The Greatest Heroes Before the Trojan War

The Greatest Heroes before the Trojan War

l  The definition of hero (from Merrian-Webster)

1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability;

b: an illustrious warrior;

c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities;

d: one that shows great courage.
2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work;

b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement.

I. Perseus

l  Perseus

n  Grandson to King Acrisius of Argos

n  Son of Danaë who was visited by Zeus in the form of golden rain and gave birth to Perseus

n  Exiled with Danaë to a small island

n  Given a task by Polytectes, the ruler of the island who wishes to kill him and marry his mother

l  Perseus’s quest (to kill Medusa)

n  Given a sword by Hermes and a bronze shield by Athena

n  Playing trick on the three GRAEAE , who have only one eye and one tooth

n  Reaching the nymphs of the North and asking for direction of Medusa

n  Rewarded with sandals, a magic wallet and a cap

l  Great Equipment of Killing Medusa

n  Hermes’s sword

n  Athen’s shield

n  Winged sandals from the nymphs of the North

n  A magic wallet from the nymphs of the North

n  A cap from the nymphs of the North

l  Perseus’s heroic deeds

n  Killing Medusa, the mortal one of three Gorgons, with the weapons he was offered by Hermes and Athena

n  Perseus saved Andromeda by killing the sea serpent in Ethiopia.

n  After Perseus returned to the country ruled by Polytectes, Perseus held up the head of Medusa. Then Polydectes and his guest were turn into stone.

n  Perseus participated a contest of discus throwing and accidentally killed Acrisius, his grandfather, by discus.

II. Hercules

l  Hercules

n  Son of Zeus and Alcmena

n  Eight months old kills the Serpents.

n  Not intelligent, but brave, confident

n  Told by Alcides, the priestess, to perform twelve labors in order to make himself immortal

n  Hercules ascended to Olympus and lived among the gods.

l  Hercules’s twelve labors

1.  To kill the lion of Nemea

2.  To kill a creature with nine heads called Hydra

3.  To bring back alive a stag with horns of gold and sacred to Artemis

4.  To capture a great boar

5.  To clean the Augean stables in a single day

6.  To drive away the Stymphalian birds

7.  To go to Crete and fetch from there the beautiful savage bull

8.  To get the man-eating mares of King Diomedes of Thrace

9.  To bring back the cattle of Hippolyta

10.  To bring back the cattle of Geryon

11.  To bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides

12.  To bring Cerberus up from Hades

III. Theseus

l  Theseus

n  The great Athenian hero

n  The son of Aegeus

u  Taking a journey to find father - Aegeus

l  Theseus’s heroic deeds

n  Killed Minotaur which was a creature that was part man and part bull. It dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the Minotaur.

n  After killing Minotaur, Theseus took his trip back to his father. But he forgot to change the color of this sail from black to white. When his father saw the black sail, he jumped into the sea and was killed.

n  Married Ariadne’s sister Phaedra and therefore drew terrible misfortunes on her and on himself and on his son Hippolytus