Perseus and Andromeda (Titian) was ruled by the beautiful but vain queen, Cassiope; she maintained that her beauty, and that of her daughter Andromeda, was superior to that of the sea nymphs, who were the daughters of Poseidon, the god of the sea. When the nymphs became aware of her claims, they protested to their father, who retaliated by calling up a Cetus or sea monster to ravage the coastline of Ethiopia placing Cassiope's kingdom at risk. On the advice of Jupiter Ammon, the Queen, together with her husband Cepheus, decided to sacrifice her daughter Andromeda to the monster. Perseus, flying back from his
Sea monster Tropical cyclones such as hurricanes or typhoons may also be another possible origin of sea monsters. In 1892, Anthonie Cornelis Oudemans, then director of the Royal Zoological Gardens at The Hague saw the publication of his "The Great Sea Serpent", which suggested that many sea serpent reports were best accounted for as a previously unknown giant, long-necked pinniped. It is likely that many other reports of sea monsters are misinterpreted sightings of shark and whale carcasses (see below), floating kelp, logs or other flotsam such as abandoned rafts, canoes and fishing nets. Sea monster corpses have been reported since recent