A Quick Look at Major Greek & Roman Heroes

Onto the GreeksBattle of Thermopylae

• King Leonidas confronts Xerxes (a Persian) with 300 men at the Thermopylae Pass

• Leonidas is betrayed by one of his followers

• Out flanked the 300 hold off the Persian army for a while but ultimately succumb

Trojan War

• Trojan Heroes– Hector– Paris– Aeneas

Achilles kills Hector outside the walls of Troy

Trojan War

• Greek heroes– Achilles– Odysseus– Diomedes

Odysseus: Trials • Laistrygones – man-

eating giants• Polyphemus – the

cyclops• Aeolus – the god of

the winds• Circe – witch who

turned Odysseus’ men into swine

• Sirens – sea nymphs• Scylla – rocks in a

straight protected by a sea witch who eats sailors

• Charybdis – giant whirlpool opposite Scylla

• Calypso – goddess nymph

Other Greek Heroes & Heroines

• Jason – a Thessalian who lead the quest for the Golden Fleece; later married to Medea

• Leda – queen of Sparta, seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan; laid an egg that hatched Helen and a set of twins

• Pandora – first woman created by gods; delivered evil to man when opened a jar of evil spirits (similar to Eve?)

Heroes & Heroines continued

• Perseus – sent by King Polydectes to behead Medusa the Gorgon. When Perseus returned with her head, he turned King Polydectes to stone

• Others you may find interesting– Pygmalion and Galatea– Demeter, Hades & Persephone– Psyche– Narcissus

Hercules: the Greatest Greek Hero

• Parents: the god, Zeus and Alcmene, a mortal

• Hera, Zeus’s wife, seeks revenge– Delays Hercules’ birth so that he is not the

firstborn; therefore, cannot wear a crown and is in fact made a slave

– Places two serpents in his crib; Hercules strangles them before they can strike

– Later turns Hercules into a murderer by inflicting him with a fit of madness

Madness and Atonement

• While mad Hercules lets loose his arrows and kills his wife, Megara and their three children

• Oracle of Delphi sends Hercules to his cousin, Eurytheus for 12 years

• Performs 12 labors

The 12 Labors

• The Nemean Lion– Lion kills flocks near Mycenae– Arrows bounce off lion– Hercules chases it and kills it with his bare

hands– Keeps the lion’s skin as trophy

The Lernean Hydra• Many headed snake

with body of hound• Breath can kill• Heads grow back• Kills livestock• H. gets help from

Iolaus who seals each neck with fire

• H. dips arrows into blood

The Erymanthian Boar

• Captures a boar• Later stops to eat,

drink, visit some centaurs

• A brawl breaks out and H. kills all but one centaur, Nessus

• Nessus later will reappear in H.’s life

The Ceryneian Hind• Ordered to capture a

deer famed for golden antlers and metal hoofs

• Tracks a year and captures

• Apollo tells H. the deer is sacred to Artemis

• H. releases the deer

The Stymphalian Birds• Near Arcadian lake, birds who shoot arrows from

wings, pierce armor and whose droppings destroy crops

• H. bangs metal castanets, startles birds into flight then kills them with poison arrows

The Augean Stables

• Huge, nasty stables• Clever Herc punches holes into sides of stables• Diverts a river to flow through the stable• Cleans them overnight

The Cretan Bull

• Ordered to capture King Minos’ sacred bull in Crete

• Herc grabs the bull by its horns and tosses it to the sea

• Then rides it back to Mycenae where he releases it

• The bull is later killed by Theseus

The Horse of Diomede• H. captures the

wicked king Diomede, who has four savage flesh-eating horses

• H. feeds Diomede to the horses then tames them and releases them

• Horses are later eaten by wolves

The Girdle of Hippolyta

• Asked to obtain the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons

• Hippolyta is smitten by the handsome hero and simply hands the belt over

The Cattle of Geryon• Geryon, three headed

monster, has flock of magical cattle

• Herc travels across N. Africa and then builds two great columns

• Kills the herders• Drives cattle across

Europe to Mycenae• Sacrifices cattle to Hera

The Apples of the Hesperides• Hercules finds the magical tree

of life and sees the apples• He also finds Prometheus; he

kills the eagle and frees Prometheus – who tells H how to get the apples

• H offers to hold the world for Atlas in exchange for the apples, but Atlas decides not to take the world back

• H tricks him by asking him to hold the world for just a moment

• H takes the apples and leaves Atlas holding the world

The Hesperides are the daughters of Atlas, the Titan who holds the world on his shoulders.

Prometheus is the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man; his punishment is to be chained to a rock where an eagle pecks out his liver daily.

Cerberus, the Hound of Hades

• Most daunting labor, H must go to Hades and steal Cerberus, who guards the gates of Hell.

• H and Hades (the god) fight and Hades is wounded

• While Hades is being healed, H wrestles the dog and drags it to the upper world

• H is rewarded with immortality

Hercules’ Fate

• Marries Deianira (man-killer)• While traveling, they meet up Nessus (the

centaur) who ferries people across a river• While transporting Deianira, he attempts to

rape her and is shot by H’s poisonous arrows

• Nessus convinces D to take some blood and other fluids, smear it on H’s cloak to keep him faithful

A Woman Scorned

• H falls in love with another Princess• D put the “potion” on his cloak• The potion burns H so badly he begs for a

funeral pyre into which he jumps• D is so grief stricken she follows him• H ascends to Olympus, resolves conflict

with Hera, marries Hebe (youth) and lives in immortality

Perseus• Son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of

Acrisius, king of Argos • Mother is shut up in bronze tower to thwart

the prophecy that she would kill her father• Zeus visits her in the form of a golden

shower and Perseus is born.• Acrisius fearfully places mother and child

in a wooden box and cast in the sea.• Zeus protects them and leads the safely to

shore.

