Is Theseus an example of a typical ancient Greek hero Essay

Is Theseus an example of a typical ancient Greek hero - Essay Example The story follows the same motifs that are followed by other hero stories. These motifs include the background of the hero, the heroic tasks accomplished by the hero, his love life and his downfall due to his own mistakes. Similar to several other Greek hero stories, the story of Theseus even focuses on the background of the heroes. Lord Raglan has provided events that occur in the lives of a Greek hero and some of these events relate to the background regarding the birth of the hero. Raglan states that a Greek hero is mostly born to a royal mother and his father is either mortal or an immortal person (Dowden 104). The father of a hero in most cases is either a God or a King. In Theseus case, he was actually born to a king named Aegeus but was brought up by a king named Pittheus who was also his grandfather (Grant 14). Raglan even states that just before or just right after the birth of a Greek hero, the child is tried to be killed by his own father or even by his own grandfather. In the story of Theseus, he was not tried to be killed by any of his relatives at birth. Raglan even noted that most of the Greek heroes are brought up by either one of the parents or by parents who are not related to him by blood. In case of Theseus, he was brought up by her mother, but he even had his grandfather as a father image and is not brought up by foster parents. Furthermore Raglan argues that when the Greek hero grows up or reaches the life stage of manhood, he is informed about his actual father and later sets out to claim the kingdom he is going to control in future (Dowden 104). In case of Theseus, his mother later informs him that his father is a King and guides him to perform a task that will prove to the king that Theseus is his son. He completes the task which is to lift a stone and obtain the sandal and sword of his father and sets out on a journey to meet his father and live under his father’s Kingdom. Another important element of a heroic story