The Medusa-Narrator describes Princess Danaë, whose father, King Acrisius, imprisons her after the Oracle of Delphi prophesizes her future child will kill him. As she languishes in prison, she thinks about her father’s fear of death. Suddenly, Zeus arrives, impregnates her, and then frees her. Hidden by one of her father’s enslaved servants, Danaë gives birth to a son, Perseus. Discovered by King Acrisius, she and Perseus are exiled, set adrift in a boat.

Athene advises Zeus to save Danaë, whom he has not visited since impregnating her. The Medusa-Narrator then describes Olympus, where all the Olympians act distant toward Athene except for Zeus and Hephaestus. Zeus tries to remember Danaë and is helped by Athene, whom the Medusa-Narrator characterizes as self-assured. He disappears to save Danaë and Perseus from the sea.

Danaë washes ashore, rescued by Dictys, a fisherman from Seriphos. He is the gay brother of the paranoid King Polydectes and thus relates to Danaë’s story. He offers her and Perseus food, water, and shelter.