Perseus
The intriguing myth of Perseus shows many archetypes that are shared with countless other stories. These archetypes include the task, which is situational, light vs. darkness, which is a symbolic archetype, and the hero, which is a character archetype. To better understand these, the myth itself must be understood.
Perseus’ story begins when his grandfather, King Acrisus, receives a prophecy that says the son of his only daughter, Denaë, would kill him. To make sure this wouldn't happen, he locked his daughter away so that she would never have a son. He would not kill his own daughter because he afraid of the God’s wrath that he might receive Unfortunately for King Acrisus, Zeus desired Denaë and was able to impregnate her as a cloud
…show more content…
of gold dust. After her son, Perseus, is born she manages to keep him a secret from her father for some time. After he is discovered by the king both mother and son are sent to sea in a chest facing certain death. Luckily they land on an island and are saved by a fisherman named Dictys who adopts the two. Perseus grows up learning the fishing trade and has a fairly normal child hood.
This is until the brother of Dictys, Polydectes, who is king of the island desires Perseus’ mother as a bride, but does not want the baggage of her son. Therefore, he mentions to Perseus that he wants a Gorgon head more than anything, so when Perseus has nothing to give to the king he declares that he will bring back the head of Medusa. His first stop on his journey is at Delphi where he learns where the Gorgons are located. Then, he meets Athena , who gives him a shield to use as a mirror, so he does not turn to stone by looking directly at the Gorgons. Also, Hermes gives him a magic sword that can cut through anything, including Gorgon scales. He also helps Perseus by telling him how to trick the Gray women into telling him where the Hyperborean nymphs are by stealing their only eye when they are passing it to the the next person. The Hyperborean nymphs are the only creatures that know how to kill a Gorgon, and they help Perseus by giving him winged sandals, the cap of invisibility, and an expandable wallet that can hold anything of any size. Finally, Perseus reaches the Gorgons, and chops off medusa’s head while wearing the cap of invisibility and the winged sandals and looking into the shield as to not be turned to stone. Athena guides his sword and decapitates the sleeping Gorgon. He then puts the head into the wallet and starts his journey
home. Along the way home he encounters a beautiful maiden, Andromeda, tied to a rock to be sacrificed to a sea monster. He saves her by killing the monster and the two plan to be married. When he return home, Perseus kills Polydectes and all of the evil on the island, which are gathered in one room, with the head of Medusa and saves the island and his mother from the harsh rule of an awful king. Dictys then becomes king. Eventually, King Acrisus does die due to him being him in the head with a discus that Perseus threw in a throwing tournament. The situational archetype, the task, is shown through his goal to bring back a Gorgon head which is impossible for a mortal to do. This superhuman feat must be done in order so save his mother and the island from harsh rules. This task is the driving force for the whole myth. The next archetype , light vs. darkness, is a situational characteristic of the story. The hope for his mother’s safety and the help of Athena and Hermes are represented by light, as they all suggest hope. The darkness is the Gorgons that can kill with a single glance, and Polydectes who wants to marry Daenaë and get rid of Perseus. The light prevails as both the Gorgons and Polydectes are defeated. The life of many people will prosper due to this defeat. The last archetype is the hero. In this myth, Perseus is the hero. He must fullil a dangerous task that seems impossible in order to save his mother from marriage to a ruthless king and help the island on which he grew up by destroying the current king and appointing his brother who will be a better ruler. He also experiences characteristics of the hero’s journey such as call to action, the inability to give a gift to the king, and supernatural aid, Hermes and Athena. This myth has many shared characteristics with other stories. These archetypes help us relate other stories to each other and make connections between them. By doing this,we can learn about other cultures by comparing similarities between stories.
The settings are the Grey Sisters Place, some place with Athena, island of the Gorgons, Into the air, and Atlas’s island. The settings are different because it has more than Perseus. The events are that Perseus was sent off the quest, He then gets a lot of gifts after that he goes to see the Grey sisters and steals their eye then goes to see Atlas she gives him the hat of darkness. After that goes to Medusa’s cave and he cuts off Medusa’s head, he escapes Medusa's sisters. The event is different because he has a lot of things to do before going and killing medusa and in the poem Perseus he just got a shield and cut her head.
