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In Greek mythology, Cassiopea was the wife of Cepheus, king of Joppa (often called Ethiopia). Cassiopea once boasted that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the sea nymphsminor goddess of nature, usually represented as young and beautiful known as the Nereids. The Nereids were so insulted that they asked Poseidon (Neptune), god of the sea, to punish Cassiopea. He responded by sending a flood and a sea monster to devastate the land.

An oraclepriest or priestess or other creature through whom a god is believed to speak; also the location (such as a shrine) where such words are spoken told Cepheus that the only way he could save his kingdom was by sacrificing his daughter to the sea monster. With a heavy heart, Cepheus decided to do so. He chained Andromeda to a rock in the sea and left her...