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Heroes: "'Sing O Muse, Sing to us of the glorious gods, Who ruled the land and sea. And tell us Of the fair beauty of the goddesses Who dwell in Eternal Olympus.' 'Sing to us, O Muse: Of Ages that has come to past, Of those mighty warriors Wielding their dreaded spears, From the lores Of our Timeless Myths.'" -author unknown |
"In mythology and legends, 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."
In Greek Mythology there are many well-known heroes. Here are some brief descriptions to help get you better acquainted with them:
Bellerophon: He tamed the winged horse Pegasus using the bridle Athena gave him. Killed the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster, with the help of Pegasus. Beat the Solymi and the Amazons, both being warrior tribes. Tried to go against the gods by riding Pegasus to Olympus but was thrown off the horse back to earth and wondered about miserable until he died.
Ganymede: Trojan Prince, Zeus kidnapped him and took him to Mount Olympus where he became immortal and became the cupbearer of the gods. Later called "The Water Bearer".
Odysseus: The ruler of the island kingdom called Ithaca. He was one of the best leaders of the Trojan War. He was also the hero of Homer's The Odyssey. The originator of the Trojan Horse. In The Odyssey he was the most resourceful hero of them all. He was very brave, strong, and athletic, but also very shrewd. When the Greeks were ready to quit the war, he convinced them to stay and fight it out. Odysseus always relied on his common sense whenever speaking. He was most often portrayed as being greedy. He killed many Trojans during the war, but he was forced to quit when he received a spear in his side.
Theseus: He never really knew who his father was and when he was sixteen his mother said it was time he found out. His father, the mighty king, had lifted a huge boulder and placed something under it for his son that he would get if he could lift the mighty boulder. So Theseus tried at the age of sixteen. He had great strength and lifted the boulder easily. Resourcefulness also came in handy with the task of lifting the boulder. His father, he discovered, was King Aegeus of Athens. Theseus went out trying to find the father he had never known by land, running into many bad people. But he did unto them the things they do unto others. Every bad thing he discovered someone did, he turned the table and did it to them. In Athens he didn't reveal who he was but was praised as a hero for getting rid of all the bad along the way. He discovered his father had married Medea, whom was very bitter and wanted to get rid of Theseus so he wouldn't be a threat to her plan of her son claiming the throne.
Hercules: He was known for having super human strength growing up. He grew to be seven or eight feet tall. Hercules killed his own children and had to perform ten tasks to be forgiven. These tasks were very tough, but he proved through this that he was a hero. Hercules died by being poisoned with Hydra venom. Hercules was the only hero to ever be made a god. The mortal half of him went to the underworld, and the other half was made a god and given a throne on Mt. Olympus.
Jason: He was the son of the lawful king, although his uncle had kidnapped his father and taken the throne. He was taken to be tutored and to live with Chiron, the Centaur, growing up so that his uncle wouldn't find him and kill him. When he was older, he set out to be a hero and claim the throne. Jason was chosen by Hera to help her overthrow his uncle, who had honored all the gods and goddesses but him.