Theseus Hero

When you hear the word hero, what do you think of? Most people’s idea of a hero is someone you hear about often; like a police officer or firefighter. However, what many don’t realize is that it is not the person’s occupation that leads them to be classified as a hero. It is simply the traits they possess. In modern society, a hero is defined by their courage, generosity, honor, or an outstanding achievement. Yet, in ancient Greek times these traits were different. A hero then was also defined by their courage and strength, but also if they had divine ancestry, meaning one of their parents was a god, and were favored by the gods, meaning they were helped and liked by the gods. Some examples of heroes from ancient Greek times are Hercules, Theseus, and Perseus. Theseus and Perseus would still be considered heroes now, however Hercules would not be. Theseus, first of all, was viewed as a hero in ancient Greek times because he had all the traits valued by the Greeks; courage, strength, divine ancestry, and the god’s trust. Theseus was courageous in many ways, but the main example is his volunteering to be sacrificed to the minotaur (Hamilton

His generosity is shown in the gift he gives Polydectes for his wedding. Even though he was young and alone, Perseus could have chosen a simpler gift, yet he chose to bring Polydectes the head of Medusa (Hamilton 143). This is an example of generosity because be was ready to give a bigger present than is necessary, and this is the exact definition of generosity. He was also an honorable man. Perseus exhibits honor after he returns from killing the Gorgon Medusa. He was highly respected after he turned Polydectes to stone with Medusa’s head, and therefore freed the island from the their terrible ruler (Hamilton 148). So, because of these other qualities Perseus would be considered a hero