Perseus Archetype

An archetype is an original template of something, from which other things of the same nature are based. There are many types of archetypal characters, and one type is the archetypal hero. The heroes in Greek mythology have seven rules to follow to be thought of as true heroes. The most interesting guideline is that a hero must return to face a father figure, which involves some kind of retribution. Three important hero stories in Greek culture, the Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules myths, all include examples of this atonement. While Hercules, Theseus, and Perseus each exhibit different personalities, they also contrast in the ways they confront their father figures.

Perseus, on his journey to kill Medusa, tricked the Grey women and returned to kill Polydectes. Polydectes was in love with Perseus’s mother Danae, and he wanted Perseus gone. In trying to kill him, he said that he wanted the head of Medusa for a wedding present, and Perseus decided to go get it

(Hamilton 226). Hard work was put into this quest, and when Perseus realized that Polydectes only wanted him dead, he was furious. After retrieving her head, he went to Polydectes’s banquet and showed them the head of Medusa, which turned them to stone (Hamilton 234). During his journey, Hermes and Athena told him that the Grey Women knew the location of the Nymphs of the North (Hamilton 228), and that he would have to find them to continue his quest. The Grey Women all shared one eye, so when one of them passed it on, he snuck up and took it from them until they told him where the Nymphs were. Overall, Perseus displayed more psychological characteristics than physical, such as his slyness, and in the end he got revenge on Polydectes for the drudgery he had to go through.
The hero Theseus went on a quest to kill the Minotaur out of his concern for the people being sacrificed to it.

Seven youths and seven maidens from Athens were sent as tributes every nine years into the labyrinth, to be killed by the Minotaur, because King Minos’s son had died due to king Aegeus sending him on a deadly quest (Hamilton 239). Theseus volunteered as tribute, but unknown to everyone, he planned to kill the Minotaur. When he got in the maze, he killed the sleeping Minotaur with his bare hands (Hamilton 241). This was him getting vengeance on Minos for sacrificing the maidens and youths to the Minotaur. Him killing the Minotaur was also out of compassion for the people of Athens, who were afraid of being sacrificed. Another notable instance of Theseus caring about others was after Hercules had killed his wife and kids. He comforted him and saved him from killing himself out of guilt (Hamilton 259). At his essence, Theseus cared so much for others that he put himself in danger to help

them.
Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmena, and consequently had to face Hera’s wrath throughout his journeys, in which he displayed his vigor. Hera began impeding Hercules ever since he was a child, when she put snakes in his crib (Hamilton 257). The worst thing she did was cause him to go mad and murder his children and wife (Hamilton 259). Unlike the other heroes, Hercules did not get revenge, but forgave Hera. When he died, he went to heaven, resolved the tension between himself and Hera, and married her daughter Hebe (Hamilton 274) Her letting him marry Hebe was the telltale sign that she was over being wrathful towards him. Hercules most prominent trait is his physical strength. When fighting Achelous the river-god, Hercules did not listen to him reasoning and said “My hand is better than my tongue. Let me win fighting and you may win talking” (Hamilton 266). His strength helps him get through his quest of the 12 Laboard, and makes up for his lack of intelligence. Ultimately, Hera interferes with Hercules’s life to extreme levels, and he uses his strength to get through the hardships she puts him through.
Each of these Greek heroes has something distinctive about them that the Greeks found honorable in real people. Perseus’s slyness, Theseus’s compassion, and Hercules’s strength all were traits that made the Greeks admire these heroes. The heroes all confront father figures in different ways because of their circumstances and their own personalities. Perseus was angry that he went on a quest for Polydectes even though he wanted him dead, Theseus cared about the people who were being sacrificed because of King Minos, so he killed his Minotaur to end the deaths, and Hercules forgave Hera for all that she had done, because he could understand her guilt. In conclusion, each of these hero myths varies in the ways the heroes confront their father figures, and they all have unique personalities that they display throughout their quests.