Perseus, The Hero

The great act of heroism and bravery plays a significant role in the ancient Greek myths, the greatest of these depictions are shown with Perseus, not Theseus. Perseus was the demigod son of the Lord of Olympus, Zeus and Danae, daughter of King Acrisius. Perseus is most well known for his noble deeds, like saving a stranded maiden from an impending death and slaying the mortal gorgon medusa for king Polydectes. Theseus, on the other hand, is the son of the great Earthshaker Poseidon and Aethra, daughter of King Pittheus. Theseus is most well known for traversing a path full of the harshest criminals, and slaying the mighty Minotaur. Both of these heroes have outstanding achievements, but one of them is braver than the other. The two points of comparison proving Perseus is braver than Theseus are Courage and Compassion.

Perseus, in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, would be considered a Greek hero due to Perseus, in my opinion, shows many qualities that would make him a hero. I think the most powerful evidence that supports him being a hero is that Perseus shows a very high quality amount of courage. So, Perseus shows courage by going on a mission to chop off Medusa's head to prove himself to everyone on the island he is on. I believe this shows courage because in the book it says, “The name ‘Medusa’ alone made everyone at the party step back with fear.” Perseus without a second thought goes on the mission. Perseus also shows great courage while out in sea and has to defeat a very large sea monster. The quote in the book that makes me know that

In the ancient Greek myths Perseus was a demigod. His father was was the God Zeus and is mother was Danae. His grandfather  Acrisius locked Persues and his mother into a large chest and sent them out to sea. He did so because the Oracle of Delphi prophecized that Perseus was going to kill

Persephone, was the beautiful Goddess of spring who became queen of the Underworld. She was the daughter of Zeus, ruler the Olympian

In the myth “Perseus”, Perseus is a young man who had to defeat Medusa, a gorgon. Perseus lacked a wedding gift for Polydectes, the ruler of the island (Hamilton 200). The guests were expected to bring a gift. “Each guest, as was customary, brought a gift for the bride-to-be, except Perseus alone. He had nothing to give,” (Hamilton 200). To make up for it, Perseus had to slay Medusa and bring back her head. In fact, it was Perseus who offered to venture out and kill the gorgon to compensate for his lack of a gift.(Hamilton 200). “He stood up before them all and and did exactly what the king hoped he would do, declared that he would give him a present better than any there. He would go off and kill Medusa and bring back her head as a gift,”

I picked the Lepus constellation. because Lepus is the 51st constellation in size and takes up a area of 290 square degrees. I also choose it cause its in the shape of a rabbit. and it also has very interesting myths behind it. The Lepus constellation lays in the northern sky. The name Lepus means "the hare" in Latin. It is depicted as a hare being chased by the hunter Orion or by his hunting dogs. represented by the constellations Canis Major and Canis minor. Lepus was first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Lepus contains the famous star R leporis. also known as Hinds crimson star. Lepus neighboring constellations are Caelem,Canis, Major,Columba,Eridanus,Monocerus and Orion.

“No man who had ever set out to kill Medusa had come back, and the king was sure that now he was forever rid of Perseus.” Throughout the movie of “Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief” and throughout the original mythology of “Perseus”, there are obviously huge differences between the two stories-- but there are also huge similarities as well. “Percy Jackson” draws on the legend of “Perseus” by having quite a similar story/a similar concept, while the story of “Percy Jackson” also transforms the original story by making the film more modern -- by adding more different quests, and by changing some of the characters/adding more new characters. Throughout the two stories, you can see very similar ideas -- such as hero archetypes, hero themes, and plot

Last but definitely not the least is Perseus. Just like Hercules, he is a son of Zeus, but his mother is a princess names Danae. Perseus is actually known for many things but the most common battle he won is against Medusa. Medusa was a woman who has snakes for hair, she was cursed by the Goddess Athena. Perseus, wearing a helmet of invisibility, snuck into Medusa’s lair and slays her while she was asleep. Anyone who lay eyes on Medusa, would be turned into a stone.

In the Greek myth, “Perseus and Medusa” the hero, Perseus goes through the Road of Trials which includes the graeae and traveling through Hades. These events are in paragraph 5 and 6. This shows Road of Trials because they are both challenges Perseus goes through to kill Medusa. The Ultimate Boon is when Perseus beheads Medusa in paragraph 7. This is the Ultimate Boon because the goal of the hero is to kill Medusa which will help his mother. The Unconditional Love in this myth is when Perseus kills Polydectes. This is Unconditional love because Perseus goes through many things to help save his mother from the king. This is all in the last paragraph’s last sentence where it says that Perseus had helped his mother. Perseus shows that he is a hero from completing the stage Initiation. When Initiation is finished the hero gets to the return.

In the story “Perseus and Andromeda” in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Ovid uses Perseus to show society's expectation of how a charming man has an obligation to save a “damsel in distress.” Ovid begins by telling the reader that the Sun has just risen and Perseus has been getting ready for the day; Ovid starts describing Perseus by the way he dresses: strapping on his wings, and proceeding to arm himself with a sword. This wayof describing the hero connects with Ovid’s previous portrayal of Perseus as a hero. Next, The author gives some foreshadow into what will happen by showing that Perseus notices the Cepheus’ kingdom. Ovid introduces the kingdom for two reasons. First, it explains that an unjust being named Ammon had condemned an innocent Andromeda for her mother’s speech. Second, it preludes Perseus’ discovery of Andromeda, by showing the kingdom around her. Following the description of the kingdom, Perseus notices Andromeda chained on a cliff with tears in her

The myth is the story of Perseus, the son of Zeus and Danae. As a baby he and his mother were forced into a coffin by his grandfather, Acrisius, and were sent out into sea to perish. They didn 't drown, however, they floated to land until they were found by a king, Polydectes. The king fell in love with Perseus ' mother and wanted to wed her, her refused so she could spend time caring for her son. After Perseus had grown into a young man Polydectes sent him on a mission to kill Medusa in a hope it would bring Perseus ' death, the king thought that with her son gone the woman she loved would marry him. Perseus accepted the mission in a hope to prove himself, and as the sun rose the next morning he welcomed it with songs. This pleases the gods

them in their time of need. In Edith Hamilton’s Mythology: Edith Hamilton, there are stories upon stories that tell about righteous and wicked gods, goddesses, and epic heroes. When discussing epic heroes, it’s usually the same two figures that come up, Perseus and Theseus. Arguably, between the two, Theseus is the better epic hero because he is ethical and morally upright and because his life ends tragically.

Being a Mythological hero is stressful. Always having to go on dangerous quests and save other people's lives. The hero has to show how clever they are while under everyone's microscope. They do all this will trying to hide their flaw; even though in mythology it seems someone always knows. Perseus holds the qualities of going to a journey, having flaws but also showing his cleverness.

Persephone’s parents are Zeus and Demeter, but Demeter cares more about her. Persephone is like Demeter’s prize possession, so she protects her daughter at all times. She was like the sun in the dark night.When Demeter isn 't able to take care of her daughter, the Earth nymphs take care of her instead.. She looks almost identical to her mother, but she had Zeus’ blue eyes. Her mother takes care of the earth 's vegetation, so she really didn 't have a purpose. She just lived her life as calm as a brook. Unfortunately, that took a dark turn unexpectedly.

I agree with Michael Uslan where he argues that superhero characters are a modern mythology. Although science can help explain the background of the superheroes powers, superheroes are usually regarded as a Saviour rather than a science experiment. Since superheroes are much more unrealistic, it tends towards being a mythology instead.