The Greatest Heroes before the Trojan War
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The definition of hero (from Merrian-Webster)
1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with
great strength or ability;
b: an illustrious warrior;
c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities;
d: one that shows great courage.
2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work;
b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement.
I.
Perseus
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Perseus
 Grandson to King Acrisius of Argos
 Son of Danaë who was visited by Zeus in the form of golden rain and gave
birth to Perseus
 Exiled with Danaë to a small island
 Given a task by Polytectes, the ruler of the island who wishes to kill him
and marry his mother
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Perseus’s quest (to kill Medusa)
 Given a sword by Hermes and a bronze shield by Athena
 Playing trick on the three GRAEAE , who have only one eye and one tooth
 Reaching the nymphs of the North and asking for direction of Medusa
 Rewarded with sandals, a magic wallet and a cap
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Great Equipment of Killing Medusa
 Hermes’s sword
 Athen’s shield
 Winged sandals from the nymphs of the North
 A magic wallet from the nymphs of the North
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A cap from the nymphs of the North
Perseus’s heroic deeds
 Killing Medusa, the mortal one of three Gorgons, with the weapons he was
offered by Hermes and Athena
 Perseus saved Andromeda by killing the sea serpent in Ethiopia.
 After Perseus returned to the country ruled by Polytectes, Perseus held up
the head of Medusa. Then Polydectes and his guest were turn into stone.
 Perseus participated a contest of discus throwing and accidentally killed
Acrisius, his grandfather, by discus.
II. Hercules
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Hercules
 Son of Zeus and Alcmena
 Eight months old kills the Serpents.
 Not intelligent, but brave, confident
 Told by Alcides, the priestess, to perform twelve labors in order to make
himself immortal
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Hercules ascended to Olympus and lived among the gods.
Hercules’s twelve labors
1. To kill the lion of Nemea
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
To kill a creature with nine heads called Hydra
To bring back alive a stag with horns of gold and sacred to Artemis
To capture a great boar
To clean the Augean stables in a single day
To drive away the Stymphalian birds
To go to Crete and fetch from there the beautiful savage bull
To get the man-eating mares of King Diomedes of Thrace
9.
10.
11.
12.
To bring back the cattle of Hippolyta
To bring back the cattle of Geryon
To bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides
To bring Cerberus up from Hades
III. Theseus
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Theseus
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The great Athenian hero
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The son of Aegeus
 Taking a journey to find father - Aegeus
Theseus’s heroic deeds
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Killed Minotaur which was a creature that was part man and part bull. It
dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like
construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect
Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the
Minotaur.
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After killing Minotaur, Theseus took his trip back to his father. But he
forgot to change the color of this sail from black to white. When his father
saw the black sail, he jumped into the sea and was killed.
Married Ariadne’s sister Phaedra and therefore drew terrible misfortunes on
her and on himself and on his son Hippolytus