Andromeda Chained to the Rocks Neptune sent a sea monster to the Ethiopian coast. Neptune then could only be appeased upon the sacrifice of Andromeda, the kings beautiful virgin daughter, to the sea monster. Andromeda was chained naked to rocks by the coast, awaiting the sea monster. Perseus, passing by, had noticed the beautiful girl and made a deal with her parents that he would save her, should he be allowed to have her hand in marriage. The king and queen agree and Andromeda was spared. This painting depicts a classic example of the damsel in distress. In this theme a beautiful young woman is
Sea monster "Carta marina". This practice died away with the advent of modern cartography. Nevertheless, stories of sea monsters and eyewitness accounts which claim to have seen these beasts persist to this day. Sea monster accounts are found in virtually all cultures that have contact with the sea. For example, Avienus relates of Carthaginian explorer Himilco's voyage "...there monsters of the deep, and beasts swim amid the slow and sluggishly crawling ships." (lines 117-29 of "Ora Maritima"). Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed to have encountered a lion-like monster with "glaring eyes" on his return voyage after formally claiming St. John's, Newfoundland (1583) for