Heroes In Edith Hamilton's Mythology

The use of heroes in stories has been around since ancient times. Heroes were first used as superhumans with abilities like none other. For thousands of years, the same general outline of plot has been used for these stories, sometimes making the unseen stories almost too predictable. The story of Theseus in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, is an example of a hero’s story. It’s main premise is the idea that a hero is able to help rescue a society that is oppressed because of its unnecessarily harsh lifestyles. As a modern-day reader, there is one more recent hero story that comes directly to mind while reading the story of Theseus: The Hunger Games. Modern day American heroes have evolved minimally from ancient Greek heroes. As an example, Katniss Everdeen in

In Theseus’ story, the love was not a traditional one. It wasn’t mutual in the beginning; it was Ariadne’s love for him that opened the option of survival in the end. The quote, “Minos’ daughter Ariadne was among the spectators and she fell in love with Theseus at first sight as he marched past her… he must show her a way to get out of the Labyrinth… told him she would bring about his escape if he would promise to take her back to Athens and marry her,” (157-158) explains the time from when Ariadne falls in love with Theseus to the time she hands him the ball of yarn to help him get out of the labyrinth. This love held so much power that without it, he most likely would have died without it. The power of love in The Hunger Games is shown through Peeta and Katniss. Without this love, Katniss would not have survived the games. First, the capitol thrived off of the love and the public eye loved watching it. Second, Katniss succeeded in the games only through her love for Peeta. To conclude, the power of love in both The Hunger Games and Theseus is strong, and without it, the stories would have ended much