king Acrisius of Argos and the mother of Perseus by Zeus. Acrisius had gone
to Delphi to ask the oracle if he would ever have a son. The reply was that
his daughter would have a son, and that he would kill Acrisius. The king then
locked Danae inside an underground vault of copper. Zeus saw the girl and
fell in love with her, and went through the metal walls and fell on her as
a golden rain.
When Perseus was born, Danae had her wet-nurse secretly bring the child up, but Acrisius found out and put the mother and child in a wooden box, sealed it, and threw it into the sea. The box was caught by Dictys and pulled up on the shore of Serifos.
The king on the island fell in love with Danae, and sent then now grown Perseus away on adventures, hoping he would never come back. Perseus did return though, and turned king Polydectes into stone by showing him the head of Medusa, just as the king was about to take Danae by force.