“But when Theseus heard of robbers and monsters, he pricked up his ears, and was so much the more eager to take the road along which they were to be met with […] Thus, by the time he reached his journey’s end, Theseus had done many valiant feats with his father’s golden-hilted sword, and had gained the renown of being one of the bravest young men of the day.”

Theseus embraces the danger and challenge of traveling by road to Athens. This quotation demonstrates that he isn’t interested merely in gaining power as a prince of Athens, but also in helping people by killing monsters and robbers. By discussing Theseus’s “valiant feats” and how they helped others, this passage establishes the theme of Using Violence for Moral Good.

“But when Theseus heard the story, he straightened himself up, so that he seemed taller than ever before; and as for his face it was indignant, despiteful, bold, tender, and compassionate, all in one look. ‘Let the people of Athens this year draw lots for only six young men, instead of seven,’ said he, ‘I will myself be the seventh; and let the Minotaur devour me if he can!’”

Theseus’s bravery and self-sacrifice make him an exceptional prince who is ready to defend the people of Athens. Hawthorne’s description of Theseus’s noble demeanor and motivations makes him a role model for young readers, introducing the theme of Compassion and Responsibility as Heroic Qualities.

“According to some historians, the Pygmies used to go to the battle, mounted on the backs of goats and rams; but such animals as these must have been far too big for Pygmies to ride upon; so that, I rather suppose, they rode on squirrel-back, or rabbit-back, or rat-back, or perhaps got upon hedgehogs, whose prickly quills would be very terrible to the enemy.”

Hawthorne’s playful descriptions of the Pygmies bring these tiny people vividly to life. His narrative interjections make his interpretation of the Greek myth more engaging and imaginative, encouraging readers to think of the Pygmies as real people with their own “history.”

“‘You are a very discourteous Giant,’ answered the stranger quietly, ‘and I shall probably have to teach you a little civility, before we part. As for my name, it is Hercules. I have come hither because this is my most convenient road to the garden of the Hesperides, whither I am going to get three of the golden apples for King Eurystheus.’”

Hercules confronts the giant, Antaeus, in Africa. The Greek hero’s calm and gentlemanly demeanor is a foil to Antaeus’s far more reactive and needlessly violent behavior. By introducing Hercules in this way, the author casts the Greek hero as a reasonable man and Antaeus as too hot-headed. This contrast highlights the theme of using violence for moral good, as Antaeus challenges Hercules to a fight out of pride, while Hercules kills him in self-defense and spares his friends, the Pygmies, making him the hero of the tale.

“‘My good little people,’ said he, making a low obeisance to the grand nation, ‘not for all the world would I do an intentional injury to such brave fellows as you! Your hearts seem to me so exceedingly great, that, upon my honor, I marvel how your small bodies can contain them.’”

Hercules is kind and humble to the Pygmies, who are grieving the loss of their friend Antaeus. Hercules’s gentle attitude shows that he doesn’t commit violent acts for fun or out of pride, but to overcome dangers or challenges. His kindness to the Pygmies emphasizes the theme of compassion and responsibility as heroic qualities.

“And they kept their word. Year after year, King Agenor sat in the solitude of his beautiful palace, listening in vain for their returning footsteps, hoping to hear the familiar voice of the queen, and the cheerful talk of his sons and their playfellow Thasus, entering the door together, and the sweet, childish accents of little Europa in the midst of them.”

This quotation describes King Agenor’s deep longing to reunite with his missing daughter, Europa, whom a white bull dragged into the sea. The king helplessly awaits her return and that of his wife and three sons, who are searching for her. This passage conveys the tragedy of Europa’s disappearance and provides context for the years-long search for her by Queen Telephassa and her sons (Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix).

“The very first decree of state which King Phoenix issued was, that, if a maiden happened to arrive in the kingdom, mounted on a snow-white bull, and calling herself Europa, his subjects should treat her with the greatest kindness and respect, and immediately bring her to the palace. You may see, by this, that Phoenix’s conscience never quite ceased to trouble him, for giving up the quest of his dear sister, and sitting himself down to be comfortable, while his mother and her companions went onward.”

Even as a grown man and king, Phoenix never forgets his young sister, Europa, for whom he has searched for years. By discussing Phoenix’s troubled memories and guilt about his sister, this passage highlights the theme of compassion and responsibility as heroic qualities, showing that Phoenix continues to have a strong sense of responsibility toward his family. His passionate plea to those in his kingdom to alert him if they see a young woman or a white bull suggests that he’ll never give up hope that his sister might someday return.

“But Cadmus was so enraged at the destruction of his friends that he cared neither for the size of the dragon’s jaws nor for his hundreds of sharp teeth. Drawing his sword, he rushed at the monster, and flung himself right into his cavernous mouth.”

