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Ancient heroism vs modern heroism
The Real Meaning Of Heroism
Concept of heroism
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Everyone has a different perspective today about heroes and villains than what they thought back in the ancient times. During the ancient times, the Greek concept of a hero was different from our own cultures. As the years passed, the overall concept of what a hero changed dramatically then what they thought years ago. A hero is a literary figure, of course, but here, too, we need caution so that we don’t misapply our own cultural ideas and standards to the ancient Greek hero.
You may ask, what is a hero? How can you describe a villain? But everyone will have a different answer to these questions. We all have different points of views on what a hero or a villain can be. What people thought a hero was back then is way different then what we think a hero is today. Our views of what a hero or a villain changed drastically over centuries.
The ancient Greek believes that a hero was a religious figure, or a deceased person who was expected to return in the afterlife to bring wealth and good fortune in forms of crops and animals to the community.
The Greek believe that someone to be a hero while mortal means that they shall suffer a lot during his or her lifetime and when they die, they can finally be known as a “hero:” The Greek believe to be a hero, you must struggle again the fear of death in order to receive the most perfect afterlife.
An ancient Greek hero each has a song to represent who they are and what they have done to become that hero. A perfect moment in the hero’s life must be recorded in a song which is called “kleos.” Kleos means the glory and it heard or even a song that represents glory and fame. Basically, this showed the message of the glory of heroes.
In the Iliad, a great poem that descri...
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...had no weaknesses except for Hades who made him mortal. Batman will always be mortal. The meaning of a hero or the meaning of a villain changed throughout the years. Now adays, we can’t really judge what a hero is because we all have different points of views. Everyone has their own opinion and definition of what really is a hero or a villain. Although, our views have changed over the course of time, we all have the basic view of what a hero or villain may be.
Work Cited
http://www.modelingfutureheroes.com/Heroes.htm
http://upge.wn.com/?t=ancientgreece/index35.txt
http://athome.harvard.edu/programs/nagy/threads/concept_of_hero.html
http://perishthereason.blogspot.com/2009/06/where-are-greek-villains.html
http://www.mccsc.edu/~jcmslib/mlk/jackson.htm
http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=4987
What is a hero? The book Mythology by Edith Hamilton has a lot of heroes and most of them have 2 things in common. The heroes are in their own ways superior whether it be strength, intelligence, and/or courage. The second thing they have in common is a quest that establishes their greatness and proving that they are good enough to be called heroes. The catch is that even though they may have the characteristics of a hero, not all of them are epic heroes.
The dictionary defines hero in mythology and legend as, "a man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and born of divine or royal blood. He is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life." In addition, I believe a hero is one to be looked up to and emulated. What is interesting about epic heroes is that their great deeds and exploits all have to do with defeating themselves, so with help from the gods they can truly become heroic. They can only defeat themselves with the help of the gods.
A hero is defined as "someone admired for his bravery, great deeds or noble qualities". There are three categories to which all heroes can be classified into, one of which is the anti-hero genre.
What makes a hero or a villain? A hero is defined as a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. By this definition, there existed countless heroes in America during the 1800’s in relation to slavery. There were many abolitionists, particularly from the North, that exhibited courageous attitudes. It was these heroes that taught the southerners, who believed their lives could only prevail if slavery survived and expanded westward, what they knew was morally right (3, 92).
Greek Excellence and the Hero The hero of an epic poem repeatedly endures many trials that can prove his ability to be worthy of the title hero. In the passage 6.440-481 in The Iliad of Homer, Hektor's heroism is tested, especially when he faces the choice of returning to battle or staying with his family. When analyzing what drives Hektor to return to the battlefield and what makes him a hero, it is obvious that the "Greek educational ideal" known as areté greatly influences him (Western Civilization: A Brief History, Perry, 43). While Homer reveals the mindset of Hektor in this passage, he also criticizes the role of the hero, and possibly the notion of Greek excellence, in Hektor's motivation to fight.
What is a hero? We would like to think that a hero is someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or maybe someone who has accomplished a great task. Heroes find themselves in situations of great pressure and act with nobility and grace. Though the main character of Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas, is such a person, it is not by his own doing. He encounters situations in which death is near, in which love, hate, peace, and war come together to cause both good and evil. In these positions he conducts himself with honor, by going along with what the gods want. Only then goes on to pave the way for the Roman Empire. His deeds, actions, and leadership would never have come to be if it were not for the gods. The gods took special interest in Aeneas, causing him misfortune in some cases, giving him assistance in others. On the whole, the gods constantly provide perfect opportunities for Aeneas to display his heroism. Without them, Aeneas would not be the hero he is. This gift does not come without a price, though; he must endure the things heroes endure to become what they are. Despite his accomplishments and the glory associated with his life, Aeneas only achieves the status of hero through divine intervention, and this god-given position causes him just as much grief as it does splendor.
