Andromeda - Andromeda (English spelling)

A woman who appears in Greek mythology. Daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and Cassiopeia. When her mother Cassiopeia boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, the Nereids' father Poseidon became angry and sent a monster to Ethiopia. Confused, Cepheus consulted the oracle of Ammon, who told him that the country would be saved if Andromeda was offered to the sea god. When she was tied to a rock by the sea, the hero Perseus came ashore and killed the monster, saving Andromeda and making her his wife. However, her uncle Phineus, who had been engaged to her for some time, was very angry and attacked the two, but was turned to stone when he saw the head of the monster Medusa that Perseus presented to him. After that, Andromeda lived in Greece with Perseus, and after her death, she became a constellation along with Perseus, Cepheus, and Cassiopeia.

[Masahiro Ogawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ギリシア神話に登場する女性。エチオピアの王ケフェウスとカッシオペイアの娘。母カッシオペイアがアンドロメダをネレイスたちよりも美しいと自慢したため、ネレイスらの父ポセイドンは怒って怪物をエチオピアに送った。困惑したケフェウスがアンモンの神託に問うと、アンドロメダを海神に捧(ささ)げれば国は助かると告げられた。彼女が海辺の岩に縛り付けられたとき、英雄ペルセウスが上陸して怪物を殺し、アンドロメダを救って彼女を妻とした。しかし、かねてより彼女と婚約していた彼女の叔父フィネウスはこれを大いに怒り、2人を襲ったが、ペルセウスに突きつけられた怪物メドゥサの首を見て石に化せられた。そののちアンドロメダはペルセウスとともにギリシアで暮らし、死後はペルセウス、ケフェウス、カッシオペイアとともに星座となった。

［小川正広］

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