Greek Heroes

Jason, Perseus, Theseus and Hercules

The Quest for the Golden Fleece

Also known as the “Jason and the Argonauts” myth

Characters• Jason – protagonist; rightful heir to a kingdom.

• Hera – protector goddess, later asks Aphrodite to get her son, Cupid, to shoot an arrow of love into Medea so she can fall in love with him and help him on his quest for the golden fleece.

• Pelias – antagonist; Jason’s uncle who overthrows Jason’s dad for the kingdom; he does not want Jason to take over as king.

More Characters

• King Aeetes – King of Colchis, where the golden fleece is kept; Medea’s father.

• Medea – a witch, who falls in love with and helps Jason.

• Argonauts – Jason’s crew.• Argo – Jason’s ship.• Phrixus – saved by the ram with the golden

fleece; sacrificed the ram and gave the fleece to King Aetes. Phrixus marries one of Aetes’ daughters. Phrixus’ uncle was Jason’s dad.

Plot• Hermes sends the golden ram to save the young

Phrixus and Helle from evil. As they escape, Helle falls off; Phrixus lives and prospers, later marries one of King Aeetes’ daughters.

• Jason, the son of Phrixus’ uncle, returns to Greece years later in search of his birthright. He comes to town wearing one sandal, fulfilling a prophecy.

• Pelias, who overthrew and killed Jason’s dad, serves as king.

Plot• Pelias tells Jason he can have the

kingdom if he brings back the golden fleece. Jason agrees to set out on the quest.

• He gets a ship, the Argo, and a crew, the Argonauts, which include Hercules, Achilles’ father and Orpheus, the master musician.

Plot• During one of their stops, they lose Hercules,

who stays behind to find his friend Hylas, who was captured by a nymph.

• They continue on and find Phineus, a blind prophet who is being tantalized by the Harpies, smelly, winged creatures who destroy food.

• Jason and crew sail successfully through the clashing rocks.

Plot• Finally, they arrive in Colchis, where Cupid

makes Medea fall in love with Jason and King Aeetes tells Jason he can get the golden fleece, but must first yoke two bulls with bronze feet, plant dragon’s teeth and fight the soldiers that grow from them.

• Medea gives him magical oil that will protect him and advice about throwing a rock in the center of the soldiers, which will make them turn on and fight each other.

Plot• Later, she sings the serpent to sleep so Jason can

get the fleece.• Jason leaves for home with Medea by his side.

Medea kills her brother during the escape, chops off his limbs and scatters them in the sea to divert her father, who is following them.

• Wanting to help Jason, Medea destroys Pelias by tricking his daughters into chopping him up and placing the parts in boiling water in hopes of making Pelias young again. Medea is supposed to say words of magic and restore the king to eternal youth, but she never does and the king remains murdered by his daughters.

Plot• Later, Jason exiles Medea so he can

marry someone else.• Medea kills the new wife by giving her a

robe anointed with poison, which burns her flesh and kills her.

• Medea then kills her own sons because she doesn’t want them to have a life of slavery. She escapes in a chariot drawn by dragons. Jason never takes the blame.

Themes• Betrayal• Ambition• Destiny• Disappointment• Evilness• Bravery• Loyalty• Friendship• Death

Perseus

The hero who beheads the gorgon, Medusa

Characters

• Perseus – protagonist; son of Zeus and Danae; a hero; marries Andromeda

• Danae ---- Perseus’ mother; Acrisius’ daughter

• King Acrisius --- Perseus’ grandfather; wants his grandson dead.

• Zeus --- Perseus’ father• Athena – gives Perseus her aegis• Hermes – gives Perseus sword

Characters

• Medusa – only mortal gorgon; snaky hair; if you look into her eyes,she’ll turn you to stone; beheaded by Perseus.

• Gray Sisters – give Perseus directions to the Hyperboreans

• Hyperboreans – the nymphs of the North, give Perseus the winged sandals, magical wallet and a cap of invisibility

Characters

• Andromeda – Princess that was going to be sacrificed to a sea serpent until she is saved by Perseus. She later becomes Perseus’ wife.

