Theseus In The Odyssey

If compared to Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey theory, Theseus is considered a mythological hero; however, not in a historical manner in which he is often accredited.

Our first introduction of Ariadne is of her abandonment by Theseus. Ariadne looks on as Theseus abandons her on the island “ bearing wild furies in the heart.”

The Minotaur, half man half bull, lived in Crete. Trapped in a labyrinth, constructed by the great Daedalus, the king of Crete, King Minos, demanded a tribute of seven boys and seven girls from Athens to satisfy the Minotaur’s savage hunger. But one year, Minos was deceived, for a new hero arose, Theseus, son of Aegeus, Prince of Athens. He won over the heart of Minos’s daughter, Ariadne, and used her ball of string to venture into the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur. After a hard-fought grapple within the lair of the minotaur, the beast fell to the sword of Aegeus, which Theseus had smuggled into the maze. Using the string, he found his way back out. The Labyrinth went underground, void of life, never to be seen again.

After capturing the Athens, Minos declared that every nine years, seven maidens and seven youths were sacrificed to the Minotaur however Theseus volunteers as a sacrifice to defeat the Minotaur. “As an Oak tree falls on the hillside, crushing all that lies beneath. So Theseus, he presses out the life, the Brute’s savage life, and now it lies dead” (Hamilton 207) The author uses a simile to compare the beating of the Minotaur with an Oak tree falling on the hillside to show the reader how powerful Theseus is. Even though Theseus used his physical power to kill the Minotaur, an innocent creature born into madness, it was for good reason.

One afternoon Theseus was in his room when a little note was slid under his door and it told him to go down to the courtyard the crack of dawn and so he did. It was princess Ariadne who was going to help him defeat the Minotaur, she gave him a magical string that would help find his way through the labryrinth, the giant maze made by Daedalus and a sword. The next morning they were going into the labryrinth. As soon as they were in, it was dark and wet with bones all around. Theseus told one of the Athenian children to hold one end of the string when he set off. Once Theseus was deep into the maze he heard a rumble and he knew that was Minotaur. He ran in to the Minotaur with sword at hand it gave out a big groan. Theseus cut through it a couple more times to make sure it was dead. With a sigh of relief he walked back. At the entrance Ariadne was waiting to open the door to let them out. When the Athenians got out and quickly got a ship to sail back, but Theseus forgot to fly white sails so once King Aegean of Athens through himself off a cliff because he thought his son had died. After his death they named the sea after him, the Aegean

A quote from Epictetus, a Greek stoic philosopher, describes skillful pilots as gaining their reputation and glory through surmounting their storms and tempests. In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, one man named Odysseus shows his glory and builds his reputation in different ways. Odysseus is a skillful pilot in which he overcomes a long journey, a suppressed identity, and a battle in his own home.

During the episode on Polyphemus’ island, Odysseus needs to improve on using wisdom/logic. Odysseus takes his men into the cave and they very quickly get the idea that the Cyclops do not want them there. His men tried to turn him back, but they stayed despite the Cyclops obvious bad intentions and Odysseus acted as if he would be treated as a well-respected guest. Only after many of his men are devoured by Polyphemus does Odysseus start to formulate his plan. While in the cave, Odysseus says that Polyphemus “beat their brains out, splattering the floor” (Homer 194). Odysseus should have thought through the situation and tried to create an escape plan much faster. He needed to use his judgment and common sense to spare several of his best men’s lives instead of telling the Cyclops that “any gifts/ you give – as custom is to honor strangers”

He trains them, strengthening their skill and power. He shows his true leadership, becoming a sort of teacher to them. When they arrive at Knossos, he tries to convince King Minos to let the tributes go. He is not only thinking for himself, but for his people. Minos refuses, but Theseus is still set on fighting the bull, not for the glory now, but so others will not have to be killed. His mindset has practically switched, instead of being self-pitying, he is now selfless. Theseus successfully slays the Minotaur, and takes his tributes and the two of Minos’ daughters home. He is so happy, “drunk with strength and joy,” that he forgets a promise he made to his father. When he was leaving Athens, he swore that if he killed the beast and made it back alive, he would change his sail from black cloth to white. Theseus forgets to change the black sail, and his father, under the assumption that Theseus is dad, jumps off a cliff, killing himself. This makes Theseus the king, and he unites many City-states in Greece, and eventually takes King Minos’s kingdom as well. He rules as a fair and wise king, and many people look up to and respect

