Greek Heroes
Jason, Perseus, Theseus and
Hercules
The Quest for the Golden
Fleece
Also known as the “Jason and the
Argonauts” myth
Characters
• Jason – protagonist; rightful heir to a kingdom.
• Hera – protector goddess, later asks Aphrodite
to get her son, Cupid, to shoot an arrow of love
into Medea so she can fall in love with him and
help him on his quest for the golden fleece.
• Pelias – antagonist; Jason’s uncle who
overthrows Jason’s dad for the kingdom; he
does not want Jason to take over as king.
More Characters
• King Aeetes – King of Colchis, where the golden
fleece is kept; Medea’s father.
• Medea – a witch, who falls in love with and helps
Jason.
• Argonauts – Jason’s crew.
• Argo – Jason’s ship.
• Phrixus – saved by the ram with the golden
fleece; sacrificed the ram and gave the fleece to
King Aetes. Phrixus marries one of Aetes’
daughters. Phrixus’ uncle was Jason’s dad.
Plot
• Hermes sends the golden ram to save the young
Phrixus and Helle from evil. As they escape,
Helle falls off; Phrixus lives and prospers, later
marries one of King Aeetes’ daughters.
• Jason, the son of Phrixus’ uncle, returns to
Greece years later in search of his birthright. He
comes to town wearing one sandal, fulfilling a
prophecy.
• Pelias, who overthrew and killed Jason’s dad,
serves as king.
Plot
• Pelias tells Jason he can have the
kingdom if he brings back the golden
fleece. Jason agrees to set out on the
quest.
• He gets a ship, the Argo, and a crew, the
Argonauts, which include Hercules,
Achilles’ father and Orpheus, the master
musician.
Plot
• During one of their stops, they lose Hercules,
who stays behind to find his friend Hylas, who
was captured by a nymph.
• They continue on and find Phineus, a blind
prophet who is being tantalized by the Harpies,
smelly, winged creatures who destroy food.
• Jason and crew sail successfully through the
clashing rocks.
Plot
• Finally, they arrive in Colchis, where Cupid
makes Medea fall in love with Jason and King
Aeetes tells Jason he can get the golden fleece,
but must first yoke two bulls with bronze feet,
plant dragon’s teeth and fight the soldiers that
grow from them.
• Medea gives him magical oil that will protect him
and advice about throwing a rock in the center of
the soldiers, which will make them turn on and
fight each other.
Plot
• Later, she sings the serpent to sleep so Jason
can get the fleece.
• Jason leaves for home with Medea by his side.
Medea kills her brother during the escape,
chops off his limbs and scatters them in the sea
to divert her father, who is following them.
• Wanting to help Jason, Medea destroys Pelias
by tricking his daughters into chopping him up
and placing the parts in boiling water in hopes of
making Pelias young again. Medea is supposed
to say words of magic and restore the king to
eternal youth, but she never does and the king
remains murdered by his daughters.
Plot
• Later, Jason exiles Medea so he can
marry someone else.
• Medea kills the new wife by giving her a
robe anointed with poison, which burns
her flesh and kills her.
• Medea then kills her own sons because
she doesn’t want them to have a life of
slavery. She escapes in a chariot drawn
by dragons. Jason never takes the blame.
Themes
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Betrayal
Ambition
Destiny
Disappointment
Evilness
Bravery
Loyalty
Friendship
Death
Perseus
The hero who beheads the
gorgon, Medusa
Characters
• Perseus – protagonist; son of Zeus and
Danae; a hero; marries Andromeda
• Danae ---- Perseus’ mother; Acrisius’
daughter
• King Acrisius --- Perseus’ grandfather;
wants his grandson dead.
• Zeus --- Perseus’ father
• Athena – gives Perseus her aegis
• Hermes – gives Perseus sword
Characters
• Medusa – only mortal gorgon; snaky hair;
if you look into her eyes,she’ll turn you to
stone; beheaded by Perseus.
• Gray Sisters – give Perseus directions to
the Hyperboreans
• Hyperboreans – the nymphs of the North,
give Perseus the winged sandals, magical
wallet and a cap of invisibility
Characters
• Andromeda – Princess that was going to
be sacrificed to a sea serpent until she is
saved by Perseus. She later becomes
Perseus’ wife.