Plot• King Acrisius receives a prediction from

the oracle, which tells him that a male relative will kill him.

• He tries to ensure that there will be no male relatives by locking Danae in a bronze house built underground.

• Zeus visits her in rays of gold and Perseus is born…

Plot• King Acrisius can’t kill his daughter and

grandson (gods frown upon murder) so he puts them in a chest and sends them to sea.

• They are saved and raised by a fisherman and his wife

• Years later, King Polydectes falls in love with Danae, but does not want Perseus

Plot• Perseus doesn’t know this; he just wants

to impress everyone by getting his mother and the king a great wedding gift, the head of Medusa

• With the help of Hermes, Athena, the Gray Women who help him find the nymphs of the North (Hyperboreans), he achieves this goal.

Plot• He travels to the island of the Gorgons

and fights and kills Medusa, the only mortal one.

• On his way home he travels by Ethiopia, where he sees the lovely Andromeda chained to a rock to be sacrificed to the sea serpent

• He saves her and marries her

Plot• When he gets home, he shows Medusa’s

head to Polydectes and his followers, turning them all to stone

• After that he, his wife and mother set out to find Acrisius to make amends

Plot• On the way home Perseus participates in

a sporting event, where he throws a discus, which flies off course and just happens to kill Acrisius…hence, the prophecy is fulfilled

• Perseus lives happily ever after with Andromeda.

Themes• Destiny

• Determination

• Love

• Good versus evil

• Revenge

Theseus

The minotaur and the labyrinth myth

Characters

• Theseus—protagonist; greatest Athenian hero; intelligent; established the first people’s government

• King Aegeus--- Theseus’ father; committed suicide by jumping off a cliff into the sea (Aegean Sea)

• Ariadne --- King Minos’ daughter; falls in love with Theseus; gives him a ball of yarn to help mark his way through the labyrinth

Characters

• King Minos --- antagonist; mean king of Crete who constructed the labyrinth with the Minotaur

• Minotaur – creature that is half bull and half man; lives in the center of the labyrinth

• Hippolytus – Theseus’ son with Amazon warrior Hippolyta; follower of Artemis; rejects Phaedra; fatally wounded in a sea monster/chariot accident

Characters

• Phaedra – Theseus’ wife; Ariadne’s sister; under Aphrodite’s spell, Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus; she later kills herself because he would not return her love.

• Medea – tried to poison Theseus when he first arrived in Athens.

Important term• Labyrinth – a maze.• In the Theseus myth, the labyrinth was created

by the architect, Daedalus; it housed a minotaur in the center. The minotaur killed all who got lost in the maze.

• Every nine years, 7 young men and 7 young women from Athens were sent to Crete to be place in the labyrinth as a sacrifice to the minotaur. King Minos demands this or he will destroy Athens. He’s angry because his son, while visiting Athens, was killed in a horrible hunting accident.

Plot• Theseus retrieves the shoes and sword from under a

huge stone, making him worthy to seek out his father, King Aegeus.

• During his travels, he meets up with many evil people and deals with them under the rule of doing unto others as they do unto you. Theseus punishes evildoers the same way they tortured their victims. (See later slide for three examples)

• Theseus meets his father, hears about King Minos’ sacrifices in Crete and decides to travel to Crete to kill the minotaur and save the young Athenians.

Plot• When he arrives in Crete, the king’s daughter, Ariadne

falls in love with Theseus. She gives him a ball of yarn, which he uses to leave a trail as he works his way through the labyrinth.

• Theseus kills the Minotaur and follows the yarn back out to safety.

• On his way home he abandons Ariadne (She’s later comforted by, and becomes romantically involved with, Dionysus). He also forgets to change the black sail to a white one for the voyage home, as he originally promised his father. Changing the sail color will show that he is alive and was successful in killing the Minotaur

Plot• King Aegeus sees the black sail, thinks Theseus

is dead and jumps off a cliff to drown in the waters below (Aegean Sea)

• Theseus becomes king. Since he does not want to rule, he establishes the first people’s government; he stays on as commander-in-chief of the army.

