Homer's Odyssey: Why Perseus Is A Greek Hero

Perseus has been described as a Greek hero but to earn that title you have to do

something heroic. Perseus has done a few things that make him a hero and I am going to explain those things. Perseus is a Greek hero mainly for three things. First off, he killed Medusa who was a Gorgon that could men into stone by making eye contact with them. Her hair was also made out of live snakes.

It all started when Polydectes who was an evil king of an island called Seriphus fell in

love with a woman named Danae. He really wanted to marry her but she had an adult son that he did not want. That adult son was Perseus. Polydectes wanted Perseus gone so he tricked him into taking a very deadly mission. The mission was to kill Medusa and bring him the head of her. Medusa also has two other sisters who are also Gorgons.

Before Perseus left for the mission, two gods, Athena and Hermes and three nymphs decided to help him. Athena gave him a shield and Hermes gave him a sword. The nymphs gave shoes that could make him fly, a cap that made him invisible and a pouch to carry the head of Medusa if he made it out alive. He first flew to the home of the aged ones. He then saw that three old women fighting over an eye and a tooth. Wearing a cap that made him invisible he then stole the eye and asked for the directions to the Gorgon cave. If they didn't tell him he threatened to keep it so they told him where it was located at and gave back the eye. He then arrived at the cave of the Gorgons and luckily, they were all asleep. He then got the sword that Hermes gave him and cut Medusas head off. He quickly fled away using the shoes that the nymphs gave him as Medusas sisters woke up. As soon as he got home he used Medusas head to kill Polydectes. Unfortunately, the severed head still worked after decapitation. After that he went on many adventures with it and later gave it to Athena who gave him the shield. She then wore it on her breastplate to ward off evil.
But killing Medusa was not the only heroic thing Perseus has done in his life. He also
saved a princess named Andromeda who was a princess that lived in a city by the sea.

One day Andromedas mother boasted that her daughter was more beautiful then any of the gods daughters except for Aphrodite. This was when the trouble started. Poseidon who was the god of the sea had daughters who heard of Andromedas mothers boasting. They whined to their father telling him to do something about it. They kept doing this until Poseidon who was very angry at this point flooded the city and sent a giant sea serpent to eat everybody in the city. The king of the city who was the father of Andromeda asked a oracle what he should do. The oracle said he must sacrifice his daughter to the serpent. The king then ordered for his daughter to be chained up to a tree on a cliff that faced the sea. When the guards were done chaining her up to the tree, Perseus who was adventuring that day saw her and fell in love with her as soon as he saw her. He landed near her and cut the chains off. After that the sea serpent tried eating them but Perseus got his sword out very quickly and cut off the head of the sea serpent. They both fell in love with each other and got married soon

after.
Like I said before, Perseus went on many adventures since he cut the head of Medusa.
In one of those adventures, he was on his way back to Seriphus he came across the Titan Atlas who was carrying the heavens on his shoulders. Titan Atlas asked Perseus to turn him into stone using Medusas head to release him of his pain. Perseus agreed to this and pulled out Medusas head from his pouch and showed him it. Titan Atlas then turned into stone so he would no longer feel the weight of the heavens pushing down on his shoulders.
So the question that still remains is "Does Perseus deserve the title Greek hero?" After
all that he has done, I think Perseus deserves the title as a Greek hero.