Heroes are like candles as they can metaphorically light up a dark room and melt, lighting the candle gives relief from fear as one has the ability to see what is around them, while blowing it out can make your heart beat for fear of being alone. The melting action of a candle represents the heroes melting from too much pressure. Without heroes the room is dark and alarming, but when heroes are chasing us protecting people, we feel safe and protected. In the Mythology of Edith Hamilton there are many characteristics of heroism. The characters Psyche and Medea demonstrate how courageous they are in both negative and positive ways. Theseus and Venus convince how they are determined in a negative and positive way. Aegeus and Psyche produce patience in both positive ways. First, the heroes are portrayed as brave. Courage faces the difficulties of threat with overbearing negative emotions, so heroes who recognize their goal with a positive mindset can help themselves desire success. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In “Cupid and Psyche” this can be demonstrated through Psyche as she shows courage by overcoming obstacles. When Cupid fell into a deep sleep, Psyche crept to his bedside and dropped boiling oil on his arms. Without a sound, Cupid flew out the window. In order to see Cupid, Psyche must overcome the obstacles given to her by Venus, the goddess of love. This incident has had a positive impact on the following characters because Psyche overcomes impossible tasks for Cupid. Psyche would not have been able to persevere through the impossible tasks if it were not for her courage. "There was no point in starting such a patently impossible task." Initially, Psyche did not have the courage to master all these tasks, however, when she began to carry out the tasks entrusted to her, she got the help of nature. Before getting down, you must always believe in yourself because you must have courage. While this may be true in “Theseus,” this can be proven to be a negative perspective. Medea shows courage by pouring poison into a cup of wine. This incident has had a negative impact on the community because Medea tries to poison Theseus. since he doesn't want him to be king. “But as she handed him the poisoned cup, Theseus, wishing to be recognized at once by his father, drew his sword” (Hamilton 205) Medea hands Theseus the poisoned cup as this is a sign of courage, since she was so brave to face being caught or punished. However, Aegeus noticed Theseus' sandal and threw the cup aside. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In both myths these show the negative and positive ways of courage . While Psyche represented a beneficial mode of courage, Medea described a harmful and negative mode of courage. Equally important is pride, another key element towards heroism as it influences individuals both negatively and positively. Pride has a limit, if it is expressed too much it will negatively affect others and if it is expressed just the right amount it will spread as a positive change. In “Cupid and Psyche” this can be seen from Venus as she has developed too much pride in herself for her beauty. Psyche was the most beautiful mortal of all, some say not even Venus could hold a candle to it. From this moment the temples of Venus were betrayed and left alone, and obviously Venus wanted to seek revenge. Venus asked her son Cupid to do it.