Thursday, March 6, 2008

Jason Vs. Perseus Heroics II?

Who is more heroic: Jason or Perseus? Please sight at least one example from our text and use the "heroic code" terminology to defend your claims.

20 comments:

Amy B. said...

In my opinion I think that Perseus is more heroic than Jason. In the story, Polydectes fell in love with Perseus's mom, Danae. He loved everything about her except her son, Perseus. In order to gain his respect, Polydectes set a requirement that he had to kill Medusa and bring back her head. This task was known to be impossible and an automatic death sentence. He willingly said he would do the task. This shows his desire to be recognized and his unselfishness. In the Quest for the Golden Fleece, Jason's motives were much more selfish and that is why Perseus should be considered more heroic.

David B. said...

I think that Perseus is more heroic because he didn't do his task only for himself. In the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Jason only got the fleece so that he could be king and benefit himself. Perseus was showing how he would do a task for someone to gain their loyalty and respect. This task was more heroic because it was aimed to benefit his whole family. Jason is already in line to the throne so he deserved it, while in the myth of Perseus it to gain trust from family that was not already there. This makes Perseus a greater hero.

Erin G said...

So far, the comments have suggested that Jason was selfish and Perseus wasn't, but perhaps Jason was thinking of the good of his native country when he searched for the golden fleece. Also, although Perseus makes the journey to be known, he does it merely for a wedding gift.

Chris Athey said...

In my reading I have found that both are very prideful-"hubris". They both want to achieve all the glory they can for themselves during their adventure. I would say Perseus is more heroic as he puts his own life on the line rather than his companions. Jason relied on others while Perseus was mostly on his own.

Nikki B. said...

Perseus is more heroic because he is more of a common man than Jason. Perseus' grandfather tried to kill him as a child and Polydectes sent him on a suicide mission for a wedding present, so from Perseus' begining he has been an underdog. Persues doesn't have the hubris that Jason does and excluding the help of Hermes and Hera, Perseus achieves his goals on his own.

kelcey r. said...

I think that Perseus is more heroic than Jason because he is going on his adventure and risking his life to save his mother's. He has the help of both Athena and Hermes throughout his mission to kill Medusa, the gorgon. He saves another person on his way home, Andromede, whom he marries. He returns home to find that Polydectes had taken over his temple becasue Danae had refused to marry him. He went to the banquet of the evil king and his court, and held the head of Medusa ip for them all to see, it turned them to stone. Persues, his mother and wife, and Dictys were able to live in their home once more.

tragsdale said...

I think Perseus is more heroic than Jason. Becasue Perseus was sent to cut off the head of Medusa, he was doing a selfless act. He desired to be recognized and wanted to gain Polydectes respect. Jason's desires were a little more selfish, this makes Perseus the more heroic character.

Nikki B. said...

I meant Hermes and Athena, not Hera.

pfairchild said...

Between Jason and Perseus, I would consider Jason to be more heroic than his counterpart. Jason endured many challenges along his quest for the Golden Fleece. Whether or not the Gods favored Jason made no difference. Jason fulfilled his destiny and became ruler of Corinth just as the prophecy had predicted.

ianp said...

inmyoppinion preseus is more heroic because his mission is for a more valuable cause. perseus is goingon avery dangerous mission so he can free his mother from the king. he is doing a very non selfesh act.jasons mission was to retreive the golden fleece for the current king so that he himself could take the throne. they both do many heroic actions but perseus's is less selfesh

kspring said...

I believe that Perseus is more heroic than Jason because Perseus’s mission had more odds against him. Although Perseus had the help from the gods Hermes and Athena he basically did everything by himself and his accomplishments were bigger that Jason’s.

apepe said...

I believe that Perseus is more of a hero than Jason because Jason acts selfishly in his quest for the golden fleece. Perseus performs his tasks so he can gain the approval of Polydectyes and not just be the best and act arrogant. Perseus is obviously the hero in this case because of his moitives

rachelf said...

I think Perseus was more heroic than Jason, because his task was more difficult than Jason's. Even though Perseus had the help of the gods, he was doing it to save his mother and the other people on the island versus Jason who got the golden fleece to become king. Because Perseus had a harder task to complete and it was to save others not for greed, he is more heroic than Jason.

mtsuji said...

Of these two greeks, Perseus is by far the more heroic. While both accomplished many daring feats many a mortal would faint at the thought of, the difference lies in the reasons behind them. Perseus' goal in his quest was to gain respect as well as assist a member of his immediate family. Jason on the other hand wanted only a crown of a kingdom to call his own. Perseus wanted only for others to respect him and his mother to be able to live the life she wanted. in the process of his quest, Jason also ruined the life of a young woman as she fell in love with him and his hubris caused him to think he could do better than her.

mtsuji said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lauren L said...

In my opinion Perseus was a lot more heroic because he acted less selifsh then Jason. Jason went on his mission with respect where as perseus had to gain the respect by chopping off medusa's head. Perseus also had to learn to defend himself because one look by medusa and he would have died. Therefore he created a plan to shield his face and kill her. Jason acts of bravery to find the golden fleece were heroic but in the end he knew he would be rewarded. This is why perseus is more heroic.

Lauren L said...

This is karlye holmes.
I think that Jason is more heroric because he actually went through alot of challenges and obsticles that took alot of courage. Eventhough Jason may have seemed selfish, he still did good and i admire his actions.

capnhawaii said...

Dan Camit

Jason and the Argonaunts' Quest for the Golden Fleece fits closer to the heroic elements we discussed in class than Perseus's slaying of Medusa. Jason undertook the adventure to obtain the Golden Fleece 1) to reclaim his rightful kingdon but more importantly 2) because it sounded like a great adventure to him. It held so much attraction that the Quest brought many renown heros to join him. Jason's adventure more closely mirrors the desire among Greeks to gain identity in their warrior society and perform deeds that would immortalize them in story. While he did rely more on his comrades than Perseus, Jason's cunning use of his friends identifies him closer to figures like Odyseus. Persues, by contrast, attempted to rely on his own strength which is noble, but ignorant. His deeds did not attract any to his company and the whole idea to slay Medusa only came up because he forgot to buy a present for the wedding shower. Fortunately, assistance from the gods saved him from becoming another stone lawn ornament for Medusa. While his actions were of recognition, Perseus fails as a Greek hero next to Jason.

Ryan f said...

Jason fits the "heroic code" better than Perseus. He is trying to re-gain what is his, and he attracts a team of warriors and heroes to help him. He would not have this help if his cause were totally selfish. Jason goes on this journey knowing what he is getting into for glory. both heroes have a lot of hubris, but Jason and his journey fit the mold of a hero much better than Perseus.

emilyf said...

I think that Perseus is more of a hero than Jason, in our standard term of Greek Hero. Jason's Hubris is so extensive that all he can see is his benefit for the moment and not even the long term benefits or downfalls of his decision. He uses the daughter of the king to steal the golden fleece from her father. He also uses her to perform magic to get home safely. But after he is married to her for a few years he simply gets tired of her and leaves her for another woman. Jason also breaks the Heroic code of guest host relationships after he steals the fleece becuase the king gave him food and a place to stay and then he backstabbed the king. Perseus on the other hand sets out to kill medusa.He does this in order to offer a gift to her mother on her wedding day. not only does he do it for his mother but he also does it for the good of mankind. Perseus is more a hero than Jason becuase his Hubris did not get in the way of him doing what is right.