Greek Mythologies: The Hero's Journey

Mythologies, although depicted in different ways, are a part of every culture. Every mythology has stories of their heroes and how they came to be. Usually heroes come into this world unnaturally and strangely. Heroes have their tales of incredible quests they are sent on, like fighting horrific monsters and solving complex puzzles. Eventually heroes die, whether out of heroism or stupidity. These steps are all part of a literary guideline known as the hero’s journey. In the hero’s journey the heroes grow from abnormal infants to strong idols, and sometimes fail in the process. These stories show up in all mythologies including Greco-Roman, European, and Asian mythology.

A reoccurring step in most mythologies is birth. Many mythologies have stories of their gods’ and goddesses’ birth and they are mostly

In Greek mythology there is the story of Perseus and his quest from King Polydectes. “Perseus hunted down Medusa and waited until she fell asleep to cut off her head”(Philip and Wilkinson, 64). This story shows us Perseus’ s bravery, and the fact he would have done anything to protect his mother, even slay a gorgon. Setana, from Norse mythology, was gifted with strength from a young age, due to that he joined an army, where he ran into some trouble. “They challenged him and ended up fighting them single handedly”(Philip and Wilkinson, 104). This story shows us the trial he went through to prove himself to the army. In the end this payed off for him because he teamed up with the army later on. In Asian mythology Inara, daughter of Teshub the storm god, was the only one to avenge her father. “Only his daughter, Inara, stepped forward, she set a trap for the dragon”(Wilkinson and Philip, 152). Inara shows great intelligence setting the trap for the dragon and uses her grief to drive her through the plan. Sometimes mistakes are made by our heroes that can lead to their