The Role Of Perseus In The Odyssey

Aristotle once said, “In mythology and legend, a man or woman, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his or her bold exploits, and favored by the gods.”According to the Greeks, a hero in their perspective was thought to be born of royalty, liked by a lot of people, was braver, handsomer, taller, and stronger than all else.” This fits the characteristics of the demigod Perseus. Perseus was thought to be one of the greatest Greek heroes because he slayed the dreaded, snake-haired gorgon Medusa. He was also brave, handsome, and liked by a lot of people. Perseus should be inducted into the Greek Hero Hall of Fame because he did heroic deeds, he was born a royal, and he fought for his own honor.

Even though some say that Perseus accidentally killed his grandfather in a discus competition as an oracle's prophecy said, Perseus did many heroic deeds to make up for that unfortunate event. One heroic feat that Perseus performed was slaying the dreaded gorgon Medusa. According to an article entitled Perseus, the text states, “He famously slew the dreaded Gorgon Medusa whose gaze could turn men to stone…” Perseus slayed Medusa with the help of Athena’s mirror shield and the winged shoes of Hermes. Also Perseus received a helmet of invisibility and a special bag from the Naiads that helped him to escape from the other two gorgon sisters of Medusa. Next, Perseus saved Andromeda from the dreaded sea monster sent by Poseidon to terrorize the kingdom of Ethiopia, which is another extreme feat he accomplished. An article entitled Perseus proclaims, “On his way back to Greece, he spied the princess Andromeda chained to the rocks as a sacrifice to a sea-monster. Perseus slew the monster, and rescued the girl, bringing her back to Greece as his bride” (Unknown). Perseus took the head of Medusa out of the special bag and used it to turn the sea monster into stone, thus saving Andromeda. He fell in love with Andromeda and as a reward for turning the sea monster into stone, he took her as his bride. One last heroic feat that Perseus accomplished was going on an impossible quest to save his

Even though King Acrisius of Argos threw Perseus and his mother Danae because he was afraid that the oracle’s prediction would come true, Perseus made up for his grandfather’s unkind act by being born a royal. First, in an article written by Mark Cartwright, the text writes, “Zeus was thought to be his real father after the king of the gods himself had slept with Danae when she had been imprisoned by her father.” In Greek mythology, Zeus is the almighty and the most powerful of the Gods because he overthrew his father Cronos and became the ruler of the Olympian gods. If Zeus is your father, then that also makes you a demigod, like Perseus, so you have something that is extra special and unique about you. Secondly, the article Perseus, implies, “Of course, this was no barrier to Zeus who entered the cell as a shower of golden rain.” Zeus impregnated Danae through the form of a golden shower, which also makes Perseus to have been born a royal because his mother was a princess. She was Danae, the princess of Argos and was imprisoned because, as stated earlier there was a prophecy from an oracle that her son would kill her father, King Acrisius of Argos and the king didn’t want to die, so he imprisoned her in a tower so she could not have a child. Thirdly, Perseus was born a royal because his grandfather was a king. The article titled “Perseus: Powerful Demigod with Mighty Weapons,”