Hero Is A Hero

1153 Words5 Pages
Imagine this, the hero that invented the idea of the Trojan horse, winning the battle for the Greeks and finally ending the Trojan War. It wouldn’t be the end of that for our hero. With the journey home so cruel and long it makes the war beforehand something as an afterthought. It takes years for our hero to get home, surviving things only imagined through in nightmares. Lotus plants that made men crave it, a cyclops that was the terror of men, gods and enchantresses, sirens with their deadly captivating song, and even the underworld would not keep our hero from coming home. This is the brief story of Odysseus, who is one of the most well-known hero of the ancient time. While some heroes go on journeys home, there are those who journey not…show more content…
So the way to come about this is to first define what a hero is. With all this being said we also need to take in to consideration that the qualities which defined a hero have changed quite a bit. When searched on www.dictionary.com the word hero is both defined in today’s point of view and a hero from Classical Mythology. The modern version states that a hero is “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” A hero is “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.” Lastly according to the modern definition a hero is, “the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.” Unlike the modern hero, the ancient hero is defined in a way that is supernatural. According to classical mythology a hero is definied as, “a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity; a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability; an immortal being; demigod.” The difference between the modern hero and classical hero is great most likely due to the technology at the time. During the classical times fighting was mainly between hand to hand combat and sword fighting. To determine how good of a warrior one was they had to prove themselves through accomplishing many goals while staying alive at the same time.…show more content…
In the ancient times society was far less developed and therefore the classical hero had to adjust to the audience of the time. The way of the world was this, everyday people lived and people died. This was a lawless society and it was shown in the tales and myths about gods raping women and punishing large amounts of innocent people. In The Odyssey, we can see this example through the suitors who were plotting to kill in order to will the hand of Odysseys’ wife and in Odysseus’ fatal actions towards those of who were disloyal towards him. Back then, it was the norm of society and Odysseus’ right to seek justice by killing the suitors. At the time that was how the people lived. In modern times today, that view would be seen as highly unacceptable and brutal and with great consequences. Since times were harder and different these myths during the classical times were made to inspire people to attain glory and fame. This was viewed as a way to be able to “live forever” as they would in the myth. Wealth, power, and high status were things that the hero needed to obtain in order to live comfortably. In contrast to today’s hero stories, they promote ideas of doing the right thing while being comfortable in who you are without changing for anybody else. The similarities and differences change through time and history because most ancient myths were passed down orally, so there are different versions of the same

More about Hero Is A Hero

Open Document