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Traits of heroism
Traits of heroism
Traits of a heroic personality short essay
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Many people consider him the father of history; others prefer to call him the father of lies. Whatever may be your perception of Herodotus’ work, the truth is that Herodotus began a new manner of writing history in which human psychology takes a fundamental place. He was the first historian who really considered the reasons why things happen and did not limit his narrative to just facts. His book The Histories evidences all the distinctive features that he employs through his description of facts as well as the intrinsic analysis that he includes to his storyline about controversial topics like the definition of what heroes really are. Indeed, The Histories’ book 7 reveals Herodotus’ astonishing and unique view of heroism. During his description of the facts that took place during the war between Persians and Greeks, Herodotus presents the qualities and attributes which, for his understanding, make a real hero. In his book, Herodotus talks about Xerxes, the king of the Persians who led the offense against the Greeks, and Leonidas, the king of the Spartans who fought with honor and bravery against the Persians. According to Herodotus, although Xerxes won the war with big advantage, Leonidas was the real hero of the story because he confronted the enemy with great passion, humility, strength, and bravery.
The main conceptualization that Herodotus has about a hero is that it has to be someone who follows the traits of the culture. Xerxes, who was the king of Persia and who started the war between Persians and Greeks, does not fit into this characterization. Indeed, Herodotus makes special remark on Xerxes’ violations of the Persian culture. He includes in his narrative the dramatic request of Xerxes to stick Leonidas’ head on a pole...
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... great admiration for the Lacedaemonians. His admiration is such that he said that “…the Lacedaemonians fought a battle to remember!” (193) and he even knew the name of all the 300 men who fought with Leonidas against the Persians. But besides his admiration for all the Lacedaemonians and Spartans in general, he had a special interest on Leonidas, because he sees him as a hero. Leonidas embodies all the attributes that Herodotus was looking for in a person in order to recognize him as a hero. He was passionate, humble, strong, and incredibly brave. He cared about all Spartans and the people who were chosen to fight with him against the Persians. Leonidas was a Spartan who changed the meaning of the word heroism and who will remain on history as one of the noblest and bravest men that the humanity ever had.
Works Cited
Herodotus. The Histories. New York: Norton, 1992.
Odysseus has all the qualities made to be a true hero. Not only did Odysseus fight on behalf of the Greeks in Troy (Trojan War), but everything he went through he learned a valuable lesson at the end; Odysseus endured so much during his journey going back to Ithaca but he never gave up on any of his principles. He also had good escape strategies, and he risked his life to save others. Imagine you being on the same journey Odysseus went through, do you honestly believe you would have survived? He made some minor mistakes along the way but nobody’s perfect. That’s why Odysseus is a hero because, he’s strong, and intelligent and was able to get out of sticky situations.
However, Heroditus’ Histories briefly detail the major events of the war, and relays them as if they were historical fact. Heroditus’ account of the war differs slightly from Homer’s version, and he is well aware of this. After relating the tale of Alexander (Paris) carrying off Helen, Heroditus writes:... ... middle of paper ... ...
In conclusion, Odysseus deserves to be called a hero because he displays courage, employs cunning, and contains humility instead of hubris. Odysseus is not always fearless, but he has the courage to fight off his fear and do what he has to do. Also, Odysseus’s cunning is able to get him out of tough situations by having him think on the spot. Lastly, Odysseus realizes his faults, one of them being that he didn’t think the gods were higher than him and that they have more power than him. Altogether, Odysseus’s journey has changed his life for the better and he is recognized as a true hero.
Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the journey of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus shows that he is an antihero through his pride, disloyalty, and bloodthirstiness.
Hero is often a person who is admired or idealized for their outstanding courage and often bravery. In the story “Theseus” by Edith Hamilton, Theseus a young Athenian boy shows his heroic side by overcoming difficult tasks on his journey to save his people from the evil Minotaur. Theseus shows his bravery by entering the Labyrinth with only his hands and a ball of thread determined to kill the Minotaur and save his people. Theseus’ actions and heroic deeds shows that he's an epic hero with the fact that he tends to put others first before himself no matter the difficulty of the task.
