She [who was] also called Gorgon.
Perseus, the son of Danae and Pekos,[1] having learned all the mystic apparitions and wanting to establish for himself his own kingdom, despised that of the Medes. And going through a great expanse of land he saw a virgin maiden, hideous and ugly, and turning aside [to speak] to her, he asked "what is your name?" And she said, "Medusa." And cutting off her head he despatched her[2] as he had been taught, and he hung it up, amazing and destroying all who saw it. The head he called Gorgon, because of its sheer force. And from there he went into a country that was ruled by Cepheus and he found in the temple a virgin maiden called Andromeda, whom he married; and he founded a city into a village,[3] called Amandra, and he set up a stone [depicting] the Gorgon hanging. This [city] changed it name to Ikonion[4] because it was a representation [a)peiko/nisma] of the Gorgon. He also made war on the Isaurians and the Cilicians and founded a city that he named Tarsus. Its previous name had been Andrasus; but told by an oracle to found a city to mark victories, in the place where after the victory he hurt the flat [tarso/s] of his foot in dismounting from his horse, he called it Tarsus. After conquering the Medes too, he changed the name of the country and called it Persia. He taught the terrible initiation connected with the Gorgon to some of the Persians, whom he called magi. At this time too a ball of fire was brought down out of heaven, and from this Perseus took fire and gave it to those of his tribe to guard and to revere, as something brought down out of heaven. He made war on Cepheus, but because he was old and could not see, the head did not work, and thinking it to be useless, Perseus turned it toward himself and beheld it and perished. Later his son Merros burned it.