Transcript Epic Project

Hercules
What is a Hero?
• “A person, typically a man, who is admired
for courage or noble qualities.”
– Dictionary.com
• "In mythology and legend, a man or
woman, often of divine ancestry, who is
endowed with great courage and strength,
celebrated for his or her bold exploits, and
favored by the gods.“ – mythweb.com
• I think a hero is someone who sticks up for
other people and has a positive impact on
that persons life.
Heroic Characteristics
• Strong
• Courageous
• Attractive
• Brave
• Born with heroic
power
• Skilled
• Resourceful
• Man of action
• Too proud to ask
for help
• Not Afraid
• Good influence
• Risky
Hercules
• From a young age Hercules was incredible. When he
was an infant, Hera sent two snakes to kill him in his crib.
When they came into his room later, they found Hercules
holding the snakes and talking to them.
• Killed his own children.
• As punishment for killing his children,
he had to go through 12 difficult
labors such as killing the Nemean
lion and find and kill the monster
Hydra.
• Hercules finally took his life with an
arrow.
Achilles
• Lead hero in the Trojan War.
• Son of Peleus and Thetis
• The term Achilles Tendon came from Achilles. In the
Trojan War, he was killed by an arrow that was shot into
his heel.
• Main character in Homer’s The Iliad.
• His mother, Thetis, wanted Achilles
to be immortal. To do so, she
dunked him in the River Styx holding
him by the heels. This made
Achilles’ entire body, except the
heels, immortal.
Odysseus
• King of Ithaca
• Fought in Trojan War for 10 years, then spent 10 years
trying to return home.
• Creator of the idea of the Trojan Horse.
• Used wisdom, strength and bravery to return home after
the Trojan War.
• Main character in The Odyssey by
Homer.
• Fought and killed 118 men who were
trying to marry his wife when he
returned home from the Trojan War.
Theseus
• Volunteered to be one of the victims of the Cretan
minotaur.
• Saved the people of Athens from having to send their
children off as human sacrifices to Cretan minotaur.
• Theseus was able to slay the Cretan
minotaur with the help of Ariadne.
• Son of Poseidon and Aethra
• Mythical founder of Athens
• First proved himself as a hero by lifting a
boulder when he was sixteen years old.
• Under the boulder were gold coins left by
his father.
Citations
• "Heroes." Greek Mythology: Heroes. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May
2012. <http://www.mythweb.com/heroes/heroes.html>.
• Gill, N.S.. "Top 10 Heroes of Greek Legend." About.com
Ancient/Classical History. About.com, n.d. Web. 2 May
2012.
<http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/heroes/tp/TopHeroes
.htm>.
• "Odysseus and The Trojan War." Greek-MythologyGods.com. n.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://www.greekmythology-gods.com/odysseus.html>.
• "The Principal Gods Family Tree." Greek Mythology. n.p.,
n.d. Web. 6 May 2012.
<http://www.greekmythology.com/>.