In the ancient myth of Perseus, the hero acquires the winged horse Pegasus so that he can fly to the lair of the deadly gorgon, Medusa. After slaying Medusa, he keeps her head- which retains its magical properties- and uses it to slay the giant sea-monster Cetis and save the princess Andromeda.
This is history's first recorded Metroidvania1.
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Of course, metroidvania is the Latin term. The ancient Greeks referred to this as δράση αναζήτησης.