Perseus is one of the many greek heroes whose stories are told in ancient Greek myths, but Perseus’s courageous actions have set him apart from the others. With his troubled childhood, his fearless attempt to slay Medusa and his bravery to save Andromeda, Perseus is truly the best example of a hero in all of greek mythology. The first paragraph will be focused around how his terrible past has helped Perseus become the amazing hero he is. The second paragraph will highlight how his fearlessness makes him superior to all of the other heroes. The third paragraph will be centered around how Perseus’s heroic act to save a damsel in distress signifies that he is a true hero. All of these points will again be summarized in the conclusion along with a restatement of the thesis. …show more content…
Perseus was born in a dungeon to Danae whose father never wanted her to have children. One day Zeus came into the dungeon in disguise and Perseus was born. When Danae’s father saw this he banished Danae and her child out the sea in a wooden chest, which is where Perseus spent a great deal of time helpless, scared and hungry: “In the darkness of that flimsy chest, Danae was numb with fear” (Creighton 89). This event, however did not damage Perseus but it made him a stronger and very protective of his mother. Polydectes, the king of Seriphos, wanted to marry Danae but Danae did not want to marry him: “Polydectes, however, was not daunted by Danae’s attitude, and he resolved to marry her with force. There was only one serious obstacle in his way, and that was her dare-devil son.” (Creighton 90). Perseus wanted to protect his mother and he would not let Polydectes marry Danae. He has gone from a helpless boy to a daring yet protective man showing that his terrible past has made him stronger, and this is essential for any great
In the poem Perseus the character is Medusa's victims. That is the only one that is different from the other story. The setting isn’t as different as the other story but it is the only setting it is Medusa's cave. The events are that Perseus sees Medusa's victims then Perseus wanted to kill or destroy Medusa. Finally, the conflict of the story is that Perseus has a thirst to kill, its a problem because he wants to kill innocent people.
Haven vs. Wilderness, Perseus felt safe around his mom until a guy asked her to marry her and wasn’t so sure about it.
The Hero Perseus is the son of the immortal Zeus and the mortal Danaë. Apart from having clear connections to his divine father Zeus, Perseus is also a descendant of Poseidon, Oceanus, and Tethys. In his lineage, Perseus can be linked to numerous kings and queens of diverse states. In particular, Perseus descended from Acrisius, king of Argos and brother of the King of Tiryns. Further generations include Abas, the founder of the Abantes, as well as connections to Cepheus and Cassipeä, the parents if his future wife, Andromeda. Other kings include Epaphus of Egypt, Minos of Crete, Phineus of Thrace, and
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
Theseus first displays his heroic nature when he was seven years old. Hercules came home and took of his lion’s skin. Convincing as it looks, Theseus friends ran away. “Theseus quickly grabbed an axe and fiercely attacked it” (244). Theseus was ready to risk his life at the age of seven. Theseus friends were terrified but Theseus showed them that he was fearless. Many thrive to obtain the characteristic of fearless and are willing to do anything to achieve the title. Perseus announces that he has no family wealth for the king but Perseus can offer his service. “I would even kill the terrible Gorgon Medusa”(200). Perseus behead the mortal Gorgon with one slice of his sharp sickle. Perseus risked his life just to prove his loyalty and courage. Theseus is a number of heroic things such as strong, selfless etc. Most importantly he is fearless and continuously is able to display it through his actions. Theseus courageously and fearlessly volunteered himself to kill the Minotaur just like how he killed Marathon. This shows that he’s not afraid to kill anyone. He was admired by many, including the Athenians due to his courage and honour. Theseus was known to defeat extremely difficult
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...
In a society in which social position was vital for having a successful family, the Greek and Roman families internally struggled with one another. This constant conflict stems from the father’s desire for control and the society’s high placement of power. In the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone, Zeus’s interest for his selfish gains prompts him to “ ( give ) Persephone to the Lord of Dead to become his queen “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Zeus does not ask Persephone nor Demeter, his beloved wife, presenting that he does not show any opinions on their feelings. Although Zeus in reality just wanted to have a powerful family with the addition of Hades, his love for power overrode his love for his family and created a tension between the other members and him. In another Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, shows man’s love for supremacy through ...
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,
The idea of a true hero is varied from person to person, because each viewpoint has a different idea of the personality that makes one a hero. There have been many fiction and non-fiction heroes that show different character traits, which influence people’s definitions of a hero. However, each person’s unique thought about a hero still focuses about one central idea: a hero must prove himself in order to earn his heroic status. This is the cornerstone of all the opinions about heroes because heroes have to show their heroism in order to become who they are in the end. At the beginning they are inexperienced, ordinary people who go on their adventures, and face their fears and weaknesses, but they develop greatly throughout these journeys. After comprehending what true heroism is and following it only then will they become heroes even though each of them has different traits. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus gains the title of hero during his journey back to Ithaka, from Troy, by proving to be one. It is through his characteristics and experiences that he becomes the well developed man at the end of the book. In truth, because of his confidence, loyalty, and difficult struggles, Odysseus becomes a genuine hero to the people he defended.
Odysseus, the protagonist of the Odyssey by Homer fits the outline of an epic hero because he is courageous, quick-witted, and a natural leader. Odysseus isn’t only known for his muscles, also his clever mind. He is one of the great heroes that possesses both brains and brawn. He is also a hero with outstanding skill and bravery. It is no wonder why many teachers refer to Odysseus as a powerful hero. I believe Odysseus is a hero because he is clever, can overcome obstacles, is very brave, a leader but like all great heroes, he has his weaknesses.
A comparison to that is some other Greek heroes did live happily ever after but Perseus is the most popular of them to live like that and not have a strange death. Citing from mythindex.com in some stories Perseus never meets Andromeda and is lonely for the rest of his life. In another story from theoi.com Perseus’s mother is dead and he is very depressed for the rest of his
He was the son of Danae and Zeus. They were locked and thrown away to the sea by his grandfather Acrisius. The box didn't sink and floated to the shore of an island. When the box was opened Zeus, Danae and Perseus stepped out to the country that was ruled by Polydectes. The king felt in love with Danae, but she couldn't marry him because she had to take care of Perseus.
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