Odysseus was sound asleep in the woods only to be awakened after hearing the sound of girls shouting. The girls were kicking around a ball when they woke Odysseus as they were waiting for the river-washed clothes to dry in the sun. Fate was taking place to connect the exhausted traveler with a princess, Nausikaa. The night before, Athena visited Nausikaa in her dreams with intentions to influence her to go to the river to wash herself and her clothes for reason to be able to meet Odysseus. Once Odysseus gathered himself to go see what was around him, he comes out from behind the bushes causing the maids accompanying Nausikaa to all scatter at the sight of him. He is compared to a calm mountain lion that looks to be roughened by his hardships,

Now Theseus is older and is in his father’s palace in Athens, the fame seeking youth decided to set his sights on a new journey. A journey which would lead to him being loved and remembered by all the people of Athens. During this time Athens had a severe problem, the neighboring island Crete would attack them every so often. The king of Athens decided to try and compromise with Crete. He stated if Crete left Athens alone for nine years they would send fourteen Athenian youths seven male and seven females as a sacrifice to Minos to be fed to the Minotaur king Minos pet. The king of Athens goal was to build a strong navy, so they could defend themselves from Crete. Surprisingly the king of Crete Mino kept his word and never attacked Athens. Now nine years had come, and it was Athens turn to keep their word. The king of Athens was conflicted as he knew the value of keeping one's word. Theseus seeing this as the perfect opportunity to earn new fame and liken his image in Athens volunteered as the seventh male Athenian youth. Theseus’s goal is to slay the Minotaur and save his fellow Athenians. Theseus promises his father, he will return alive and when he does, he will change the color of the sail on the ship from white to black. In the event the sails stay black his father should assume Theseus has met his demise. After the Athenians arrive in Crete they are welcomed by King Mino’s and princess Ariadne, upon seeing

When he is there, he is almost sacrificed by being poisoned by Lady Medea, but the cup of poisoned wine is knocked away. “As my mouth touched it, I felt it plucked from my hands” (Renault 125). The reason he was going to be killed was to break the curse plaguing Athens that was brought upon by Aigeus’s grandfather. Aigeus weeps after Theseus discovers the king’s plan, but Theseus understands why he was supposed to die and feels that it is his duty to rule Athens to make up for the curse. Theseus inherits the curse, however, and his own son dies. However, the death of his son is the cause for the renewal of Athens and the lifting of the

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.

Theseus, born of Aethra and Poseidon, grew up secretly in Troezen keeping him protected from those who would harm him. Thus, claiming the items his father left him and setting out for Athens, he started on the path leading to many great and heroic adventures.

Bravery, the ability to perform accordingly, even when half scared to death is an exceptional trait possessed by humans, which allows us to move ahead in spite of fear and take risks to be successful within our lives. Perseus, son of Olympian King Zeus, is a prestigious hero in Greek mythology, illustrious for severing the head of vicious Gorgon Medusa. Theseus, son of Poseidon and King Aengus, is a prominent hero in Greek mythology, distinguished for the innumerable quests he participated in for the welfare of others to help eradicate notorious, obnoxious monsters. Theseus is extraordinarily courageous, which he proves throughout the multitudinous quests he goes on, while Perseus on the contrary demonstrates inconsequential courage when compared to Theseus. Correspondingly, Theseus justifies he is intelligent as he successfully completes his quests individually,

would be a big help to Odysseus because he is the god of fire, also he has the ability to creat armor. If Hephaestus was the protector of Odysseus, Odysseus would be more protected because Odysseus would have armor to protect him. Hephaestus is a good protector because in book four of the Odyssey he is spoken of by the goddess Menelaus as he donates Telemachus a mixing bowl made by him. Hephaestus would be a good help to Odysseus because he's immune to harm from injury and is unable to get sick with any sickness or disease. Hephaestus is also stronger than the regular Olympian god and is able to pick up 40 ton optimally. Hephaestus is a genius among all the other Olympian gods and has created many weapons over the millennia. Hephaestus created the female shaped robots that assist him. People also refer to Hephaestus as The Great god of forge and fire, also God of volcanoes. Hephaestus was the only God on Mount Olympus who had a normal job and actually used his hands to work. The job was a Blacksmith, so he's able to make weapons and armor and more for Odysseus. It was said that Hephaestus was blacksmith for every God. Hephaestus was a craftsmen so he would also be able to craft weapons or tools for Odysseus. As Hephaestus was a skillful blacksmith he was able to forge and construct anything for all the other gods and goddesses. Hephaestus is a big strong god who is very dangerous and also powerful. Hephaestus would be a major