Perseus As A Hero Essay

Perseus was a Greek hero who was an extremely typical hero. Perseus adequately displays most of the qualities of a typical hero throughout the story of his life. The hero motifs which are directly displayed in the legend of Perseus is his extraordinary birth, his conquering of monsters, the semi divine worship of Perseus after death, his enemy opposition, the cooperation of both gods and humans, the rewards Perseus receives, and his categorization into heroic roles. Perseus’ birth was extraordinary in many ways. First a prophecy foretold that Danae, Perseus’ mother, was destined to have a child whom would kill Acrisius, Danae’s father. Through fear Danae was locked into a bronze unground dungeon where Zeus, god of the sky, entered in a shower

The most common rewards granted are marriage and kingship. During Perseus’ life he is able to achieve all these rewards. First, he is granted marriage to Andromeda after Perseus slays the sea monster in order to save her. The Ethiopian princess was Perseus’ reward for saving the city. Perseus also receives kingship of Tiryns and later on in Mycenae the city he founded. As Perseus persists in his endeavors he is categorized into specific hero roles which are quite typical. When Perseus saves Andromeda from the sea creature he displays the role of a savior. Another heroic role that Perseus takes on is that of the founder. Perseus earns this title when he becomes the creator of the city, Mycenae. This is the city which later takes patronage of him and worships him as the Mycenae protector.

The unusual circumstance surrounding his birth, his heroic tasks, the symbolic defeat of death, his enemies, the aid of gods and humans, his rewards, and heroic roles make Perseus a typical hero. Some counter examples within Perseus’ tales mainly revolve around his enemy’s lawful kingship and also Perseus’ royal right to rule in Argos before the murder of his grandfather, but otherwise Perseus’ exemplifies almost all of these heroic traits and hardships of a typical