After losing his companions to a fierce dragon, Cadmus avenges their deaths by entering the dragon’s throat and killing it. Cadmus’s bravery and physical skill enhance the theme of using violence for moral good. Hawthorne depicts Cadmus as a hero who uses violence in a justified way to slay a vicious and dangerous beast.

“It was the strangest spectacle of causeless wrath, and of mischief for no good end, that had ever been witnessed; but, after all, it was neither more foolish nor more wicked than a thousand battles that have since been fought, in which men have slain their brothers with just as little reason as these children of the dragon’s teeth. It ought to be considered, too, that the dragon people were made for nothing else; whereas other mortals were born to love and help one another.”

Hawthorne narrates the senseless battle among the soldiers born from the dragon’s teeth. By critiquing the soldiers’ bloodlust, the author disparages mindless violence and war-mongering. By interjecting a more modern sense of civil morality into the myth’s narrative, the author makes his message to readers more obvious.

“‘Have you anything to tell me, little bird?’ asked Ulysses. And he was ready to listen attentively to whatever the bird might communicate; for, at the siege of Troy, and elsewhere, he had known such odd things to happen, that he would not have considered it much out of the common run had this little feathered creature talked as plainly as himself.”

Ulysses humbly asks for advice from the strange little bird who interrupts his journey to Circe’s palace, as if implicitly warning him to stay away. This quotation depicts Ulysses as a wise and open-minded leader who understands that help can come from unexpected places, if one is humble enough to listen to it. The bird’s distress foreshadows the dangers to come when Ulysses’s sailors reach the palace, while Ulysses’s decision to retreat and consult his companions ultimately saves his life.

“‘If I am really awake,’ continued he, ‘then, in my opinion, we are on the point of meeting with some stranger adventure than any that befell us in the cave of Polyphemus, or among the gigantic man-eating Laestrygons, or in the windy palace of King Aeolus, which stands on a brazen-walled island. This kind of dreamy feeling always comes over me before any wonderful occurrence. If you take my advice, you will turn back.’”

Upon reaching Circe’s palace, the wise Eurylochus pleads with his friends, the sailors, to retreat to their ship. Eurylochus’s sense of responsibility toward his companions saves the day, as he follows them to the palace and spies on their meeting, even though he wanted to turn around. By showcasing Eurylochus’s wisdom, the story emphasizes the theme of compassion and responsibility as heroic qualities.

“You are already swine in everything but the human form, which you disgrace, and which I myself should be ashamed to keep a moment longer, were you to share it with me. But it will require only the slightest exercise of magic to make the exterior conform to the hoggish disposition. Assume your proper shapes, gormandizers, and begone to the sty!”

The enchantress Circe condemns half of Ulysses’s sailors to live as hogs, reflecting their swine-like behavior. Diction such as “hoggish” and “sty” enforces her action, alluding to their gluttonous and uncouth behavior in consuming the sumptuous feast she offered. This moment reveals the nature of the hostess’s evil magic after much speculation and suspense, and raises questions about how the men might be rescued. In addition, her action raises suspicion about whether the bird and other creatures on the grounds were once people.

“‘Wicked Circe,’ cried he, in a terrible voice, ‘this sword shall put an end to thy enchantments. Thou shalt die, vile wretch, and do no more mischief in the world, by tempting human beings into the vices which make beasts of them.’”

Ulysses confronts Circe, holding her at sword-point. His anger conveys his disgust at her evil tricks and reflects his deep sense of responsibility toward his sailors. By showing that Ulysses will kill to protect his friends, the author develops the theme of using violence for moral good, depicting Ulysses as a hero because he’s willing to confront a powerful and frightening witch.

“‘These must certainly be my comrades,’ said Ulysses. ‘I recognize their dispositions. They are hardly worth the trouble of changing them into the human form again. Nevertheless, we will have it done, lest their bad example should corrupt the other hogs. Let them take their original shapes, therefore, Dame Circe, if your skill is equal to the task. It will require greater magic, I trow, than it did to make swine of them.’”

Though Ulysses is disappointed in his sailors’ piggish and disrespectful behavior, he takes pity on them and insists that Circe change them back into people. Ulysses commitment to his men despite their imperfections shows his kind nature and strong leadership, as he sets a good moral example for the men. His actions support the theme of compassion and responsibility as heroic qualities.

“Then, recollecting themselves, they scrambled to their feet, and looked more than commonly foolish. ‘Thanks, noble Ulysses!’ they cried. ‘From brute beasts you have restored us to the condition of men again.’”

Ulysses’s sailors express their gratitude to him after Circe transforms them from hogs back into men. This passage emphasizes Ulysses’s mercy and kindness toward his sailors, whose stupidity and selfishness endangered themselves and their leader. However, the passage doesn’t indicate that they recognize his compassion or understand how their own behavior led Circe to transform them into swine.

