The Heros Journey
4 October 2013
The Rise and Fall of The Great Athenian Hero: Theseus Theseus is often seen as the greatest hero in Athens, but is his story that much different than any other hero? The Greek myth “Theseus” is a perfect example of Joseph Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey, also known as Monomyth. Monomyth is the idea that all stories follow a basic pattern, written in twelve stages. The three stages that best demonstrate this idea in Theseus are: Crossing the Threshold; Tests, Allies, Enemies; The Resurrection. One stage is called Crossing the Threshold which means, “...the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.”(Campbell). In the story of Theseus, the ordinary place that Theseus is leaving is the city of Athens. He leaves Athens on a ship with the other tributes with the intent of killing the Minotaur. The unfamiliar place is the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is essentially an intricate, impossible maze with a seemingly infinite number of corridors. It is created by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur; the Minotaur is a monster that is half man and half bull. Theseus meets unique characters, some are friendly, while others are enemies. This is the stage in the Hero’s Journey called: Tests, Allies, Enemies. Ariadne is an ally, as she falls in love with Theseus. After seeking advice from Daedalus, Ariadne directs Theseus on how to escape the Labyrinth, which is to tie a ball of thread to the door and unwind it as he travels through the maze. The second ally is Aegeus, his father. When Theseus arrives in Athens, Aegeus feels threatened that he will lose his place as king because of Theseus’ popularity. One of the king’s assistants creates a poison to murder Theseus, fortunately his father recognizes the sword and saves him. Before Theseus arrives in Athens, he is tested by two particular subjects, both are ruthless savages. The first enemy is Sciron. Sciron is a terrible
The Rise and Fall of The Great Athenian Hero: Theseus Theseus is often seen as the greatest hero in Athens, but is his story that much different than any other hero? The Greek myth “Theseus” is a perfect example of Joseph Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey, also known as Monomyth. Monomyth is the idea that all stories follow a basic pattern, written in twelve stages. The three stages that best demonstrate this idea in Theseus are: Crossing the Threshold; Tests, Allies, Enemies; The Resurrection. One stage is called Crossing the Threshold which means, “...the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.”(Campbell). In the story of Theseus, the ordinary place that Theseus is leaving is the city of Athens. He leaves Athens on a ship with the other tributes with the intent of killing the Minotaur. The unfamiliar place is the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is essentially an intricate, impossible maze with a seemingly infinite number of corridors. It is created by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur; the Minotaur is a monster that is half man and half bull. Theseus meets unique characters, some are friendly, while others are enemies. This is the stage in the Hero’s Journey called: Tests, Allies, Enemies. Ariadne is an ally, as she falls in love with Theseus. After seeking advice from Daedalus, Ariadne directs Theseus on how to escape the Labyrinth, which is to tie a ball of thread to the door and unwind it as he travels through the maze. The second ally is Aegeus, his father. When Theseus arrives in Athens, Aegeus feels threatened that he will lose his place as king because of Theseus’ popularity. One of the king’s assistants creates a poison to murder Theseus, fortunately his father recognizes the sword and saves him. Before Theseus arrives in Athens, he is tested by two particular subjects, both are ruthless savages. The first enemy is Sciron. Sciron is a terrible
Cited: Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heros. New York: Grand Central, 2011. Print. Campbell, Joseph. "The Hero 's Journey." The Hero with a Thousand Faces.Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1968. N. pag. Print.