SAMPLE SOLUTION

In Greek mythology, men and women of special courage, strength, and ability – who were often known for their divine ancestry and noted for their superhuman acts – were considered heroes. These heroes include Achilles, Atlanta, Jason, Perseus, and Theseus. In the question that I choose, I will seek to explain what makes Perseus, Theseus, and Jason to be considered as heroes. This paper seeks to explain how I understand the question as well as the argument that I will make in my final essay in response to this question.

How I Understand the Question

The question really takes a simple stance, asking a direct question: “What makes Perseus, Theseus, and Jason ‘heroes’?” This is a very interesting question because it can be broken down into simple parts that will make answering it to be easy and efficient. First, the question asks me to explain who is considered a hero in Greek mythology and what heroes do. Second, the question asks me to understand and analyze the life stories of these three characters in depth. Finally, the question requires me to consider whether the achievements of these characters, each of them, coincide with them being labeled as ‘heroes.’ Therefore, I will analyze what the characters have done alongside the characters of Greek heroes and thus present all the factors that make them to be the heroes they are labelled.

Planned Arguments

First, the paper will argue on all the characters of the said heroes while describing how they fit into the heroes we already know and love as described by GreekMythology.com (2017), an article that explains all the characters of Greek antique heroes. Thereafter, I will describe each heroic character alongside the accomplishments of each of the heroes we will be analyzing, showing what exactly they did that made them heroes. This has been told and retold in various primary sources such as in Fry (2018), which describes all the brave acts and achievements of famous Greek heroes. In this regard, I will argue that these individuals are indeed heroes that have inspired greatness not only to the Greek world but also to the rest of the world as reiterated by Allison (2015) in her article which describes the connection that service members and veterans have to these inspiring heroes, making them heroes of their own. This insinuates that the characters that the heroes show in their quests and the courage they are all required to show coincides with all human beliefs of who a hero really is, inspiring more people towards the same. Secondly, I will argue that the heroes have performed certain tasks and achieved feats well beyond human grasp. I will get their personal feats from primary sources such as Godwin’s (1876) book that describes the achievements of Perseus as well as Morford and Lenardon’s (1999) book on Theseus. This, by all means, will seek to explains how they are, as a result, heroes of antiquity.