In Greek mythology, Danae was the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, Acrisius had been warned by an oracle that his daughter's child would cause his death. To avoid the fulfillment of this prophecy he decided to prevent his daughter's marriage, and therefore shut her up in a brazen tower built for this express purpose. But Zeus was more powerful than Acrisius. He had seen and admired the beautiful Danae. Now he changed himself into a shower of gold, and in this form shone into the tower and wooed the captive. Perseus, destined to become the hero of many famous adventures, was the son of Zeus and Danae. Acrisius put child and mother into a chest, and sent the chest floating on the sea. It was waited to the shores of the island of Seriphus, where it became entangled in a fisherman's net. The fisherman opened the chest, took Danae and the infant to his own home, and there Perseus grew to manhood. Danae has been a favorite subject with artists. She is usually pictured in her tower with the golden shower falling about her. In a celebrated painting by Corregio, Cupid holds a fold of drapery across Danae's knees to catch the golden shower.
