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It's been a long time since I looked at the Perseus myth, and became confused debating with a child who asserted Perseus was the the son of Poseidon. This led me to read the Percy Jackson series, which also initially confused me because I was sure Perseus is the son of Zeus. But, then I started thinking about it, and wondered: Is it supportable to consider Perseus a son of Poseidon?

Not explicitly per the ancient canon, but rather reimagined in a modern retelling.

  • What aspects of the Perseus myth support modern retelling as a son of Poseidon?

What elements of the ancient canon could have led Rick Riordan to reimagine Perseus in this manner?

DukeZhou
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This is a question that is answered if you look through the series background. Percy Jackson is a character invented by Rick Riordan during a storytelling night with his ADHD dyslexia son who couldn't concentrate at school. Since his son loves the story of Perseus and the Greek hero had a great and happy ending, he decides to name his character Percy, short for Perseus. The reason why he picked Poseidon was that Hera's jealousy of Zeus's child might kill Percy in the first chapter or it could be from the original Perseus story where Poseidon used gentle waves to bring the chest that contained his mother and him to the shore.

Who knows?