Transcript Is Perseus a Hero?

Lecture 9: Perseus and
Andromeda
Hera & Seasonality
•Hôra = natural time, natural life, natural lifecycle; 'season, seasonality; time; timeliness'.
•The goddess of hôra (plural hôrai) was Hêra
She was the goddess of seasons, in charge of
making everything happen on time, happen in
season, happen in a timely way, etc.
… and hero
Hêrôs (“hero”) related to hôra and Hêra.*
*The hero is unseasonal during his/her lifetime.
The precise moment when everything comes
together for the hero is the moment of death.
The hero is "on time" at the hôra or 'time' of
death.
Heroes and Hero cult
G. Nagy, The Best of the Achaeans and
Greek Mythology and Poetics
•Distinct feature of Greek religion; cult
practices different from those for the
gods
•“A highly evolved transformation of the
worship of ancestors”
•Long history, definitive shaping in 8th
century BCE
Some typical features of Greek heroes
•Extreme and larger than life in
good and bad ways
• Unseasonal
•Has a ritually antagonistic
relationship with a god, often
the god or goddess most like
him/her.
G. Nagy on hero:
“The ancient Greek hero was a religious
figure, a dead person who received cult
honors and was expected in return to
bring prosperity, especially in the form of
fertility of plants (crops) and animals, to
the community.”
“A key part to the narrative of the hero's life is that s/he
undergoes some sort of ordeal. The hero, who is mortal,
not immortal like the gods, must suffer during his or her
lifetime, and, significantly, must die. Only after death
can the hero receive immortalization in cult and in
song.”
IO + ZEUS
EPAPHUS + MEMPHIS
LIBYA + POSEIDON
BELUS
DANAUS
AEGYPTUS
CEPHEUS + CASSIOPEA
PHINEUS
HYPERMNESTRA + LYNCEUS
ABAS
ACRISIUS
AGENOR
EUROPA
PROETUS
ZEUS + DANAE
PERSEUS
ALCAEUS
+
ELECTYRON
ANDROMEDA
STEHENELUS
CADMUS
Io: Not to be confused with that girl
from clash of the titans
• Offspring of Melia (Oceanid) & Inachus (River in the
Argive Plain)
• Priestess to Hera (Heraeum – sanctuary to Hera in the
Argive Plain)
• (Unwilling?) Lover of Zeus
• Transformation into a cow & the watch of Argus
• Tormented by Hera & wanders to Ionian Sea (NW
Greece), Macedonia, Thrace, the “Bosporus” (Cowcrossing), Scythia...eventually to Caucasus Mtns.
• Transformed back into a human in Egypt, gives birth to
Epaphus
The Danaids: Wedding Night
Murders
IO + ZEUS
EPAPHUS + MEMPHIS
LIBYA + POSEIDON
BELUS
DANAUS
AEGYPTUS
CEPHEUS + CASSIOPEA
PHINEUS
HYPERMNESTRA + LYNCEUS
ABAS
ACRISIUS
AGENOR
EUROPA
PROETUS
ZEUS + DANAE
PERSEUS
ALCAEUS
+
ELECTYRON
ANDROMEDA
STEHENELUS
CADMUS
Danae & the Shower of Gold
Acrisius: Oracle of a deadly (grand)heir
Daughter imprisoned
Zeus appears in disguise
Mother and Son are removed from kingdom,
found by a stranger (Dictys)
Perseus required to provide a deadly gift to
Polydectes
Accidental death of Acrisius at hands of heir
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Ceto = Phorcys
Enyo Pe(m)phredo [ Deino ] Gorgons
(“horror”) (“alarm”) (“terrible”) (“dreadful
ones”)
Stheno
Euryale
Poseidon =
Medusa*
Pegasus
Andromeda
Outrage against the
Nereids
Perseus overcomes
monster and opposition
from fiance (Phineus /
Agenor)
Well, that’s all lovely and good, but here’s the real
question:
IS PERSEUS A HERO? IS THIS
A MYTH?
Heroic Legend?
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Receives divine help
Has divine parentage
Curious birth
Completes impossible labors
(under compulsion)
Quests to faraway lands (Libya,
Ethiopia, edge of Ocean)
Returns home
Rewarded upon return
Accidentally kills a family
member
Folktale?
• Mother’s tale: “girl’s
tragedy” for Danae – folktale
pattern
• Perseus’ Problems?
– TOO likeable?
– Villainous vs. good brothers
– No Male Friend
• No conflict with female
figures
Perseus: “Hero” or Glorified Folktale
Figure?