Theseus: The Greek Hero's Journey

We all think of an ancient Greek hero as a robust, brave, young hero with a bulging chest and washboard abs. He has beautiful hair and a large menacing sword. He stands victorious after slaying a mighty beast, looking very handsome. He has a confident smile on his face because he knows that he is best. The Gods adore him, and every mortal praises him for his great deeds. But although Greek heroes may appear to be the best of the best, they might not be as noble as people think. Likewise, by today’s standards, their characteristics might not be appreciated as much as before. In ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus would have been considered heroic, but only Theseus and Perseus would be deemed heroic in modern day.

In Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike have held debates about Odysseus. The discussion is whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is abundant supportive evidence to verify all sides of the debate and opinions held about Odysseus. Odysseus had encompassed many qualities that I believe make him a hero. The qualities he embodied were mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.

Theseus, the newly found prince of Athens, embarks on several hero journeys including on against Minos’ Minotaur and the Labyrinth. Joseph Campbell’s representation of the hero’s journey fully encompasses Theseus’ narrative throughout his quest to defeat the Minotaur. Beginning with a call to adventure on through the crossing of the threshold and on to the reward and resurrection. Compared to Rank’s hero’s journey which includes a revelation and transformation with atonement, Campbell’s process fits more precisely to Theseus’ story.

Some may believe a hero is a person who fights evil and saves people. In reality, it is more than than that. A hero is someone who fights for what they believe in, they are courageous, fight for the greater good, and above all, would sacrifice their life to save the lives of many. For example, in The Odyssey, a hotshot is shown in the life of Odysseus. While many believe Odysseus was a great figure and leader, he was far from that. He failed his crew, and for one reason only, he was not the chieftain his men needed.

Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey, is an amazing example of an ancient hero that went through many different challenges. Heros, to me, are people who do great and help many different people in a lot of different ways. Odysseus is a good example of an ancient hero because he helped his city defeat Troy with his great trickery, courage, and strength. A great example of a modern day hero is Superman. Also known as Clark Kent, Superman is an outstanding hero. He helps out his city whenever they are invaded by evil super villains. He is able to accomplish these challenges with his superpowers, his willingness to protect the citizens. I believe that Odysseus has a lot of similarities with Superman in a hero’s journey.

Greg Anderson, personal trainer for Barry Bonds (major league player for the Pittsburgh Pirates) once said, “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” Greg, through training Barry, passed on his memories and experience, similar to the way a parent tells their children the stories of their past. In participation in a journey, whether it be through life, school, or training for a sport, one gains the most important valuable of all, memories.

The Book called The Odyssey is centered around the hero Odysseus. The part about this story that makes it challenging to talk about is the argument around whether Odysseus is a hero or not. Many Literary scholars of The Odyssey by Homer have argued that Odysseus is not a hero, closer examination shows that he clearly was a hero because he led them to victory in the Trojan War, he turned his men back into actual men, and he even went to the underworld where few to none have escaped freely. The logic of this is debated a lot because of the judgements he made during the war and the journey back home.

Theseus is not a hero due the following flaws he had in life. “His idea of dealing justice was simple, but effective: what each had done to others, Theseus did to him…Sinis, who killed people by fastening them to pine trees bent down to the ground and letting the trees go, died in that way himself.” (Hamilton 210) Heroes forgive and don’t revenge others because if doing so it won’t bring back the dead. However, Theseus’ ‘justice’ is to pay back the villains and let them die the same way they make others die. This clearly shows he isn’t a beneficial role model and would lead others to learn from him, to take revenge.

A Greek hero is a person, usually a demigod, who don't usually fit well in society, they tend to have an unusual divine birth, faces a great trial, defeats monsters, journeys to the underworld, some end up claim a birthright, and occasionally they lose the favor of their people or the gods. Theseus was the truest Greek hero for, he was born a demigod, he left his home to travel to Athens on his way to Athens he faces challenges, ones where he defeats monsters, He journeys to the underworld, furthermore he ruled as king of Athens, and eventually loses the favor of his people and Artemis.

Everyday we pass heros and we don’t even know how they have been affecting our daily lives. A hero is someone who does things out of the kindness of their hearts and not for the attention or reward. Theseus is the best hero out of all the ones we studied because he had no godly help, he was not self obsessed, and he didn’t mean to kill anyone directly.

Theseus was said to be the son of Poseidon and was considered to be the first king of Athens. He was thought to be a perfect example of an Athenian . Although he was most famous for slaying villains. he was said to be the “quintessential athenian” he was often the role model for the Athenian people. What really cemented his place in history was the fact that he fought the Minotaur.

Arrow is about a rich, promiscuous young man named Oliver Queen, who becomes stranded on an island for five years before finally being rescued. After his return, Queen becomes a vigilante trying to protect his city, Starling City, against the corrupt businessmen that live there. Before being able to properly assess Queen from a psychological point of view, we must understand his character before, during, and after his accident. Queen suffered from many terrible psychological problems during his five years "alone" on an "abandoned" island and after finally returning home.

Theseus tells the poor man he will go into the city and also depart. When he arrives he asks the warden where the king is at. The warden tells him he's dining and to leave without being noticed. Theseus tells him he's not afraid and goes onto the Cercyon's palace. When Theseus gets to the palace he challenges the king. The king tells him to dine first and then they will wrestle. After dinner Theseus puts his sword and belongings down and challenges the king. They wrestle until the sun goes down, but nobody won at that time. Theseus then lifts the king into the air and hurls him over his shoulder. After the fight Theseus goes over to the king and he's

Caedis was the young prince of a hidden land, more prosperous than any before it. There was always plenty to eat and drink, but the young prince remained unsatisfied with the life he had been given. He became the strongest and most cunning of all his brothers. Because of this the people wanted him to rule before his elder brother Saevus, who hated him with the fire of a thousand suns for being favored. Caedis desperately wanted to escape the paranoia he felt around his brother but he could not leave his family behind, especially Castus, an orphan girl who he treated like a sister. She was only seven, in spite of her hardships she had a glint of pure curiosity in her eyes that were always covered in the golden hair that fell in her face. She was never bored of exploring the world around her

Theseus awoke again from yet the same dream he has been having for months. The recurring dream seemed to feature a spaceship that had his name on the outside; accelerating at an unimaginable rate and then turning into light itself, only to reappear in perfect form in an unfamiliar location. He shook his head, thinking of all the obstacles needed to be surpassed to actually do this, break the speed the light. Theseus was of course trying to specialize in propulsion. He then looked out of his window. The ship was facing the Earth. A blue and green orb with white swirls deemed as the beacon of life, and as motivation. It had been long since Earth was inhabited by a human civilization. He shook his head again, thinking how the humans of old could have destroyed such a beautiful planet. Now they were to orbit the Earth along with other planets in artificial worlds, space ships containing everything mankind needed to live. It had been long since humans had left Earth, in an attempt to let it repair itself. Theseus knew realistically theses ships would be his and generations after’s homes. One day, when the Earth was ready, humans would return to this living orb