by Lauren Reynolds

Created on: May 22, 2008   Last Updated: May 23, 2008

Mythology is broadly identified as stories about all-powerful gods and magnificent heroes that accomplish great feats at some point in their lives. In general, it is rarely understood in a form that the public can relate too. However, that is not what all mythology entails. It provides morals and lessons to be learned, hidden underneath the magical adventures. Although mythological stories contain mostly references to gods and heroes, there are also non-mythical people that provide the circumstances in which the gods and heroes are needed. Without the problems of the non-mythical people there would be no reason to have great gods and heroes to do anything meritorious and make them famous. Surprisingly, and unknown to many, gods and people share some of the same traits.

Famous means "widely known" or having been "honored for achievement" ("Famous"). But those definitions are actually quite contradictory. As has been seen in mythology, all heroes and gods are honored for deeds. Yet most people are not familiar with some of the less eminent gods, heroes, and stories found in mythology. Distinguished gods and heroes such as Zeus and Hercules are broadly recognized for their almighty powers that fit under the misconstrued group of mythology. But if fact, there are many others that just have not been given credit where credit is due.

The hero of this story is not recognized for his great endeavors. His accomplishments provide honorary mentions of his achievements but his story is not prominent enough to be known in today's society. Overall, he is persistent in his endeavors and an honorable man; one who fights for what he believes in, and never turns back. He has a strong will: the will to succeed. And he's one of the many offspring of Zeus himself. This hero and noble man is Perseus.

Perseus is a Greek hero, one of the many hundreds that possibly exist. Although poor, he is an admirable individual and does not let any circumstances stop him. He worked hard for something he really wanted. Before Perseus was born, an oracle predicted that Acrisius, the ruler of Argolis would be killed by his own daughter's son. To prevent his daughter, Dana, from having any children, he locked her away so that no men would ever see her radiant beauty. But he had underestimated the situation, and Zeus came to her "in the golden rain" (Hamilton 198). And with that they produced a baby boy and the hero of the story, Perseus. When King Acrisius discovered Perseus, he was worried for his

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