• Later, his son, Hippolytus, reunites with Theseus, who has since married Ariadne’s sister, Phaedra.

Plot• Phaedra is manipulated by Aphrodite to love

Hippolytus, who ignores her. She then kills herself.

• Theseus returns after an adventure to find Phaedra’s body and a letter that blames Hippolytus. Theseus banishes Hippolytus and calls upon Poseidon to curse his son.

• On his way out of the kingdom, Hippolytus’ chariot is attacked by a sea monster: Hippolytus is fatally injured (he dies from his injuries)

Plot

• During his final moments of life, Hippolytus explains to Theseus that he never did anything wrong. Artemis appears to confirm his story. Hippolytus dies.

• Theseus is banished from Athens and is later killed by a king.

• After his death, the Athenians forgive Theseus and honor his memory.

Additional information

• Hercules is Theseus’ cousin. Hercules saves Theseus from the Underworld when he pulls him out of the Chair of Forgetfulness. (Theseus was placed there when he accompanied a friend to the Underworld…the friend wanted to kidnap Persephone.

• Among Theseus’ adventures were serving aboard the Argo in the quest for the Golden Fleece and the trip to the Underworld.

Three examples of punishments

• The pine tree punishment…person was tied to two pine trees and flung into the air (bodies split in half).

• The iron bed…stretched to fit, or chopped off to fit.

• Kicked off a cliff after washing someone’s feet.

Themes

• Intelligence

• Justice

• Trust

• Bravery

• Forgetfulness

• Broken promises

• Suicide

Hercules

Greatest Greek Hero

Characters

• Hercules (Roman name)/ Heracles (Greek names) --- Greatest Greek hero

• Zeus --- Hercules’ father

• Hera ---- antagonist; Zeus’ wife who wants to punish/kill Hercules; sends two snakes to him

• Alcmena --- Hercules’ mortal mother

• Amphitryon --- Alcmena’s husband

Characters

• Eurystheus--- Hercules’ cousin who gives him the 12 labors; he wants Hercules to fail

• Theseus --- Hercules’ cousin and friend who remains loyal even after everyone else abandons him

• Iphicles --- Hercules’ mortal twin brother; son of Alcmena and Amphitryon.

12 Labors of Hercules

• 1. Kill lion of Nemea

• 2. Kill hydra

• 3. Bring back alive the stag with gold horns

• 4. Capture the great boar

• 5. Clean Augean stables

• 6. Drive away Stymphalian birds

12 Labors of Hercules

• 7. Fetch the savage bull from Crete• 8. Get the man-eating mares of King Diomedes• 9. Bring back girdle of Hippolyta• 10. Bring back the cattle of Geryon• 11. Bring back the golden apples of the

Hesperides• 12. Bring Cerberus up from Hades; also rescued

Theseus from the chair of forgetfulness

Plot• From the time Hercules was born, he was

cursed by Hera, who looked at him as a symbol of her husband’s infidelity.

• Hera wanted to kill Hercules and sent snakes to him when he was eighteen months old, but he killed them.

• Under Hera’s influence, Hercules killed his wife, Megara and their sons.

Plot

• Because of his actions, he was sent away from Greece; his cousin Theseus took him in.

• To atone (make up) for his sins, he visited an oracle, who recommended he see Eurystheus, his cousin, who recommended the 12 labors, hoping Hercules would fail.

Plot

• After he completed the 12 labors and undertook other adventures, he remarried (Deianira).

• When Deianira worried he would be unfaithful to her, she anointed his cloak with the blood of the river centaur Nessus; when Hercules puts on the cloak, he immediately his flesh begins burning.

Plot

When he could not take the torment anymore, he built a funeral pyre and killed himself. As he died, the gods took pity on him and changed him into a god. He was then taken to Mount Olympus, where he made amends with Hera, married her daughter Hebe (goddess of youth) and lived a happy life as a god.

Themes

• Impulsiveness

• Bravery

• Loyalty/Friendship

• Guilt

• Determination

• Loss