The hero stands as an archetype of who we should be and who we wish to be. However, the hero has inherent flaws which we do not wish to strive towards. In literature, these flaws are not used as examples of what we should be but rather as examples of what not to be. This is especially dominant in the Greek hero. While the Greek hero follows his fate, making serious mistakes and having a fairly simple life, the Anglo-Saxon "super" hero tries, and may succeed, to change his fate, while dealing with a fairly complex life. The Greek hero is strong and mighty while his wit and intelligence are highly valued. In the Greek tragedy, the hero struggles to avoid many flaws. Among these flaws are ambition, foolishness, stubbornness, and hubris-the excessive component of pride. He must overcome his predestined fate-a task which is impossible. From the beginning of the tale, it is already clear that the hero will ultimately fail with the only way out being death. In Oedipus, the hero is already confronted with a load of information about his family and gouges his eyes out. At this point, when he tries to outwit his fate he has already lost and is sentenced to death.
...teristics and literary devices. The general archetypical description of a hero follows an outline of a muscular figure and super abilities. Yet on the contrary, in myths, heroes may not possess any of those traits. Whether the so-called hero is learning their lesson, overcoming struggle or even descending into darkness, all heroes share some similar and almost identical characteristics. A vast majority of all mythological heroes share the same basic idea which, helps audiences identify whether or not the character is indeed a hero or not. From story to myth or fairytale to drama, the hero is one character who changes the plot entirely. Whether that hero may be saving a burning building, or discovering who they are themselves, our heroes all give us hopes and dreams that one day even our worth will be recognized by ourselves and others as our admirable hero’s are.
motivation for any Homeric Greek is glory, or “Kleos”, that is to be honored and
When people think of heroes and villains they think of the characters who play these roles in cartoon movies like Batman and Spiderman, but in reality, anyone can be a hero and anyone can be a villain. Heroes are considered to be inspirational and bold because of what they do to help others. While villains are typically defined as a wicked or evil person who makes others feel helpless.
Throughout history, humanity has always been fascinated with the idea of a hero. Examples include wild west rangers capturing bandits, superheroes defeating villains, and parents saving their children from nightmares. Today, common people who accomplish a great feat are often elevated to the status of a hero. They are worshiped and praised beyond the point most mortal human being experience. The Iliad is the archetype for this theme. It tells stories of Achilles, the Greek hero from the 7-8th century BCE and his heroism in the Trojan War. These stories caught particular interest from the Greek society and have dramatically influenced cultures and societies in art, music, and literature for thousands of years. The Iliad is the stigma for the
Over time the definition of a hero has changed. Today’s hero can be defined as a person who is admired for having performed a brave and courageous act. The definition of a hero has had different meanings during different time periods. The classical hero, the medieval hero, the romantic hero, and the modern hero all have different characteristics that define them.
When you think of a superhero one normally thinks of Spiderman, Batman, or Superman, but there were superheroes long before these characters were created. First one must understand that the basis of this name is hero. What is a hero? A hero is a person who does something special or out of the ordinary in order to help others. It could also be someone who is admired for a characteristic about them, be it physical or mental. They are individuals that normal everyday people can look up to. This being the case, a superhero is nothing more then someone who is a hero, but not just that once and for that one person, but someone who helps many people, or leads them. As time went by the number of people who were true heroes diminished and just doing something for someone was no longer big news. There had to be something more to make them stand out. The American culture needed someone or something to admire and that is where our common day superheroes come into play. It gave them a goal which could never be reached in hopes that people would never stop trying.
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.
Commonly, a hero is considered as a representative of morality, justice and power. Also, people have various ways to evaluate their own heroes. Especially children, as they grow up, are more likely to create their heroes who are usually brave, strong, righteous and indestructible. However, villains are the opposite side of heroes, and they are evil, demoniacal and cruel. Some of those heroes would easily turn into villains when they are trying to get revenge because their hearts are filled with hatred. The play Hamlet by Shakespeare tells the tragic story of a prince avenging the death of his father. In the play, the main character Hamlet changes from a hero into a villain through his immoral and repellant actions.