The Task, In Perseus the main task that happens is when Perseus a demigod, son of Zeus goes out to capture something special. Perseus sets out on an adventure to kill Medusa and capture her head to bring back as a gift. The hard part is that in one glance eye to eye at Medusa you will automatically turn into stone. Therefore, this was a hard feat to accomplish and it was one that he wanted to fulfill after he told they guy who was going to marry his mom he would bring them Medusa’s head. He laughed at him and that was a sign of determination for Perseus to accomplish his goal
In the Hymn to Demeter, the rape of Persephone starts with her picking flowers and she comes across the hundred headed narcissus which "Gaia made grow as a trick for the blushing maiden" (HHDem. 8-9). This trick is set into motion by Zeus, but since Gaia plays the role of protecting the youngest generation, this is a foreshadowing that Persephone's ordeal will be for a good cause. Hades moves in to take Persephone when the grounds gapes open and she begins to cry aloud. Demeter hears her daughters screams but she is powerless against Hades, hence the separation of distance between them. The grief stricken Demeter goes through an experience which plays out the role of a symbolic death. this is because the relationship between the mother and daughter ends at a wedding.
Oedipus as the Hero Archetype. The character Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus the King follows a literary pattern known as the hero archetype. The hero archetype is a pattern involved in transformation and redemption. Manifested in three stages called the quest, the initiation, and the sacrifice, Oedipus is transformed from the redeemer of the city to the cause of its downfall.
Heroes are found everywhere. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s The Odyssey paints a picture of the supposed savior Odysseus. The irony of Odysseus’ situation is that he really is not the marvelous hero that many who read The Odyssey see him to be. When imagining a great hero, the words of cruel, unfaithful, selfish, or careless never come to mind, but the son of Laertes sets examples for each attribute. Odysseus makes many poor decisions that cause his dislikable traits to highly outweigh his few better ones. Several of his more prominent characteristics are exhibited on numerous accounts. Odysseus cannot possibly earn the title of being a hero because he harbors hubris, he displays a lack of faith, and his self-centeredness causes unfortunate events.
His grandfather, is King of Argos, his name is Acrisius. Acrisius had a daughter named Danae, however he wanted a son. So in search for an answer towards having a son, Acrisius went to the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle said that Acrisius’ daughter, Danae would be the one to carry a baby boy, but this child would kill Acrisius. To avoid his own death, Acrisius created an underground chamber to lock his daughter in, therefore, she would be unable to conceive a child. Little did Acrisius know that Zeus would shape shift into golden rain and conceive a child with Danae. Naturally, Danae gave birth to Perseus. When she was let out of this underground chamber Danae met Polydectes. Polydectes was determined to make Danae his wife and that is exactly what happened. Perseus was unable to grant his mother and Polydectes a gift, so he was told to bring back Medusa’s head. Perseus was successful in retrieving Medusa’s head. On his journey back home he met a beautiful Goddess who was in distress. Perseus saved her from a horrific sea monster and they instantly fell in love and wanted to be joined together in holy matrimony. However, Andromeda’s uncle was no too pleased with this decision. He wanted Andromeda only for himself. Therefore he planned to murder Perseus but was unsuccessful since Perseus had the advantage of Medusa’s head. Perseus showed Andromeda’s uncle Medusa’s face and he then was turned to stone. When he returned home with the gift, he found out Polydectes was abusing his mother. Instead of giving him the present he used it against Polydectes and turned him to stone as well. Acrisius became aware of what Perseus was capable of doing so he decided to flee. Although that didn’t help as much as he believed it would. Perseus and his grandfather ran into each other at the Games Ceremony, in Larissa. When Perseus went to throw the discus it slipped from his grasp and clashed into his grandfather’s head, killing
We have read an adventurous story called The Odyssey. It was about a hero named Ulysses who goes through many conflicts to get home. He has faced monsters to beautiful women, but he still got home. Ulysses fits the model of an archetype. There are three ways he fits into the model.
...teristics and literary devices. The general archetypical description of a hero follows an outline of a muscular figure and super abilities. Yet on the contrary, in myths, heroes may not possess any of those traits. Whether the so-called hero is learning their lesson, overcoming struggle or even descending into darkness, all heroes share some similar and almost identical characteristics. A vast majority of all mythological heroes share the same basic idea which, helps audiences identify whether or not the character is indeed a hero or not. From story to myth or fairytale to drama, the hero is one character who changes the plot entirely. Whether that hero may be saving a burning building, or discovering who they are themselves, our heroes all give us hopes and dreams that one day even our worth will be recognized by ourselves and others as our admirable hero’s are.
