Perseus Influence On Greek Culture

Let’s say that you are in a big city full of thousands and thousands of people. They all have things to do, places to be, and you are just casually walking down the street one day. You take a nice deep breath and feel good about the world. Suddenly, you notice someone sitting by themselves in searing pain. You look around to see if anyone is offering any help. After no one helping them, you go up and help them. After that, more and more people come over and provide assistance. A few days later, you hear that they are fine and doing well. This what Perseus would have done if he was living in our society today. The Greeks had a whole different society built up. They had different problems that occurred and different ways to solve them. Perseus

The Greek historian Thucydides says that Pericles, an important political figure in Athens, gave a eulogy for the Athenians who had died in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. The speech that Pericles gave talked about all the great characteristics of Athenian society. According to Pericles, Athenian democracy allows citizens the freedom and power to participate in government. Pericles states that “no one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the polis, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty. The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life.” This quotation shows that everybody, of any social class, is allowed to participate in political and governmental issues. No matter how poor you may be, you are not allowed to be kept away from politics in Athens if you can be helpful to the government. Pericles also states, “Power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people; this is why it is called democracy. This statement indicates that the power in Athens is spread amongst all the citizens, instead of giving all the power to one group, which describes the entire purpose for democracy.

Perseus is special because he is the son of Zeus and the heir of Argos.

For years, Athens and her empire thrived under Pericles; therefore it is only logical that if Athens were to return to similar power, they should follow similar teachings. There are countless reasons why this was in the people’s best interest for only pure Athenians to be citizens of Athens. Most notably, for the following: the teachings of Pericles allowed the city to come together as one and create a singular united front for the world to see and respect built from their strong sense of identity post Peloponnesian War. Additionally, it was not possible that those who were not of pure Athenian blood to have had the same level of commitment to her great empire as pure blooded Athenians did. Consequently, Athenians viewed Metics as second class

Perseus son of Danae and Zeus, was thrown into the ocean while locked in a chest at birth by his grandfather because of a prophecy. Later found by a fisherman named Dictys who raised Perseus with Danae. The ruler of the land Polydectes was the brothe of Dictys and wanted Danae, so he told Perseus that he wanted a gorgon head. Perseus went on a long journey trying to find a gorgon. Athena and Hermes help find the gorgons and give Perseus the Equipment to kill a gorgon. Perseus travels back home to Polydectes after killing Medusa and shows everyone Medusa's head. Turning everyone into stone. Later he finds his mom and they go back to his grandfather. Perseus kills his grandfather afterward.

Within the myth of Perseus, the plot generally follows the structure of the archetypal hero’s journey. These aspects can be clearly identified throughout the lifetime of Perseus.

Pericles was born in 495 B.C. into the wealthy family of the Alcmaeonids. His father Xanthippus was a military commander for Athens at the battle of Mycale in 479 B.C. Pericles started his political career in law courts in 461 B.C. and Pericles had many great accomplishments.

Zeus had a son named Perseus, this story is about him, although he was the son of Zeus. He was just a demigod (half human half god). which meant that he can die like any other legend mortal. So is all started when he and his mother were in a coffin in the middle of the ocean, unfortunately his mother did not make it but he did because he is a demigod. Perseus was just a baby so he did not know Danae his mother, the coffin was out for a some time then a fishing boat stumbled upon the coffin.

When I think of the word hero, one of the first things that comes to my mind are the Greeks back in ancient times. There are different stories and theories of different men and women who all had wild adventures and journeys, but theres one thing they all have in common, they were all heroes in one way or another. What exactly is a hero though? Someone who always saves the day? Maybe someone who defeats the big monsters that attack cities? Or just someone who’s strong and just looks like a hero. For instance, Perseus and Odysseus. Both strong, looked up to type of men who are considered to be heros. But which one is actually the better hero? In my opinion, Odysseus is the real hero between the two, and here’s why.

Greek and Roman mythology had various writers that greatly contributed to the form of literature. Of course, one of the most important myth writers of Greece includes Homer, who wrote two of the oldest pieces of Greek literary works; the Iliad and the Odyssey.Hesoid is credited to have written the Theogony which describes and explains the universe according to Grecian myth. Pindar, another Greek poet, and possibly the greatest of them all wrote countless Odes to glorify the champions of Greece. Aeschyluse an ancient Greek tragedian is recognized for his mythological based plays along with the writers Sophocles and Euripides.

Pericles was born in Athens around the year 495 BCE. At that time the Greco-Persian Wars were just beginning. He would have heard about the victory at Marathon in 490, the Battle of Thermopylae and Salamis in 480, and witnessed the sacking of Athens in 480, and experienced many other martial events. All of these events would most certainly have had a large influence on Pericles’ actions as a general and statesman of Athens. Another influence would be from his own family. The closet familial relation that had military experience was his father Xanthippus. Xanthippus was the strategos that commanded the PanHellenic army that defeated the Persians at the battle of Mycale. As a member of the aristocracy military service would be par for the course

In Ancient Greece, Perseus was considered a hero due to his overwhelming bravery and his resourcefulness when in pursuit of a certain matter. Perseus was first faced with a quest when Polydectes announced that he was going to marry Perseus’s mother, Danaë (Hamilton 200). Every person in attendance brought the soon-to-be couple a wedding gift. That is, everyone but Perseus (Hamilton 200). He didn’t want them to be married, and he was too young and out of money to have a gift. He then formulated a plan, announcing that as his gift he would bring the head of the Gorgon by the name of Medusa (Hamilton 200). No one ever dared going after the Gorgons, so this in itself showed extreme bravery. He carried out his plan, too, he never showed cowardice. The Greeks valued this fearlessness in their portrait of a hero, and this amount of courage didn’t make Perseus foolish, a value that wasn’t so highly esteemed in Greece. Perseus also was resourceful in this quest, getting help from multiple gods and other creatures and objects he encountered along the way. He first encountered the priestess Delphi, who pointed him in the direction of a forest (Hamilton 200). Here he found Hermes, the messenger god and god of wealth (Hamilton 201). Hermes helped him all throughout his quest, giving him leads to places where he could find things that helped him on his expedition. Hermes helped him get a sword, cap of invisibility, winged sandals, and a magic wallet that could fit anything inside of it (Hamilton 203). Perseus also accepted help from the goddess Athena,

Perseus was the first of many mighty Greek heroes. He was a demigod who was nearly invincible. With extraordinary strength and thinking, there was nothing he could not challenge. One test did however push him to his limits though.

Are you familiar with the Greek myth of Persephone? The myth has a lot in common with spring. It starts with the Greek god Persephone being kidnapped by Hades, the king of the underworld. He saw her and couldn’t resist himself. Hades took Persephone to the underworld. He asked her to marry him, but she refused. He then asked her if she was hungry and offered her a pomegranate, and she caved into temptation; the hunger gnawing at her stomach. When she ate the pomegranate, she didn’t want to go back to the overworld and married Hades, becoming the queen of the underworld. Demeter, persephone’s mother and the god of harvest was very enraged.

Herc. 229). He was born into royalty, Danae was a princess, her father Acrisius was the King of Argos. Perseus had an unusual conception, Perseus’ mother Danae was imprisoned by Acrisius -her father. Acrisius imprisoned Danae to ensure his own safety, in Rick Riordan's novel, he states that Perseus was also