Hero, the word touches a universal chord making us think of exceptional and spectacular stories or deeds that far surpass any common undertaking. For the Greeks and many other cultures, the birth of these heroes is important. The birth of a hero distinguishes them, often even before birth, from the mere mortals of Greek mythology. Birth is the first of many important events in our lives, our entry into the world (Leeming). For heroes, that entrance must be as special as their life will turn out to be. A mundane birth is simply not an option for a hero, whether through the machinations of the gods or the prophecies of an oracle, the events surrounding their conception must also be spectacular. From Perseus and Danae to Theseus and Aethra, the myths surrounding their births have different settings and details but many common threads that tie them together (Leeming). Aethra, daughter of Pittheus king of Troezen, and married to Bellerophon before being exiled to Caria in disgrace brought Theseus (Leeming). Aethra and Bellerophon did not consummate their wedding vows before his exile (Leeming). Pittheus, saddened by his daughter's forced innocence, gave his daughter to Aegeus, king of Athens, for the night when Aegeus visited them after consulting the oracle of Delphi (Willis). Awakened from a dream sent by Athena, Aethra swam the short distance to the island of Sphaeria where she lay with Poseidon before returning to her bed (Leeming). Waking in the morning, Aegeus told Aethra that if she carried her child she would have to raise him in secret in Troezen, without telling anyone who the child's father was (Morford, Lenardon, and Sham). If it were revealed that Aegeus was the child's father, he risked murder by his brother, who wanted the throne (Leeming). Egeo hides... in the middle of the paper... a man who is a hero but creates an ideal to strive towards. Heroes owe part of their greatness to their parents, and every aspect of their lives, including birth, supported the quality of their characters and what they became. They carried on traditions, conquered new lands, saved cities, and brought about change. The story of a hero begins with his birth and ends in a world very different from the one that preceded him. Works Cited Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1998. Leeming, David Adams. Mythology The Hero's Journey. New York: Harper Collins, 1981. McLeish, Kenneth. "Heracles." Bloomsbury Myth Dictionary. London: Bloomsbury Ltd., 2002. Morford, Mark P. O., Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham. Classical Mythology 9th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.Willis, Roy. Mythology of the world. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.