Throughout history, many ancient cultures created stories involving great heroes and gods to explain aspects of their daily lives. These stories would form an important part of the culture's religion and are today called mythology. Perseus is a great hero of ancient Greek mythology. By ancient and current standards, Perseus would be considered a great hero. The many actions that Perseus is said to have accomplished during his adventures prove his heroism. Perseus was born to Danae and the Greek god Zeus. Acrisius, the father of Danae, was informed by the oracle of Apollo that Danae's son would kill him. After discovering that Danae had his son, Perseus, Acrisius locked Perseus and Dane in a large chest and threw the chest into the sea. After some time at sea, they landed on the island of Seriphos, where they were saved by the brother of King Polydectes, Dictys. Polydectes, after hearing about Danae, wanted her to marry him. In order to get rid of Perseus, so that no one could stop him from marrying Danae, Polydectes came up with a plan. He pretended to marry the daughter of one of his friends and asked everyone to bring him a wedding gift. Polydectes knew that Perseus, being very poor, would arrive empty-handed. Perseus swore that he could bring Polydectes anything he wanted and so Polydectes asked Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa, in the hope that he would be killed. Perseus sets out on his adventure to kill Medusa and, stopping to rest for a night in an unknown land, Perseus realizes how hopeless the adventure seems. “The Gorgons were horrible, instead of hair they had black snakes writhing on their heads, they had cheeky hands that could…… middle of paper……his adventures. Both give Perseus something to help him in his adventure; from Athena the shield and from Hermes the sandals and the sickle. It was the god Dionysus who ultimately killed Perseus. In conclusion, Perseus is one of the greatest heroes of ancient Greek mythology. According to ancient and modern definitions of what a hero is, Perseus' exploits and adventures all make him fit both standards of what a hero is. Works Cited Albright, Tommy. “Perseus.” San Diego State University Online. January 6, 2014 “The concept of the hero”. Harvard Online. January 6, 2014. “Oxford Dictionary.” » Oxford Online. January 6 2014 .