Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video,
we’re going to discuss the five greatest Heroes in Greek mythology.
Let’s get into it.
Starting off our list is Perseus, a Hero with an impressive portfolio of heroics
but whose legacy was ultimately undermined by the amount of divine support he received.
The apotheosis of Perseus’ life was the slaying of Medusa, a feat that would have been close to
impossible without Hermes and Athena holding his hands the whole way. First, Perseus found
the Graeae, three wizened crones, and stole the single eye they shared, threatening to squish it
if they didn’t divulge the information he sought. They directed him to the Nymphs of the North,
where he received many magic gifts and learned of the location of Medusa’s lair.
After slaying Medusa and collecting her severed head, Perseus made his way home, but his route was
far from direct. He came across a woman chained to a cliff and slayed the sea monster that was going
to devour her. This woman, Andromeda, became his wife. When Perseus finally returned home,
he used Medusa’s head to turn Polydectes, the king who sent him on his quest, to stone.
Next we have Theseus
After making his way to Athens and establishing himself as the legitimate heir,
Theseus endeavored to win the hearts of the people. His chosen path to accomplish this
was to volunteer himself as one of the 14 youths sent by Athens into the minotaur’s labyrinth every
nine years as recompense for killing King Minos’ son years earlier. Theseus killed the minotaur
with his bare hands and was then able to retrace his steps, using a ball of string to escape the
labyrinth. After this, Theseus became king, but the events that followed were of a mixed sort.
Certainly, there were moments of heroism, like when Theseus joined Hercules on the latter’s
labour to retrieve the girdle of Hippolyta, but there were also blunders, like when Theseus and
Pirithous were imprisoned in the underworld by Hades for attempting to abduct Persephone.
At number three we have Odysseus
Odysseus is unlike the other heroes on this list in that his power, first and foremost,
was derived from his brain, not his brawn. He was indispensable to the hard-won Greek victory
against the Trojans, and he was among the fiercest and most capable warriors the Greeks had - to be
sure - but perhaps his greatest contribution was the ingenious ruse he concocted, which was to
infiltrate Troy by hiding soldiers within a wooden horse. Though the 10 years he spent at Troy would
have, in and of themselves, immortalized him, the events that truly defined Odysseus’ life
were in the 10-year gauntlet of trials and tribulations he had to endure on his journey
home from the Trojan war, which culminated into the story of the Odyssey. Among the dangers that
had to be navigated were a man-eating cyclopes, a sorceress and a strait with two sea monsters.
Next we have Achilles
Achilles was the greatest warrior of his time,
and his exploits during the Trojan war were such that they elevated him above every Greek hero
except for Hercules. He was fated to die in the Trojan war, and despite his mother’s best efforts,
which were to disguise him as a woman and hide him, he was discovered and enlisted by Odysseus.
Achilles’ mother had tried to make him immortal when he was just an infant,
either anointing him with ambrosia during the day and placing him in embers at night,
or by dipping him by the heels into the river Styx. Though she was unsuccessful,
Achilles fought like it was impossible for the weapons of the enemy to kill him.
He smashed armies, razed fortresses, captured slaves, and claimed concubines.
Late in the war, Achilles withdrew himself and his men from the fighting
when Agamemnon, the high-commander of the Greeks, took his concubine from him.
But later, after Hector killed Patroclus, Achilles’ closest friend,
Achilles rejoined the fighting. He killed Hector in single combat and then defiled his foe’s
corpse. In the end, Paris kills Achilles by shooting an arrow through his ankle.
Taking the top spot is of course Hercules
Hercules was, unequivocally, the greatest hero in Greek mythology. Unlike the other heroes discussed
in this video, Hercules was much closer to being a god than he was to being a man. And what he
accomplished in life was so awe-inspiring that, in the end, he even ascended to godhood. He completed
his legendary 12 labours, which included feats like slaying the Nemean Lion, slaying the Lernaean
Hydra, and in the titan Atlas’ place, temporarily holding the heavens aloft on his shoulders.
He was one of the Argonauts, who were the group of heroes who sailed with Jason in the quest for
the golden fleece. He fought in the Gigantomachy, which was the war between the gods and the giants.
He destroyed many armies, won many wars, and he sacked Troy with only a handful of ships,
a feat that would later take all of Greece 10 years to manage.
His case for being the greatest Greek hero is unimpeachable, and he was able
to accomplish all that he did while Hera tried to either end or ruin his life at every turn.
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