Plot
• King Acrisius receives a prediction from
the oracle, which tells him that a male
relative will kill him.
• He tries to ensure that there will be no
male relatives by locking Danae in a
bronze house built underground.
• Zeus visits her in rays of gold and Perseus
is born…
Plot
• King Acrisius can’t kill his daughter and
grandson (gods frown upon murder) so he
puts them in a chest and sends them to
sea.
• They are saved and raised by a fisherman
and his wife
• Years later, King Polydectes falls in love
with Danae, but does not want Perseus
Plot
• Perseus doesn’t know this; he just wants
to impress everyone by getting his mother
and the king a great wedding gift, the head
of Medusa
• With the help of Hermes, Athena, the Gray
Women who help him find the nymphs of
the North (Hyperboreans), he achieves
this goal.
Plot
• He travels to the island of the Gorgons
and fights and kills Medusa, the only
mortal one.
• On his way home he travels by Ethiopia,
where he sees the lovely Andromeda
chained to a rock to be sacrificed to the
sea serpent
• He saves her and marries her
Plot
• When he gets home, he shows Medusa’s
head to Polydectes and his followers,
turning them all to stone
• After that he, his wife and mother set out
to find Acrisius to make amends
Plot
• On the way home Perseus participates in
a sporting event, where he throws a
discus, which flies off course and just
happens to kill Acrisius…hence, the
prophecy is fulfilled
• Perseus lives happily ever after with
Andromeda.
Themes
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Destiny
Determination
Love
Good versus evil
Revenge
Theseus
The minotaur and the labyrinth
myth
Characters
• Theseus—protagonist; greatest Athenian
hero; intelligent; established the first
people’s government
• King Aegeus--- Theseus’ father;
committed suicide by jumping off a cliff
into the sea (Aegean Sea)
• Ariadne --- King Minos’ daughter; falls in
love with Theseus; gives him a ball of yarn
to help mark his way through the labyrinth
Characters
• King Minos --- antagonist; mean king of Crete
who constructed the labyrinth with the Minotaur
• Minotaur – creature that is half bull and half
man; lives in the center of the labyrinth
• Hippolytus – Theseus’ son with Amazon warrior
Hippolyta; follower of Artemis; rejects Phaedra;
fatally wounded in a sea monster/chariot
accident
Characters
• Phaedra – Theseus’ wife; Ariadne’s
sister; under Aphrodite’s spell, Phaedra
fell in love with Hippolytus; she later kills
herself because he would not return her
love.
• Medea – tried to poison Theseus when he
first arrived in Athens.
Important term
• Labyrinth – a maze.
• In the Theseus myth, the labyrinth was created
by the architect, Daedalus; it housed a minotaur
in the center. The minotaur killed all who got lost
in the maze.
• Every nine years, 7 young men and 7 young
women from Athens were sent to Crete to be
place in the labyrinth as a sacrifice to the
minotaur. King Minos demands this or he will
destroy Athens. He’s angry because his son,
while visiting Athens, was killed in a horrible
hunting accident.
Plot
• Theseus retrieves the shoes and sword from under a
huge stone, making him worthy to seek out his father,
King Aegeus.
• During his travels, he meets up with many evil people
and deals with them under the rule of doing unto others
as they do unto you. Theseus punishes evildoers the
same way they tortured their victims. (See later slide for
three examples)
• Theseus meets his father, hears about King Minos’
sacrifices in Crete and decides to travel to Crete to kill
the minotaur and save the young Athenians.
Plot
• When he arrives in Crete, the king’s daughter, Ariadne
falls in love with Theseus. She gives him a ball of yarn,
which he uses to leave a trail as he works his way
through the labyrinth.
• Theseus kills the Minotaur and follows the yarn back out
to safety.
• On his way home he abandons Ariadne (She’s later
comforted by, and becomes romantically involved with,
Dionysus). He also forgets to change the black sail to a
white one for the voyage home, as he originally
promised his father. Changing the sail color will show
that he is alive and was successful in killing the Minotaur
Plot
• King Aegeus sees the black sail, thinks Theseus
is dead and jumps off a cliff to drown in the
waters below (Aegean Sea)
• Theseus becomes king. Since he does not want
to rule, he establishes the first people’s
government; he stays on as commander-in-chief
of the army.