Perseus was born to Danae and the Greek god Zeus. Acrisius, the father of Danae, was told by the oracle of Apollo that Danae’s son would kill him. After finding out that Danae had her son, Perseus, Acrisius shut Perseus and Dane up in a large chest cast the chest out to sea. After a while out in the sea, they landed on the island of Seriphos, where they were saved by the king Polydectes’s brother, Dictys. Polydectes, after hearing about Danae, wanted her to marry him. In order to get rid of Perseus, so that no one would be able to stop him from marrying Danae, Polydectes came up with a plan. He pretended to be marrying the daughter of one of his friends and required everyone to bring him a wedding gift. Polydectes knew that Perseus, being very poor, would arrive empty-handed. Perseus vowed that he could bring Polydectes anything that he wanted and so Polydectes demanded Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa, hoping that he would be killed. Perseus set off on his adventure to kill Medusa and while stopping to rest one night in an unknown land, Perseus realized how hopeless the adventure seemed to be. “Gorgons were horrible, instead of hair they had black serpents that writhed on their head, they had brazen hands that could...
Greek mythology is a beloved part of literature that has given humans thousands of stories to tell. From stories about deadly quests, powerful deities, to the even more famed aspect of Greek Mythology, its epic heroes. One of the many authors who took inspiration from Greek Mythology, and will serve as reference for this paper, is Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. 1988. The most well known epic heroes from Greek Mythology which Edith Hamilton writes about in her book are Hercules, Jason, Perseus, and Theseus, but the debate lies in which of these heroes is the best. To which the answer is, Theseus is the better epic hero because he possessed superior strength, intelligence, and courage, he was the most just from all other heroes,
...r virginity to anyone but the man she married, she would be socially “ruined”. Perseus later uses Medusa’s head to take revenge on King Atlass of Mauritania, who had not shown him hospitality in the past, and uses it as a weapon against the rest of his enemies, as her ability to turn life to stone remains even after death.
In the 1981 clash of the Titans movie the King Acrisius of Argo imprisons his daughter Danei *Danaë because he is jealous of her beauty. The god Zeus visits her and makes her pregnant. King Acrisius in a fit of rage puts Danae and the baby, Perseus, to sea in a wood coffin. Angry, Zeus kills Acrisius and orders the god Poseidon to release the giant sea monster the Kraken to destroy Argos. Perseus survives, but his mother doesn’t, his journey by floating to the island of Seriphos where he grows up.
According to “Persephone, Demeter, and Hades” It starts off with “Persephone who is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture (farming). Hades who is her uncle, abducts Persephone while she was picking flowers with her companions in a meadow.” According to “Classical Mythology” it states “Hades had other plans for Persephone: he would steal her innocence and virginity and turn her into the dreaded goddess of the Underworld.” It also states how “Persephone was gathering flowers one day on a plain in Sicily. Hades appeared, thundering across the plain in his four-horse chariot. The god then jumped down upon Persephone, and scooped her up with one arm. After abducting her, he carries her off to the Underworld. Demeter who is Persephone’s mother soon came to retrieve her daughter, but was unable to find a trace of Persephone. She traveled to the corners of the earth, searching for nine full days and nights without ever stopping to eat, drink, bathe, or rest. Demeter was in a fury so in retaliation she destroyed lands, crops, and livestock as she complained to the loss of her daughter. She threatened to make the earth unproductive forever and thus destroy all of humankind if she did not find her
Hades shows himself to Perseus and with the rage of what Hades has done to Perseus, Perseus grabs a lighnting bolt from his sword and throws it at Hades sending him back to the underworld. Saving Andromeda and she offered to make him king and he had refused. Zeus asked if he wanted to join him in Olympus but refused and requested to stay a demi-god but Zeus granted him Io as a companion. In the story according to the Greeks Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius. When he had them put in a box and thrown into the ocean and saved by the fisherman named Dictys they both were still alive and Danae ended up falling in love with Dictys and they were married. Dictys’ brother King Polydectes wanted to take Danae as his wife, Perseus hearing the news he offered to pay any price for his mother not to marry King Polydectes. Sense Polydectes was afraid of Perseus he quickly made an offer that he will allow his mother to stay married to Dictys, only if he brings back the head of Medusa. Bravely, Perseus accepted his