THE HEROES Perseus Theseus Hercules Bellerophon Daedalus PERSEUS1

THE HEROES • • • Perseus Theseus Hercules Bellerophon Daedalus

PERSEUS-1 Ø Son of Zeus and Danaë Ø Danaë and son cast into sea by King Acrisius Ø Dictys find the two, Polydectes loves Danaë Ø Perseus swears to bring Medusa’s head as gift Ø Hermes guides him to the Graiae, to Nymphs of the North Ø Hyperboreans gave him winged sandals, magic wallet and cap of invisibility Ø Hermes gave him a sword, and Athena her shield Ø Perseus cut Medusa’s head and escaped

PERSEUS-2 Ø On his way back, he stopped in Ethiopia to save Andromeda from the sea serpent and married her Ø He went back to the island of his mother to find cruel Polydectes and his men feasting Ø He showed them Medusa’s head, all of them were petrified Ø When throwing the discus he killed Acrisius, so the oracle proved true Ø He became the great-grandfather of Hercules Ø Athena bore Medusa’s head on the aegis

THESEUS-1 Ø Son of King Aegeus of Athens Ø Spent childhood in his mother’s home Ø When old enough he was sent to Athens to claim his father Ø Always wanted to become a hero, travelled by land, which was dangerous, killed all the bandits on his way to Athens Ø Father recognised him from his sword Ø He became the proclaimed heir

THESEUS-2 Ø King Minos of Crete was punishing the Athenians; every 9 years 14 youth from Athens were given to Minotaur, half bull, half human Ø Theseus wanted to kill Minotaur in the Labyrinth Ø Ariadne helped him; gave a ball of thread so he could find his way in the maze Ø Theseus killed the monster and set sail for home Ø Forgot to change the sail from black to white, Aegeus threw himself into the sea (Aegean Sea)

HERCULES-1 Ø Son of Zeus and Alcmena Ø Hera wanted to kill him, sent two snakes to his cradle, Hercules killed the snakes Ø The strongest man on Earth; killed his music master by accident, (no intellect, sheer strength) Ø In a time of madness he killed his wife Megara and his own three sons Ø Friend Theseus prevented him from killing himself for punishment, took him to Athens

HERCULES-2 Ø King Eurystheus of Mycenae, urged by Hera gave Hercules 12 difficult tasks to complete for purification Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Kill the Lion of Nemea Kill the nine-headed Hydra Bring back alive the stag with golden horns Capture a great boar on Mount Erymanthus Clean the Augean stables in one day Drive away the Stymphalian birds Bring back the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of Amazons Bring back the three-bodied cattle of Geryon Bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, of Atlas Bring Cerberus up from Hades

HERCULES-3 Ø Helped the gods in their fight against the Titans Ø Freed Prometheus by killing the Caucasian Eagle Ø Fought Death to bring Alcestis back from the dead Ø His wife Deianira kept the blood of Centaur Nessus killed by Hercules as a charm to be used if Hercules loved another woman Ø Hercules wore the poisonous robe sent by his wife, who was jealous of maiden Iole; died on a pyre; and taken to heaven to marry Hebe

BELLEROPHON-1 Ø He was the grandson of Sisyphus Ø Aspired to tame Pegasus, the winged-horse Ø By the help of Athena’s charm he succeeded Ø Anteia lied to King Proetus when her love was not returned by Bellerophon Ø Sent by the King to King of Lycia Ø King of Lycia asked him to kill the Chimaera, the monster with the lion’s head, goat’s body and a serpent behind

BELLEROPHON-2 Ø After killing the flaming monster he buried the Chimera’s body under heavy rocks (Çıralı, Antalya) Ø He became ambitious and tried to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus, which it rejected Ø Bellerophone lived in misery thereafter Ø Pegasus lived in Zeus’s stalls and became his favourite horse

DAEDALUS Ø He was the architect of the Labyrinth built for the Minotaur in Crete Ø Minos wanted to punish him for his help to Theseus, put him and his son Icarus into the maze Ø Daedalus made wings from wax for their escape Ø Icarus disregarded his father’s warning and due to his ambition flew too close to the sun; his wings melted, and he died