Herodotus was an interesting historian. His way of displaying a historical event such as the Persian War is different from how I expect a modern day historian to write it. He does not try to focus only on the Persian war but he goes into detail some times of the lineage of the rulers of the city-states even though that serves little relevance to the actual war. The accounts of history I am used to reading are more focused on the bigger issue and the historians do not deviate on long trains of side thoughts such as Herodotus does. Herodotus style of writing had me confused because he often would start on one topic and in the next couple of sentences move on to another topic before coming back to his main point about a paragraph down. I had to
Heroes are found everywhere. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s The Odyssey paints a picture of the supposed savior Odysseus. The irony of Odysseus’ situation is that he really is not the marvelous hero that many who read The Odyssey see him to be. When imagining a great hero, the words of cruel, unfaithful, selfish, or careless never come to mind, but the son of Laertes sets examples for each attribute. Odysseus makes many poor decisions that cause his dislikable traits to highly outweigh his few better ones. Several of his more prominent characteristics are exhibited on numerous accounts. Odysseus cannot possibly earn the title of being a hero because he harbors hubris, he displays a lack of faith, and his self-centeredness causes unfortunate events.
As seen throughout The Odyssey, a hero is perceived as a person who achieves great success never before seen and whose legacy lives beyond their years. Since The Odyssey was written around the eighth century BCE, the people that we view as heros in present day tend to embody different traits than the heroes of that time. Even though the word, “hero” does not have one specific definition, a hero is generally categorized as someone who is idolized for their bravery and does anything necessary to defend their people. Although Odysseus embodies the Homeric ideals of heroism in that he accomplishes triumphs that others have not, his successes are the product of divine intervention and his actions were primarily selfish; therefore, he is not a true
Christopher Reeve, a famous actor, once said,“A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.” An epic that was written thousands of years ago to teach the young Greek boys of their time about the ideals the Greeks faced was The Odyssey. Odysseus, the main character, shows these ideals and also the qualities of a hero from the quote above. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is an epic hero because he performs brave deeds, is on a quest, and risks death for glory or for the greater good of society.
Greek mythology is a beloved part of literature that has given humans thousands of stories to tell. From stories about deadly quests, powerful deities, to the even more famed aspect of Greek Mythology, its epic heroes. One of the many authors who took inspiration from Greek Mythology, and will serve as reference for this paper, is Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. 1988. The most well known epic heroes from Greek Mythology which Edith Hamilton writes about in her book are Hercules, Jason, Perseus, and Theseus, but the debate lies in which of these heroes is the best. To which the answer is, Theseus is the better epic hero because he possessed superior strength, intelligence, and courage, he was the most just from all other heroes,
Theseus, the greatest hero of Athens, was a unique, mythological hero. He may not have been as strong as Heracles, but he found ways to make up for it through intelligence and creativity. Examples of this can be seen in his ability of tricking Adriane into helping him escape the Labyrinth and the uniting of the Attica nations. Another important aspect of his heroicness was his endeavors to improve the lives of the Athenian people. This can be seen when he cleared the road of criminals from Troezen to Athens, defeated the terrorizing Minotaur, and created a government based on the idea of democracy. His triumphs left an everlasting mark on our world in a sense of mythology and even in a historical sense. Theseus was not only tremendous ruler, he was also the true definition of a hero and deserves to be glorified for his notorious deeds and noble qualities.
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
In both Greek tragedy and in Herodotus are men who make mistakes through hubris and arrogance. In Herodotus, tyrants such as Xerxes, Cambyses, and Cyrus are driven by a sense of self-obsession and hubris. They have no qualms sacrificing their own people for power. Their only sense of duty is to themselves, and they show this through their despicable actions to others. The life of others is hardly of importance in the game of existence. Tragic heroes also suffer from hubris, but instead of being disposed to violence and bettering their own position, they are often good and just men. Tragic heroes such as Creon and Oedipus both have their fatal flaws, but not to the extent of the tyrants in Herodotus. They each make a terrible mistake that leads
The idea of a true hero is varied from person to person, because each viewpoint has a different idea of the personality that makes one a hero. There have been many fiction and non-fiction heroes that show different character traits, which influence people’s definitions of a hero. However, each person’s unique thought about a hero still focuses about one central idea: a hero must prove himself in order to earn his heroic status. This is the cornerstone of all the opinions about heroes because heroes have to show their heroism in order to become who they are in the end. At the beginning they are inexperienced, ordinary people who go on their adventures, and face their fears and weaknesses, but they develop greatly throughout these journeys. After comprehending what true heroism is and following it only then will they become heroes even though each of them has different traits. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus gains the title of hero during his journey back to Ithaka, from Troy, by proving to be one. It is through his characteristics and experiences that he becomes the well developed man at the end of the book. In truth, because of his confidence, loyalty, and difficult struggles, Odysseus becomes a genuine hero to the people he defended.
When I think of a hero I immediately think of someone who is strong, intelligent, handsome, and daring. Upon closer examination, many different qualities than these become apparent. Courage, honesty, bravery, selflessness, and the will to try are just a few of the overlooked qualities of a hero. The definition of heroism changes with the context and time. Heroes of the past are not necessarily heroes of present time and vise versa.