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Acrisius/Calibos
Thumb Calibos
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Species

Human (formerly)
Satyr

Alignment

Evil

Origin

Argos

Relatives

Thetis (Mother, 1981 version)
Danae (Daughter, 1981 version, Wife, 2010 version)
Kepheus (Son, 2010 version)
Perseus (Grandson, 1981 version, Stepson, 2010 version)
Achilles (Half-Brother, 1981 version, deceased)

Status

Deceased

Appearances

(1981) Clash of the Titans
(2010) Clash of the Titans
(2010) Clash of the Titans: The Videogame

Calibos is the central antagonist of the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans (with Acrisius being a minor antagonist), and the secondary antagonist of the 2010 version (where they are the same character).

He was portrayed by Neil McCarthy in the 1981 film and by Jason Flemyng in the 2010 remake.

Mythology[]

Acrisius was a mythical king of Argos, and a son of Abas and Aglaea, grandson of Lynceus, great-grandson of Danaus. His twin brother was Proetus, with whom he is said to have quarreled even in the womb of his mother, Thetis, who was mythologically the Queen of the Sea, alongside Poseidon.

When Abas died and Acrisius had grown up, he expelled Proetus from his inheritance; but, supported by his father-in-law Iobates, the Lycian, Proetus returned, and Acrisius was compelled to share his kingdom with his brother by giving Tiryns to him, while he retained Argos for himself.

In the 1981 film, Calibos was set to marry Andromeda. Due to being deformed as punishment by Zeus, Andromeda called off the wedding. Thetis, goddess of the sea and mother of Calibos, then had her priests at Joppa decree that every other man who wanted to wed Andromeda so was given a riddle to solve (by Calibos). Those who failed were burned at the stake.

History[]

Clash of the Titans (1981)[]

Calibos is the son of Thetis, goddess of the sea. He was to marry the princess Andromeda and be the next ruler of the Kingdom of Joppa, but was deformed by Zeus as punishment for hunting and destroying every living thing surrounding The Wells of The Moon, including Zeus's entire sacred herd of flying horses (except for the stud, Pegasus). For that and many other transgressions, Zeus transformed him into a satyr-like creature to mark him as a destructive force of nature. He is subsequently shunned and forced to live as an outcast in the swamps and marshes.

During his exile, Calibos becomes a fearsome warlord with a relentless army at his side. He delays and attempts to prevent Perseus from reaching his goal numerous times.

In revenge against Joppa, Andromeda was taken to Calibos each night in her sleep by Thetis (in form of a large vulture) and given a riddle to be answered by anyone who wished to wed her. If they failed, they would be burned at the stake. Perseus managed to follow Andromeda into the swamp using the helmet left for him by Athena. After overhearing what the riddle would be, Perseus left but was ambushed by Calibos. Perseus managed to cut off Calibos' hand and presented it to Andromeda the next day. The answer for the riddle ended up being Calibos’s ring, and his severed hand had his ring on it.

Calibos took refuge in the Temple of Thetis, praying to his mother to take revenge on Perseus for cutting off his hand. Thetis tells Calibos that she can't do that as Perseus is protected by Zeus. Calibos demands Thetis at least punish Joppa, which she does during the wedding of Andromeda and Perseus.

Calibos

Calibos in the 1981 Movie

After Andromeda’s mother, Queen Cassiopeia, declares that her daughter is more beautiful than Thetis, the statue of the the goddess breaks and she speaks to Joppa through it, demanding that Andromeda be sacrificed to the Kraken in 30 days.

Perseus and a legion of soldiers from Argos set out to find a way to defeat the Kraken. He learns of Medusa and her stone gaze from the cannibalistic Stygian witches, who insist that this is the only possible way to defeat the Kraken, “a clash of the titans.”

After Perseus beheads Medusa, Calibos (now having replaced his lost hand with a trident-like prosthetic) pokes at the bag that Medusa's head is in, causing some nearby Scorpions to become very large. When the giant scorpions were defeated, Perseus had to fight Calibos again. This time the fight ended with Perseus killing Calibos, though Calibos managed to kill everyone else in Perseus' legion.

The actual King Acrisius appears only at the beginning of the film. After it was discovered that Zeus had impregnated Danae (in this version, Danae is Acrisuius’s daughter who’s relation with Zeus has brought shame to his house), Acrisius had Danae and Perseus locked in a trunk and thrown it into the ocean. Zeus responded to this by having Poseidon unleash the Kraken to destroy Argos while safely guiding Danae and Perseus to the island of Seriphos

Clash of the Titans (2010)[]

In the remake, Acrisius was once the king of Argos that defied the Gods and lay a siege on Olympus. Zeus decided to make of Acrisius an example to all humanity by taking the form of the king himself and making love to his wife and queen, breeding a son. An overwhelmed Acrisius cursed Zeus and attempted to execute his wife and the unborn child by throwing them into the sea, but a bolt of lighting strikes him, deforming half of his face and half of his body.

Years after, Hades appears where the banned Acrisius lived and offers him to serve the ruler of the Underworld. Hades gives him great strength and resistance, ordering him to chase and kill Perseus, who in turn is seeking to destroy Hades. Acrisius pursues Perseus and his legion from Argos in the forest. Acrisius manages to kill several soldiers and was even close to killing Perseus, but Draco stops him by severing his hand. A damaged Acrisius is overhelmed by many Argosian soldiers, so he decides to escape into the desert, where there are giant scorpions. Later, after battling Medusa, Perseus is confronted by and kills Acrisius after a duel at the entrance of Medusa's Lair. Upon regressing back to his mortal self, Acrisius’s last words were: "Perseus, don't become one of them.” He then fell from a cliff. He is referring to the gods and echoing the sentiment made by Perseus multiple times.

Other appearances[]

Clash of the Titans: The Videogame[]

Calibos23

Calibos as he appears on the 2010 video game

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