Polydectes and Medusa• Sent by Polydectes to retrieve the head of

Medusa, a gorgon, whose hair consists of snakes and whose stare turn mean to stone.

• Athena who hated Medusa instructs Perseus on how to accomplish the feat.

• Graia, three hags, share an eye. He takes it and forces them to tell him about the Gorgons (3 sisters)

Three Useful Gifts• Cap of invisibility• Winged shoes

– Flies to Gorgon’s cave in the far west• Bag for Medusa’s head

Death of Medusa• Uses reflection in shield to approach

Medusa (backwards) and beheads her. • The head’s powers help him complete

another heroic deed.

Andromeda• Saved Andromeda from fierce sea

monster• Then married her• Turned several people to stone before he

and Andromeda could return safely.• Had returned all his magical equipment to

Hermes.• Perseus visits Argos; discovers his

grandfather at fled to Larissa in fear.

Prophecy Fulfilled

• Perseus invited to participate in games.• His discus accidently hits Acrisius in the

head and kills him.• Perseus the choses to become king of

Tiryns.• After their deaths, Athena placed both

Perseus and Andromeda in the sky as constellations.

Theseus and the Minotaur

Birth and Athens• Son of Aegeus, king of Athens and Aethra• Aegeus was childless until he visited the Oracle of

Delphi– Tells him not open his wine bottle– Aegeus doen’t understand

• Visits King Pittheus– Gets Aegeus drunk– Puts him in bed with daughter Aethra– Theseus is conceived.

• Pittheus claims Poseidon was Aethra’s lover.

Theseus in Athens• When an adult, Aethra explains he is heir

to the Athenian throne.• She explains that Aegus buried some

possessions to prove that Theseus was his son.

• Theseus retrieves his father’s sword and sandals; then travels to Athens

• On the way he must over come several trials.

Road of Trials• Slays son of Hephaistos and daughter (a sow) of the

monster Typhon• Forced to wrestle with king of Eleusis, Cercyon

– Cercyon dies– Theseus becomes king of Eleusis

• At Athens:– Discovers his father is being challenged by the

sons of Pallas– His father has fallen under the spell of Medea, a

powerful witch once married to Jason– Medea is hoping her son, Medus, will become the

king.

– Medea tries to poison Theseus but is recognized by his father (who sees the sword)

– Plot revealed and Medea, with Medus, flees from Athens

• Next Theseus must protect Athens (since he is now King)− Pallas’s sons− Marathon bull− Defeated the minotaur

What is the Minotaur?

• On the island of Crete, King Minos had – Daedalus (father of Icarus)design a labyrinth– The Minotaur was place it

• Annual tribute• No survivors

– Theseus volunteers to confront it• If he succeeds in killing the Minotaur, raise white flag

and goes home• Aphrodite gave Theseus the king’s daughter Ariadne

– Ariadne gives the hero a ball of thread and sword

– Theseus survives the labyrinth and slays the Minotaur

• Approaching Athens, he forgets to raise the white sail;– Aegeus thinks Theseus is dead and throws

himself off a cliff– Theseus becomes king of Athens

Other exploits• Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons

– Son Hippolytus• Oedipus and Antigone

– Refuge at Colonus following their exile from Thebes

• Phaedra (second wife)– Accuses Hippolytus of rape then kills herself

• One version Hippolytus is exiled and dies in a chariot accident

• In another, Hippolytus is killed by a sea monster

• Kidnaps her (12-years-old) [She is a daughter of Zeus]

• Her kinsmen attack and defeat Theseus• Takes refuge on the island of Scyros

– The king fears him– Pushes Theseus over a cliff as he admired the

view.

• Helen

Romans (borrowed everything)

• When Alexander the Great began conquering much of the known world between 338 BCE and 323 BCE, he attempted to “Hellenize” the empire.

• He conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria (the site of a great library of ancient texts) – this became the center of Greek culture

• Romans associated their Gods with those of the Greeks

Roman Gods

• Jupiter = Zeus• Mars = Ares• Juno = Hera• Minerva = Athena

Roman Heroes

• Deified emperors such as Julius Caesar and Augustus

• Other divinities came from historical personages – best example regards the founding of Rome

Romulus & Remus

• Parents: Mars (god of war) raped Rhea Silvia (first vestal virgin)

• As her punishment, the twins were taken from her and set adrift on Tiber River

• Found and raised by a she-wolf

More on Romulus & Remus

• Later raised to adulthood by a shepherd• Grew into fierce hunters and warriors• Revered by followers• Set out to build a city at the site where the

she-wolf found them• The brothers quarrel

Rome is founded

• Romulus kills Remus and weeps over his brothers body

• Completes the city• Named its king and reigns for 40 years• Then Romulus disappears into a

thundercloud• Note: the biblical similarities to Moses,

Cain and Abel, and Jesus

Sources

• Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much About Mythology. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.

• Google Images accessed 31 Aug. 2009• Perseus Digital Library Project. Ed. Gregory R. Crane. 8

Sept. 2008. Tufts University. 30 Aug. 2009. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu.

• The Theban Saga. Ed. Andrea Webb Deagon. U. of N. Carolina-Wilmington. 30 Aug. 2008.http://people.uncw.edu/deagon/myth/

• The Theoi Project: Greek Mythology. Ed. Aaron T. Atsma. 2008. 31 Aug. 2009. http://www.theoi.com