Thomas Bulfinch described the dramatic rescue of Andromeda in his classic collection, The Golden Age of Myth & Legend:
As an eagle, when from his lofty flight he sees a serpent basking in the sun, pounces upon him and seizes him” by the neck to prevent him from turning his head round and using his fangs, so the youth darted down upon the back of the monster and plunged his sword into its shoulder. Irritated” by the wound, the monster raised himself in the air, then plunged into the depth; then, like a wild boar surrounded,” by a pack of barking dogs, turned swiftly from side to side, while the youth eluded its attacks” by means of his wings. Wherever he can find a passage for his sword between the scales he makes a wound, piercing now the side, now the flank, as it slopes towards the tail. The brute spouts from his nostrils water mixed with blood. The wings of the hero are wet with it, and he dares no longer trust to them. Alighting on a rock which rose above the waves, and holding on” by a projecting fragment, as the monster floated near he gave him a death stroke. The people who had gathered on the shore shouted so that the hills reechoed the sound. The parents, transported with joy, embraced their future son-in-law, calling him their deliverer and the savior of their house, and the virgin, both cause and reward of the contest, descended from the rock. [145-46]
Bibliography
Bullfinch, Thomas. The Golden Age of Myth & Legend. Ware, Herts.: Wordsworth Editions, 1993.
Last modified 13 October 2011