“It bore above a hundred flowers of the most brilliant hues, and each different from the others, but all having a kind of resemblance among themselves, which showed them to be sister blossoms. But there was a deep, glossy luster on the leaves of the shrub, and on the petals of the flowers, that made Proserpina doubt whether they might not be poisonous. To tell you the truth, foolish as it may seem, she was half inclined to turn round and run away.”

Proserpina, Ceres’s young daughter, is amazed by the beauty of a flowering shrub. Hawthorne’s description of the mysterious plant foreshadows the dire events that unfold after she digs it up and inadvertently creates a portal to the underworld. This passage emphasizes Proserpina’s innocent and childlike curiosity while creating suspense about what will happen when she interferes with this strange plant.

“‘My home is better than your mother’s,’ answered King Pluto. ‘It is a palace, all made of gold, with crystal windows; and because there is little or no sunshine thereabouts, the apartments are illuminated with diamond lamps. You never saw anything half so magnificent as my throne. If you like, you may sit down on it, and be my little queen, and I will sit on the footstool.’”

King Pluto tells Proserpina about his luxurious lair in the underworld, where he has built a palace from precious stones. His desire to lure Proserpina into a life in the underworld is rooted in his loneliness, leading readers to wonder whether he can persuade Proserpina to abandon her mother and embrace life as a “little queen” of the underworld instead.

“Then, sending for the head cook, he gave strict orders that all sorts of delicacies, such as young people are usually fond of, should be set before Proserpina. He had a secret motive in this; for, you are to understand, it is a fixed law, that when persons are carried off to the land of magic, if they once taste any food there, they can never get back to their friends.”

During the descriptions of how Pluto manipulates Proserpina, the author interjects as narrator to explain the literary trope about eating magical foods. This quotation foreshadows Proserpina’s unwise decision to accept a pomegranate from Pluto, which she doesn’t realize (until her mother later tells her) that each of the six seeds she eats will force her to live in his underworld palace for a month every year.

“Poor Mother Ceres! It is melancholy to think of her, pursuing her toilsome way, all alone, and holding up that never-dying torch, the flame of which seemed an emblem of the grief and hope that burned together in her heart.”

Hawthorne presents Ceres as a heroic figure because of her commitment to finding her daughter. By emphasizing the mother’s grief and tireless search efforts, the author makes her a sympathetic character and adds another dimension to the theme of achieving one’s destiny through initiative and hard work.

“At length, in her despair, she came to the dreadful resolution that not a stalk of grain, nor a blade of grass, not a potato, nor a turnip, nor any other vegetable that was good for man or beast to eat, should be suffered to grow until her daughter were restored.”

Ceres’s desperation motivates her to embrace an extreme decision: to subject the world’s people to famine unless her daughter is returned to her. Her devotion to Proserpina makes it clear why she’s the goddess of motherly love. Even though her action leads to widespread famine, the author depicts her decision as a heroic last measure to fulfill her commitment to Proserpina, with whom she soon reunites because of Quicksilver’s plea to Pluto.

“The good Chiron, whether half horse or no, had taught him that the noblest use of his strength was to assist the weak; and also that he must treat every young woman as if she were his sister, and every old one like a mother. Remembering these maxims, the vigorous and beautiful young man knelt down, and requested the good dame to mount upon his back.”

Jason debates whether he should help the strange elderly lady cross the raging river. By including Jason’s inner thoughts about what to do, the author reveals the workings of Jason’s conscience and how his moral strength influenced his decision. Jason’s commitment to helping the weak is yet another example of the theme of compassion and responsibility as heroic qualities.

“When Jason saw the malice and wickedness which King Pelias could not prevent from gleaming out of his eyes, he probably guessed that the king had discovered what he came for, and that he intended to turn his own words against himself. Still he scorned to tell a falsehood. Like an upright and honorable prince as he was, he determined to speak out the real truth.”

King Pelias confronts Jason at the sacrifice in Iolchos. Jason’s commitment to answering the king honestly puts him in danger, but he insists on telling the truth. This exchange inspires Jason’s quest to find the Golden Fleece, showing that he doesn’t shy away from danger or hard work. By demonstrating how Jason rejects lies or manipulation, instead embracing frank negotiations and challenges, this passage contributes to the theme of achieving one’s destiny through initiative and hard work.

“On Jason’s inquiring whether they could do him any service, the king answered that he was terribly tormented by three great winged creatures, called Harpies, which had the faces of women, and the wings, bodies, and claws of vultures.”

While on his quest, Jason offers to serve King Phineas, who is elderly and blind. Jason’s willingness to help others showcases his strong sense of morality and desire to do good, even when he doesn’t stand to benefit. This anecdote highlights the theme of compassion and responsibility as heroic qualities.