villages destroyed, and everywhere signs of desolation and ruin. On a
projecting cliff close to the shore he beheld a lovely maiden chained to a
rock. This was Andromeda, the king's daughter. Her mother Cassiopea, having
boasted that her beauty surpassed that of the Nereides, the angry
sea-nymphs appealed to Poseidon to avenge their wrongs, whereupon the
sea-god devastated the country with a terrible inundation, which brought
with it a huge monster who devoured all that came in his way.

In their distress the unfortunate AEthiopians applied to the oracle of
Jupiter-Ammon, in the Libyan desert, {208} and obtained the response, that
only by the sacrifice of the king's daughter to the monster could the
country and people be saved.

Cepheus, who was tenderly attached to his child, at first refused to listen
to this dreadful proposal; but overcome at length by the prayers and
solicitations of his unhappy subjects, the heart-broken father gave up his
child for the welfare of his country. Andromeda was accordingly chained to
a rock on the sea-shore to serve as a prey to the mons