who is danae?

Danae is a character most prominent in the story of Perseus. She is a princess in the city of Argos, daughter of King Acrisius. Acrisius, fearful of the fulfillment of a prophecy from the oracle, imprisoned his daughter in some type of underground "home" so that she could never become pregnant since the prophecy was that he would be killed by his grandson. However, Zeus was highly attracted to Danae and rained down on her in gold and impregnated her with the child who was born named Perseus. Acrisius did not become aware of the baby immediately, but once aware he was furious. Fearing the wrath of Zeus or the gods if he killed his daughter or the baby, he set them adrift locked in a chest, assuming they would die. However, they were found by a kindly fisherman named Dictys who raised Perseus as his son. Dictys evil brother Polydectes was enamored with Danae, but saw Perseus as a "challenge" to his ability to court and eventually marry Danae. He sent Perseus on a quest to secure the head of Medusa, the only mortal Gorgon. During the time Perseus was gone, Dictys and Danae had to hide from Polydectes until Perseus returned. Once he came back, he found them and dealt with Polydectes. They all then journeyed to Argos to see if it would be possible to make up with King Acrisius. However, he was killed during some kind of athletic competition in which Perseus competed; it was his discus (according to some stories) that ultimately killed Acrisius, his grandfather.