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In ancient Greek myth, heroes were humans, male or female, of the remote past, endowed with superhuman abilities and descended from the immortal gods themselves. In the Trojan war, the Greek heroes (according to Homer) were:

  • Achilles - son of the mortal Peleus and the nymph Thetis. He is the major hero of Homer's epic The Iliad.
  • Ajax - There are two men of this name, the greater and the lesser. The greater is the son of Telamon, who is also father of the best Greek bowman, Teucer. After Achilles' death, Ajax wants his armor thinking he deserves it as the second greatest of the Greek warriors.
  • Odysseus - King of Ithaca, Trojan War fighter and strategist - he came up with the idea for the famous Trojan Horse. He is the main character of The Odyssey.

Other major Greek figures include:

  • Agamemnon - Leader of the Achaean (Greek) forces and the brother-in-law of the beautiful Helen, formerly of Sparta, now of Troy.
  • Diomedes - An Argive leader on the Greek side; wounds Aeneas and Aphrodite; routs the Trojans until the son of Lycaon (Pandarus) hits him with an arrow.
  • Menelaus - Helen's aggrieved husband and the brother of Agamemnon.
  • Nestor - king of Pylos. Since he was much older than the others on the Greek side of the battle, he had lived a full life before Troy and was too old to serve as much more than an advisor to the Greeks. As a younger man, he had been involved in the main heroic expeditions, the quest for the Golden Fleece along with Jason's other Argonauts, and the great Calydonian Boar Hunt.
  • Patroclus - Beloved friend of Achilles who borrows his armor to go lead the Myrmidons against the Trojans. He is killed in battle, which results in Achilles re-joining the fray to kill Hector.
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12y ago

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More answers

Achilles

Achilles was the strongest and most fearless warrior in the Greek war against the Trojans. As an infant his mother dipped him into the River Styx, which made him invulnerable everywhere but the heel by which she held him. For ten years Achilles was a great hero in the Trojan War. But in the end Paris, son of the Trojan king, fatally wounded Achilles in the heel. Today, the tendon that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone is called the Achilles tendon, and a small but dangerous weakness is known as an "Achilles heel."

Hercules (Herakles)

Brave and powerful Hercules is perhaps the most loved of all Greek heroes. The son of Zeus and Alcmene (a granddaughter of Perseus), Heracles grew up to become a famed warrior. But Zeus's jealous wife, Hera, made him temporarily insane, and he killed his wife and children. As punishment Heracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labors (see The Twelve Labors of Hercules), which have been the subject of countless works of art and drama. Heracles is often depicted wearing a lion skin and wielding a club.

Jason

Jason was the leader of the Argonauts, the 50 heroes who sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. Jason's uncle, Pelias, had stolen the kingdom that should belong to Jason. He promised to return it only if Jason would bring home the Golden Fleece-the wool from the magical winged ram that became the constellation Aries. On their journey Jason and the Argonauts faced down such dangers as the deadly singing Sirens. They ultimately captured the fleece with the help of the sorceress Medea, who became Jason's wife. Odysseus (Ulysses)

Odysseus

Odysseus helped the Greeks triumph in the Trojan War. Afterward he journeyed nearly ten years to return home to Ithaca and his wife Penelope. Along the way Odysseus's courage and cleverness saved him and his men from such monsters as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, and Scylla and Charybdis. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus proved his identity to Penelope and once again ruled his homeland. These adventures are told in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey.

Perseus

Perseus completed dangerous feats with his quick thinking and talents as a warrior. Most famous was his slaying of the Gorgon Medusa. Because looking directly at the monstrous Medusa would turn a man to stone, Perseus killed her while watching her reflection in a mirror. After beheading the Gorgon with his sword he kept her head in his satchel. Later, to save the princess Andromeda from being eaten by a sea monster, Perseus pulled out Medusa's head and turned the creature to stone.

Theseus Theseus was known for his triumph over numerous monsters, especially the Minotaur, which lived in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. Every year the people of Athens had been forced to send fourteen young people for the Minotaur to eat alive. But Theseus, using a ball of magic thread from the princess Ariadne, found his way in and out of the labyrinth and killed the beast. Theseus was the son of either Aegeus, king of Athens, or the sea god Poseidon. In later life he became king of Athens and a famous warrior.

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8y ago
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The most famous Greek hero was Hercules. He grew up to be a famed warrior. He was the son of Zeus and Alconene.

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10y ago
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Hercules, Achilles, Perceus, Troy, Odysseus, Jason, etc.

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14y ago
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Greek heroes are people from ancient times that did heroic things for the city in which they lived. Because they did these things, people called the heroes and admired them.

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14y ago
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Some are Hercules, Theseus, Jason, Odysseus, Perseus, Bellerophon, Orpheus and Achilles.

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14y ago
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There are over three thousand beings in Greek Mythology.

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14y ago
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Q: What are some greek heroes?
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