The House of Asterion

"And the queen gave birth to a child who was called Asterion." - Why does the story start with this quote? Why is it important?

Is Asterion mad? Why or why not? Why does he spend so much time trying to convince his audience that he isn't?

What does Asterion look like? Please provide evidence from the story. (And even though we know who he is, you can't use evidence from other sources.)

Speaking of Asterion's identity.... based on evidence from the story, who is he? How do you know?

Based on his identity, does Asterion conform to our expectations for him? Is he how you imagined? Why or why not? Use evidence to defend your answer.