• Later, his son, Hippolytus, reunites with
Theseus, who has since married Ariadne’s
sister, Phaedra.
Plot
• Phaedra is manipulated by Aphrodite to love
Hippolytus, who ignores her. She then kills
herself.
• Theseus returns after an adventure to find
Phaedra’s body and a letter that blames
Hippolytus. Theseus banishes Hippolytus and
calls upon Poseidon to curse his son.
• On his way out of the kingdom, Hippolytus’
chariot is attacked by a sea monster: Hippolytus
is fatally injured (he dies from his injuries)
Plot
• During his final moments of life, Hippolytus
explains to Theseus that he never did
anything wrong. Artemis appears to
confirm his story. Hippolytus dies.
• Theseus is banished from Athens and is
later killed by a king.
• After his death, the Athenians forgive
Theseus and honor his memory.
Additional information
• Hercules is Theseus’ cousin. Hercules saves
Theseus from the Underworld when he pulls him
out of the Chair of Forgetfulness. (Theseus was
placed there when he accompanied a friend to
the Underworld…the friend wanted to kidnap
Persephone.
• Among Theseus’ adventures were serving
aboard the Argo in the quest for the Golden
Fleece and the trip to the Underworld.
Three examples of punishments
• The pine tree punishment…person was
tied to two pine trees and flung into the air
(bodies split in half).
• The iron bed…stretched to fit, or chopped
off to fit.
• Kicked off a cliff after washing someone’s
feet.
Themes
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Intelligence
Justice
Trust
Bravery
Forgetfulness
Broken promises
Suicide
Hercules
Greatest Greek Hero
Characters
• Hercules (Roman name)/ Heracles (Greek
names) --- Greatest Greek hero
• Zeus --- Hercules’ father
• Hera ---- antagonist; Zeus’ wife who
wants to punish/kill Hercules; sends two
snakes to him
• Alcmena --- Hercules’ mortal mother
• Amphitryon --- Alcmena’s husband
Characters
• Eurystheus--- Hercules’ cousin who gives
him the 12 labors; he wants Hercules to
fail
• Theseus --- Hercules’ cousin and friend
who remains loyal even after everyone
else abandons him
• Iphicles --- Hercules’ mortal twin brother;
son of Alcmena and Amphitryon.
12 Labors of Hercules
• 1. Kill lion of Nemea
• 2. Kill hydra
• 3. Bring back alive the stag with gold
horns
• 4. Capture the great boar
• 5. Clean Augean stables
• 6. Drive away Stymphalian birds
12 Labors of Hercules
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7. Fetch the savage bull from Crete
8. Get the man-eating mares of King Diomedes
9. Bring back girdle of Hippolyta
10. Bring back the cattle of Geryon
11. Bring back the golden apples of the
Hesperides
• 12. Bring Cerberus up from Hades; also rescued
Theseus from the chair of forgetfulness
Plot
• From the time Hercules was born, he was
cursed by Hera, who looked at him as a
symbol of her husband’s infidelity.
• Hera wanted to kill Hercules and sent
snakes to him when he was eighteen
months old, but he killed them.
• Under Hera’s influence, Hercules killed his
wife, Megara and their sons.
Plot
• Because of his actions, he was sent
away from Greece; his cousin
Theseus took him in.
• To atone (make up) for his sins, he
visited an oracle, who recommended
he see Eurystheus, his cousin, who
recommended the 12 labors, hoping
Hercules would fail.
Plot
• After he completed the 12 labors and
undertook other adventures, he
remarried (Deianira).
• When Deianira worried he would be
unfaithful to her, she anointed his cloak
with the blood of the river centaur Nessus;
when Hercules puts on the cloak, he
immediately his flesh begins burning.
Plot
 When he could not take the torment
anymore, he built a funeral pyre and
killed himself. As he died, the gods
took pity on him and changed him into
a god. He was then taken to Mount
Olympus, where he made amends
with Hera, married her daughter Hebe
(goddess of youth) and lived a happy
life as a god.
Themes
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Impulsiveness
Bravery
Loyalty/Friendship
Guilt
Determination
Loss