Anne Kidd

CLA135
Paolo Visona
11/13/2104

Heroic Qualities of Theseus, Perseus, and Modern Day

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When I think hero, I think of somebody who is brave, respectable, and not afraid to
fight for justice. In my opinion, police officers are a perfect example of modern day heroes. A
police officers job includes fighting crime, serving justice, and protecting people of the
community and their belongings. In Greek mythology, Perseus and Theseus displayed heroic
behavior similar to that of todays police officers.
The police force is a courageous, selfless line of work. Every day at their job, police
officers put their lives on the line to protect and serve the community that theyre a part of.
Police officers are generally known for arresting those who do not abide by the law, but their
jobs go way beyond that. Police officers are responsible for gathering information about
suspects of a crime, controlling riots, organizing traffic stops, assisting people who are involved
in a vehicle accident, patrolling the community, and preventing crime.
A police officers job is all about maintaining peace and justice. Police officers do a lot of
heroic work on the clock, but it doesnt stop there. The numerous good deeds police officers
are known for doing on their own time is what makes them a special kind of heroic.
Like todays police officers, the hero Perseus from Greek mythology demonstrated
heroic qualities. Though Perseus did not perform heroic duties on a day to day basis, he did
huge heroic deeds over periods of time. So what makes Perseus so heroic and similar to a police
officer? It all began when Polydectes took in Perseus and his mother, Danae. Polydectes felt lust
towards Perseuss mother, but would not force himself on her because Perseus was very able
of protecting Danae. In order to eliminate Perseus, Polydectes sent him on a quest to retrieve
the head of Medusa1.
Like Perseus, police officers are sent to do dangerous tasks every day. Similar to Perseus
task of retrieving Medusas head, police officers are sent to retrieve criminals every day. Both
the police and Perseus are risking their lives preforming these heroic duties.
Perseus needed information on medusa. He then sought out the three witches, called
the Graeae. The three witches all share one eye and tooth which Perseus took from them and
refused to return until he got the information he needed. Much like this situation, cops
interrogate people for information on criminals.
Perseus made his way to medusa and decapitated her. He then secured her head in his
satchel. On his way back home, Perseus had a run in with Atlas2. He used the head of Medusa
to turn Atlas to stone. On his way home, he came upon Andromeda, who he soon married.
After the marriage Andromedas mother, Cassiopeia, stated that Andromeda was more
beautiful than the sea nymphs. This upset Poseidon, who then said that Andromeda would be
offered as a sacrifice to the Kraken. If she was not sacrificed to the kraken their land was to be
flooded and destroyed. Perseus defeated the Kraken by showing it the head of Medusa.

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This situation is very similar to one which a police officer would encounter. In many
situations police have to save victims from criminals. If it was not for Perseus, Andromeda
would more than likely be helpless. In a lot of situations police officers assist people who are
helpless in crimes.
Perseus returned to Seriphos where he found out that Polydectes was trying to force
himself upon his mother, Danae. When Perseus noticed this he used the head of Medusa which
turned Polydectes to stone. After this he turned Polydectes to stone, Perseus gave the head of
Medusa to Athena. Athena then fused the head of Medusa to the Aegis. Perseus final act was
to return to Argos and kill Acrisius.
Similar to Perseus, Theseus from Greek mythology demonstrates heroic behavior.
Theseus way of carrying out heroic deeds was like Perseus way. Though his daily activities
didnt include carrying out many heroic deeds, he did preform big heroic deeds over periods of
time.
A Minotaur, named Asterion, was the son of King Minos' wife and a bull. This bull was
sent by Poseidon after Minos had told him that he wanted to offer him an extraordinary
sacrifice. Since Minos said that none of his cattle were special enough, Poseidon sent a big bull
for Minos to sacrifice. Instead Minos kept the better bull and sacrificed a smaller on to
Poseidon. Poseidon was outraged and made Minos wife fall in love with the bull. Resulting in a
half bull, half human offspring.
Instead of killing the monster, King Minos in the Labyrinth3. Athens sent seven young
males and seven young females as a tribute to Minos. This occurred every seven years. These
fourteen young adults were then sent into the Labyrinth where the Minotaur resided, where he
proceeded to kill and eat them.
When the time came around for the sacrifice to the Minotaur, Theseus volunteered as
tribute to go to the Labyrinth. Ariadne, King Minos' daughter had fallen in love with Theseus
and helped him out. She secretly gave him a sword and a ball of string. Theseus found and
confronted the Minotaur. He then proceeded to kill him with the sword from Ariadne. He found
his way back out of the maze with the ball of string by tying the end to the entrance on his way
in.
Theseus put his life on the line to slay the Minotaur and prevent it from taking anyone
elses life. Police officer put their lives on the line every day to keep their community safe. They
put others lives before their own. Theseus also prevented king Minos from taking advantage of
his mother. Police officers not only protect their own families, but all the families in the
community from criminals.
Theseus also defeated several criminals in his six labors. He started out by defeating
Periphetes, otherwise known as the clubber, who killed people passing by with a club. He

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killed Periphetes with his own club. He then defeated Sinis, or the pine bender. Sinis would
have people help him bend a pine tree to the ground then let it go, flinging the other person to
their death. Theseus killed Sinis by slinging him to his death by a tree. Another criminal Theseus
defeated was Sciron. Sciron would have travelers stop to wash his feet, when they finished he
would kick them down a cliff where they were devoured by a carnivorous turtle. Like the
others, Theseus killed Sciron the same way he killed the travelers. Lastly Theseus defeated a
criminal named Procrustes. Procrustes owned a small bed and a large bed. He would invite
travelers in to stay the night; the tall people would stay in the small bed and the short people
would stay in the long bed. Procrustes would alter the bodies (stretch or saw down) to fit the
bed correctly. Theseus defeated him by killing him the same way he killed his victims.
Theseus served justice to these criminals by executing them the way they did others.
Police officers serve justice to criminals by putting them in jail, and in extreme cases criminals
are executed.
In conclusion, the heroic tasks performed by todays police officers are very similar to
those that Perseus and Theseus preformed. Like the Greek heroes Theseus and Perseus, police
officers lives revolve around maintaining peace and serving justice. Police officers are
considered heroic because their line of work is selfless and saves lives.

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End Notes
1. Medusa: A Gorgon with snakes for hair; gazing upon her turned lookers into
stone.
2. Atlas: Titan who was given the task of holding the heavens on his shoulder as a
punishment.
3. Labyrinth: A large maze.

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Works cited
Gill, N.S. "Theseus Maze - In the Labyrinth and More." Ancienthistory. January 1, 2104.
Accessed November 14, 2014. [Link]
Gill, N.S. "What Was the Role of Perseus in Greek Mythology?" Ancienthistory. January
1, 2014. Accessed November 14, 2014.
[Link]
McMahon, Mary, and Bronwyn Harris. "What Does a Police Officer Do."
WiseGeek. October 29, 2014. Accessed November 14, 2014. [Link]

"10 Things Police Officers Do on an Average Work Day." About. January 1, 2014.
Accessed November 14, 2014.
[Link]