The most important legend making reference to Serifos is that relating the island with Perseus. According to the legend, Acrisius, the king of Argos, went to the oracle at Delphi wanting to know whether he would have a child and the oracle warned him that he would die by the hand of his grandson, born by his daughter Danae, who would succeed him to the throne.
To protect himself, Acrisius locked Danae away in a cellar. However, he did not take into account the sudden love of Zeus, who came in through the roof as golden shower and gave her a son, Perseus.
Acrisius, learning the birth of his grandson, because he could not kill him, decides to close in a box (larnaka), Danae and her son. Then he orders to let the shrine into the sea and the gods decide for her luck.
Larnaka is washed out, after a long trip, on the shores of Serifos island, where the fisherman Diktys finds it. In another testimony, Dikty was looking for the box that hosted Danae and Perseus. Dikty, King of the island’s brother, Polydeker, hosted the two troubled faces in his house and made family members of him. Diktys probably lived in the famous “Cave of Cyclops”, since the larnaca was found on its coast.