The two most important traits found in a hero are courage and honor which both Perseus and Theseus demonstrate remarkably. Early in the myth of Theseus it is apparent that his profound strength matched his courage when “he felt it would disgrace his father Poseidon if he chose to avoid the kind of struggles that Heracles purposely sought”(245). This desire to seek out quests and challenges in order to prove himself demonstrates his innate courage. Later on in the myth his courage and his honor are put to the test when in response to Minos taking fourteen athenian civilians and slaughtering them in the labyrinth he “willingly volunteered to be one of the fourteen sacrifices and share the fate of the victims of the lottery”(248). Knowing that his decision may mean his death, Theseus …show more content…
This vow that Theseus is determined to keep is the foundation to his honor. Ultimately this is what separates Theseus from other heroes such as Heracles who while was courageous would often kill in fits of rage. Perseus demonstrates his courage when he tells Polydectes that he would “kill the horrible Gorgon Medusa in order to prove my loyalty and courage”(200). When Perseus could not donate horses or wealth to the king he instead turns to donating his loyalty and services by killing Medusa. By volunteering to kill this beast Perseus willingly puts his own life on the line demonstrating courage. Later on in the myth Perseus comes across Andromeda who is destined to be devoured by a great sea monster but Perseus states “ I have severed the Gorgon Medusa’s snake-haired head, and I will rescue your daughter from this monster”(206). Perseus uses his newly found weapon in order to help the Princess Andromeda from the dreadful sea monster and in return Andromeda becomes his bride. By helping and protecting the defenseless, such as Andromeda, Perseus demonstrates great
King Acrisius was king of Argos. He had an amazingly beautiful daughter, but he wished deeply for a son, so he prayed to the gods for them to give him a son. Apollo,the god of culture and prophecy, told him that he will never have a son in all his days and that the son of his daughter will slay him. Acrisius thinks of just killing his daughter,Danae, to prevent his prophecy, but fears of the punishment he will receive from the gods for this act, so he instead locks his daughter in an entirely bronze house and guards it closely. What he did not expect is for the king of the gods Zeus to come directly to his daughter and impregnate her. From this comes a son named Perseus. When Acrisius learns of his daughter's offspring, he puts both Perseus and Danae in a trunk and sets it off into the ocean. By luck or by the will of Zeus Perseus and Danae wash up onto a small island, where a kind hearted fisherman named Dictys takes in the two strangers. They live contently with Dictys until Dictys' brother, King Polydectes, fell in love with Danae. He decides to construe a plot to get rid of her son,Perseus, so that he can have her. The plan he comes is to convince Perseus to go and slay the woman-beast Medusa. He thinks this feat impossible by a mortal man, because any man who lays eyes upon her turns to stone. To aid him on his quest Hermes gives him a sword stronger than that of Medusa's scale. He also told him he would need equipment from the nymphs of the north, who's location was unknown by all except the Gray Women who are ray and live in gray.The three sisters share one eye between them all and
Perseus’s story begins on an island ruled by a ruthless king named Polydectes. Dictys, the king’s brother, stumbles upon a young Perseus and the boy’s mother Danaë inside a great box along the shore. Dictys shelters the two and raises Perseus to be a peaceful, ordinary fisherman. Polydectes, however, wants the young boy deceased so Danaë would consider becoming queen. Perseus soon gains the call to adventure after Polydectes informs him of a killable gorgon. The king knows that no mere mortal can defeat even Medusa. Polydectes eventually coaxes Perseus into retrieving the head of Medusa as a present and thus the king’s plan falls into motion.
In fictional comics, most superheroes shows bravery when completing their jobs and they also use this characteristic to help themselves win against the battle between their super villains. However, in the reading, “The Voyage of Odysseus” by Sally Benson, Odysseus shows bravery when confronting against Polyphemus and coming up with a plan to escape the giant’s cave with his men. In the text, a quote states that “Odysseus called to his four friends and, lifting the staff, the thrust the end of it into the fire until it was red hot. Then they plunged it into the Cyclops’ one eye. The monster roared in pain. Earlier, Odysseus had told his companions to harness the rams of the flock three abreast with willow branches, which they found on the floor of the cave” (Benson 3-4). In the this example, the readers learn that Odysseus and four of his men blinded the giant by stabbing the cyclops’s eye with fire. Afterwards, Odysseus told his men to surround their bodies with sheep flock in order to escape from the cyclops’s cave. It is important to mention this explanation because then people will know how to be brave in a way that can eliminate their dangerous obstacles and saving people from anything or anyone that is treacherous to them. In all, there are many situations that require the characteristics of bravery such as going in war
Many people work diligently to attain the character trait courage. Courage cannot be easily accomplished as the definition of courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty. Courage is shown in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, as Atticus bravely defends a black person, Tom Robinson during history where racism was vivid. The theme of courage is ideally present via Scout and Boo Radley from the book To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee.
The Odyssey is a great example of heroes and the traits they possess. One such hero in the book is named Odysseus. A man who has been away from his home in Ithaca for 20 years. Throughout his adventures, he has been through many dangerous obstacles in the way of him and his crew, which have even taken the lives of many of his men as well. The traits that make Odysseus a hero are courage, intelligence, and confidence.
