Theseus: The Qualities Of A Greek Hero

Improved Essays
A hero is defined as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities” In Greek mythology, a few of the biggest attributes for shaping a hero are reputation, health, and love. A great example of reputation and health for a person the Greeks looked up to was Theseus. Theseus had all of the traditional qualities of a hero, for he was strong, courageous, intelligent, and wise. But Theseus was also very reputable for helping the unfortunate and the poor. This made Theseus fitting to the role of a hero in the Greeks’ eyes. Another trait that made the hero better to the Greeks was their ability to love, especially other heroes. The strongest instance of this is the story of Psyche and Eros.

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The author of ‘The Hero’s Test’ shows the heroic qualities of the main character, Theseus, quite clearly if you pay attention. Alisoun Witting, the author, have written examples of how Theseus is a hero, like courage, cunning, selfless, perseverance, determination, and even sacrifices at some point and many more. In the first to second paragraph Theseus already shows traits of being a hero right off the bat, the text states that ‘Theseus was puzzled: what was the cause of this public sorrow? ’ This one sentence alone shows that he cared about his people, and also shows that he was determined to find out what exactly made them sorrowful. The second form of text evidence is a few paragraphs ahead and is an example of sacrifice and courage.…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Heroes are people who are above average people who go out of their way to help other people like veterans, men and women who risked their lives so that we could be able to do the things we enjoy in life. Even veterans were around in Ancient Greece. Even Odysseus was a veteran he fought in the trojan war 3000 years ago, and in other times fighting to get back home to his family. A perfect example of a veteran is odysseus from the Odyssey. He travels all around greece on his way from the trojan war.…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Theseus was an exceptional hero of Greek Mythology. His valiant efforts are shown persistently amongst his numerous feats. In search of his unknown father, Theseus begins his long, perilous journey towards the great kingdom of Athens. Along the way, Theseus encounters a series of obstacles, which mark the beginning of his achievements. In the beginning, Theseus stumbles upon the enemy, Periphetes, son of Hephaestus.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theseus: A Hero Analysis

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theseus depicts the most commendable traits of a hero because of his marriage to a princess, quest, and ignoble…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The interpretation of a hero varies through most stories. The most common type of hero has an exceptional trait or power, but has one major flaw. The exceptional trait or power can range from super strength like in “The Incredibles” to extreme cleverness shown in the Odyssey. Both heroes still have one major flaw in “The Incredibles” the hero lives in the past and in the Odyssey the hero is egotistic. Heroes contain exceptional traits along with a major flaw.…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hercules: A Greek Hero

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Lastly, he was a hero from the very beginning of his life, being the son of Zeus and being raised by a king and queen. He killed a lion with his bare hands, brought a boar alive back to King Eurystheus, and brought justice to a cruel barbaric king who fed human beings to his horses. These accomplishments and much more undeniably made Hercules and exceptional Greek…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An Admirable Leader In the modern world, heroes are defined as many different things. They can be doctors, singers, parents, and more. The definition of a hero is in the eye of the beholder. In the Odyssey, by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, Odysseus is in charge of his crew as he makes a journey home to Ithaca.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kassie Carlisle The Tragedy of Being a Hero The word hero is defined as a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Most people known as heros are perfect, letting nothing get the best of them, and putting others before themselves.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What makes a hero? There is many qualities that a hero has and in The Odyssey, Odysseus acts like a modern day hero. Odysseus could be considered a modern day hero because he never gives up, he is loyal, and is smart. One way that Odysseus can be considered a modern day hero is that he never gives up.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hero In The Odyssey

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The idea of a hero is based upon one’s point of view. A hero is admired and idolized for their courage. Odysseus is a cunning king, a loyal crew captain, and he is dedicated to go back to Ithaca. In the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, who spent 10 years helping his close friend Menelaus in the Trojan war.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I believe that a hero is defined by a person who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities. In Homer’s “The Odyssey”, Odysseus shows many heroic traits when he tries his best to lead his men home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He depicts his leadership by showing self-control, cleverness, and loyalty. First, one of Odysseus’ main heroic traits is self-control. He portrays an example of self-control in the Cyclops episode.…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Odysseus: A True Hero

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A true hero is somebody with courage or ability, he or she is admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. As a reader, if you are reading the Odyssey then you will read about a character Odysseus. Reading the Odyssey you have to know what type of person Odysseus is. The reader has to determine whether Odysseus is a hero or a bad person. Odysseus is a hero because he disguised himself as a beggar to see how the suitors were treating his land and his wife, Penelope and he came home, traveling through horrible conditions, to be with his family once again, and to meet his son him and Penelope had before he went to the Trojan War.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A hero is like the sun on a rainy day. They might not be seen, but when they are seen people’s day get brighter and a rainbow may form. Most heroes have at least one thing in common, they want to help and better other people’s life or the way they view life. Heroes are respectful and impact others, but they are never arrogant.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Odysseus Epic Hero

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A hero to me is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself, in The Odyssey by Homer, there is an epic hero named Odysseus. An epic hero is someone who is: brave and a noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. Odysseus deserves the title as an epic hero for several reasons. Odysseus is an example for an epic hero for his courageousness, instinct, and cockiness during his adventures in the odyssey. There are many reasons why Odysseus is an epic hero.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Odysseus Hero Quotes

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Odysseus What is a hero? A hero is a person who combats adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, strength or bravery. In The Odyssey written by Homer, the protagonist Odysseus has traits of a hero such as loyalty, courage, and cunningness. The king of Ithaca shows these traits multiple times throughout his twenty year journey home.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays