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
The Sea Monster bring motifs together in a single image. The abduction of a woman by a water-god is one of the oldest Greek mythological conceptions and a subject that fascinated men through to the Renaissance. Dürer adds a layer of complexity to the scene in that the woman does not seem too upset at her fate. Vasari gave an early description of the work, through a vague description of a picture of a nymph set in the ancient world. Recent interpretations mention the abduction of Scylla by the sea demon Glaucus, or the abduction of Hesione by a monster. Further speculation centres