1. Lecture 9: Perseus and Andromeda

2. The goddess of hôra (plural hôrai) was Hêra
Hera & Seasonality
Hôra = natural time, natural life, natural life-cycle; '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.

3. Hêrôs (“hero”) related to hôra and Hêra.*
… 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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.”

7. “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.”

9. 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” (Cow-crossing), Scythia...eventually to Caucasus Mtns.
Transformed back into a human in Egypt, gives birth to Epaphus

10. The Danaids: Wedding Night Murders

12. Danae & the Shower of Gold

13. 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

14. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Ceto = Phorcys Enyo Pe(m)phredo [ Deino ] Gorgons (“horror”) (“alarm”) (“terrible”) (“dreadful ones”) Stheno Euryale Poseidon = Medusa* Pegasus

16. Andromeda
Outrage against the Nereids
Perseus overcomes monster and opposition from fiance (Phineus / Agenor)

17. Is Perseus a Hero? Is this a Myth?
Well, that’s all lovely and good, but here’s the real question:
Is Perseus a Hero? Is this a Myth?

18. Perseus: “Hero” or Glorified Folktale Figure?
Heroic Legend?
Folktale?
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
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?