In To Kill A Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, tells the characters time and again show courage not only in their actions but also in their personalities as individuals. Throughout the story we are informed on: Scout, Jem, and Dill. They all show courage in the things they do around Maycomb as in: school, home, the Radley house, Mrs. Dubose, and several places throughout Maycomb. The children’s feelings towards Boo Radley are in a way mixed, when I say mixed I mean they feel intimidated, a little scared, but also the feel sorry for him since he’s always inside. We also observe Atticus’ courage in defending an african american, which at the time was a big deal especially in the south.
“Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success.”(Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee states that bravery and courage are favorable traits that build character and make one stronger. She suggests this through Atticus deciding to defend Tom Robinson and Mrs. Dubose defeating her morphine addiction. There are many examples of this, but these two stood out the most.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird shows us a theme of Courage . In the book To Kill A Mockingbird told through the eyes of Scout shows us life in Maycomb back in the 1930’s. When Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella causing a lot of events in which the characters had to show courage in some shape or form to help the society become a whole. Atticus, Boo Radley and Jem show courage and created positive a change in their society.
Every human being is capable of taking action into any situation they are put in. Heroes are within those humans, as they have been given attention for the obstacles they face, not unlike Odysseus, the epic hero in The Odyssey. Yet, traits possessed while put in front of a problem makes up how others see them as a hero, although the qualities of heroes are not always positive, and many men and women considered modern day heroes take hold of these traits. The character Odysseus encounters many life-threatening obstacles in his tale. He handles these in a rather disappointing way, using guile to sneak his way past the enemy.
For example, in the episode of “The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis” that even when Odysseus loses all his men, he “caught hold of the [tree branch] and clung like a bat.” (Homer, 431) This shows that instead of him expressing grief on the loss of his men, he focused on surviving. This is important because an ordinary man would mourn for his men and be in the state of despair and hopelessness of surviving, unlike Odysseus. Thus, perseverance reveals the difference between an ordinary man and a hero.
One way to be a hero is to be idolized for courage. Odysseus was idled by his son, wife, his people of Ethica, and his troops he fought alongside in Troy. This makes him a hero because without courage, you cannot be a hero. Courage is one of, if not, the biggest characteristics of being a hero. Without courage, you are not able to go on any long journey, fight in a war, or even be the leader
Overall, the ancient greeks valued Theseus because of his compassion and wisdom. Theseus showed compassion when Hercules’s burst of insanity, caused by his stepmother, Hera, led him to kill his wife and children and then want to kill himself. Although the public shunned Hercules, Theseus thought that a man could not be charged for murder if he had not known what he was doing, and those who had influenced the man should be charged for the crime as well. So Theseus brought him under his wing and welcomed him inside his house. Theseus, who was just as compassionate as he was wise, demonstrated his wisdom after his father’s death, who was king of Athens. The only place of power he wanted was the position of commander and chief. He also formed a council and a place where people could vote. Thus, establishing the first democracy. As seen in my first example, Theseus showed compassion to Hercules, when no other man
In ancient Greece, Theseus would be considered a hero because he was courageous while also being kind. Even as a small child, Theseus showed great courage. For example, when he was a young boy and was looking for his father, he chose travel by land instead of by sea because the land was more dangerous. The land was more dangerous because there were many bandits along the way, but Theseus wanted to become a hero as quickly as possible, so he traveled by land and killed every bandit along the way. Greeks would have valued this courage because in ancient Greece, people greatly admired brave and powerful heroes who wouldn't back down from any challenge. Although Theseus was brave, he was also kind to others. This is why he convinced Hercules not to kill himself after he murdered his family under the influence of Hera. Many other people would’ve agreed with Hercules ending his own life for what he’d done, but Theseus knew that it wasn’t his fault, and that suicide was not the right way. The ancient greeks would have valued this because ancient greece was a violent and dangerous, so someone who was kind and gentle and was also strong was person to be respected.
Courage, a phenomenal trait is the acquired ability to move beyond fear, which is crucial for every hero to possess. Theseus has a remarkable amount of courage, thus allowing him to confront agony, pain and danger. As Theseus courageously went to Athens, "He became determined to choose the perilous land passage" (Rosenberg and Baker 245), making it apparent that he is willing to take risks. On the contrary, Perseus whom is likewise a fearless hero, distinctly lacks the amount of courage which is possessed by Theseus. As an act of courage Perseus mentions; "I have no family wealth to offer you, but I fearlessly offer you my services" (200). Theseus's stupendous courage when opposed to Perseus's minimal courage,
In ancient Greek times, Perseus was considered a great hero because he exemplified great empathy and great determination. Empathy was one of Perseus’ most prominent traits. He exemplified this on multiple occasions, one of which being when he felt bad for the titan Atlas. The Titan was punished with having to hold up the heavens for all eternity by the gods for being the leader of the Titans in the war against Zeus. Perseus felt empathy for him and turned him to stone because earlier in the myth, Atlas begged to be turned to stone so that he could rest from the great burden. This shows empathy because of Perseus. While he did worship the Greek gods, he still felt that the punishment that was bestowed upon