Classical and Greek Hero: A Comparison - Essay Example

of the of the Supervisor] ical and Greek Hero: A Comparison Introduction Let's start by making some clarifications of the terminology. The word hero can be used to designate different concepts and various approaches and express ways. Thus, in a first traditional sense, the term refers to the hero son of a god or goddess and a mortal. Another meaning, tells us that the hero is the protagonist of a work. We find the definition of hero in the Dictionary of Mythology Universal Worship and the Primitive: "Hero (From the Greek Heros, genito. Hero. Equivalent to Sanskrit bends" strong man or brave, "and the Latin vir, "male"): Protectors of the people, who after his death were turned into public hands, and Daimon, after the apotheosis in gods" (Burton, pp. 34-47). This paper discusses and compares classical hero and Greek hero in the context of the examples from the novels "The Odyssey", "Oedipus The King" and "Beowulf" in a concise and comprehensive way. Classical Hero and Greek Hero: A Comparison Besides the gods, Greek and Roman mythology has many stories about "heroes" who had superhuman qualities (Blackmore, pp. 135-162). They were somewhere between ordinary humans and full-blown gods. - Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, was a hero of the Trojan War in the Iliad. It was his idea to build a huge wooden horse, hide Greek soldiers inside, and smuggle them into the city of Troy to capture it. The Odyssey is the story of his long and magical trip home after the war. - Achilles was the greatest warrior of the Greeks, and fought and died in the Trojan War. He was shot by an arrow in the heel, the only weak part of his body. The tendon that connects the human calf and heel is called the Achilles tendon. - Aeneas's story follows his journey from his home in Troy, to Carthage in north Africa, and then to Rome. He settled there, and became the forefather of the Romans. Burton (pp. 34-47) discusses that the most popular hero was Herakles, or Hercules. The most famous of his deeds were his 12 labors. They included killing the Hydra, a many-headed monster, and capturing the three-headed dog Cerberus, who guarded the gates of the Underworld. Hercules was so great a hero that the gods granted him immortality. When his body lay on his funeral pyre, Athena came and carried him off to Mount Olympus in her chariot. Portrayal of Classical & Greek Heroes in The Odyssey, Oedipus The King & Beowulf Blackmore (pp. 135-162) mentions that Homer's epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey created a classical setting for Greek Heroes. These poems are full of battles, peril, violence and war and adventures that portray the heroic characters be courageous. The heroes, in these poems, face a barrage of arrows without flinching and are ruthless enough to kill many men without regret. The heroic characters battle for love, duty, and to protect their homes and families and beloved. A hero is understood in Greek mythology as a person of divine ancestry who has an unlimited and unprecedented courage, strength and power and it is celebrated by both the gods and people. Classical and Greek heroes portray traits of strength, ability, resourcefulness, honor and pride and power. Homer's heroic characters depict these characteristics by confronting challenges through out the poems (Blackmore, pp. 135-162). In ancient Greece, it was a widely accepted value to strive for a hero's excellence. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey do not explicitly detail the characteristic of excellence or a hero, but the behavior of the heroic characters can be analyzed to derive these attributes. Odysseus, Achilles and Diomedes are three of Homer's most noteworthy characters in his epic poems that demonstrate the values of a hero's excellent. They personify what was expected of a classical Greek hero (Blackmore, pp. 135-162). Knox (pp. 78-86) discusses that one of Homer's most controversial heroes is Odysseus from the Odyssey. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, is a key example of the traits that were expected from a hero. He was known for his intelligence, resourcefulness, courage and sometimes ruthlessness. Arguments can be forged on both side as to whether or not Odysseus is Greek hero, but my view is that he is definitely an ideal hero of the classical Greek world. In the beginning of the story, we know that Odysseus was the person responsible for the idea of the Trojan horse and destroying Troy. This action immediately casts him in the role of a war hero, but he was also a hero on many other levels. To me it is apparent that Homer intended Odysseus to be a hero, why else would Homer of set up the situations of the long journey home in which Odysseus had numerous perils. Thought out Odysseus' journey he overcomes many extreme dangers and treacherous people. In this sense, Odysseus was a spiritual and physical hero. During Odysseus' journey home, he remains faithful and loyal to his wife. The thing that keeps him alive is the vision of his wife and son waiting for his return home. These actions depict Odysseus as a spiritual hero. Also during his journey, back to Ithaca, he embraces his own mortality, which gave him strength to defy immortally twice, and with stand every difficulty he encountered. Other heroic qualities that Odysseus possessed were resourcefulness and cleverness. He portrayed these qualities in the Trojan War and the fight against the Cyclops. Odysseus used his wits and cleverness on several occasions during his journey. Another important point that provides evidence that Odysseus was a hero is the mere fact that his journey ends at his home in Ithaca where he is able to restore peace on the island of Athena (Knox, pp. 78-86). The Odyssey never explicitly states that Odysseus is a hero, but does infer this role when he encounters Hercules in the Underworld. Hercules tells Odysseus that the two of them are very similar. Since Hercules was portrayed as the greatest Greek hero in Greek mythology, any comparison to him would imply heroic characteristics. The similarities implied between Odysseus and Hercules added to the fact that he accomplishes a trip to Hades and returned alive back to Earth must prove Odysseus was exceptionally heroic and portrays every characteristics of Greek here. Odysseus was an "ideal hero" (Burton, pp. 34-47), but was not the only one in Homer's poems. The Iliad contains heroes with great complexity. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War and the many battles that were fought between heroes on both sides. It also chronicles the involvement of the supreme gods, who descended from Mount Olympus to take sides in the contest. Achilles was one of the heroes the Iliad, which is set in the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles had great courage, strength and ability. He distinguished himself as an undefeatable warrior. Achilles was a great warrior, but really did not become a true hero until he set out to avenge the death of his friend Patroclus. Patroclus was killed by Hector in his first day of battle. Patroclus had been pretending to be Achilles when he battling Hector. It was at that point Achilles exhibited honor and pride and was able to face the risk of death. Achilles is portrayed as the paradigmatic hero. He was a complex character motivated and haunted with his grief of the loss of Patroclus. Achilles went into battle, defeated Hector, and killed him. Because of the great quilt and grief Achilles had for the death of his friend, he had Hector's body dragged by horses and would not return it to the family. Hector's family pleaded with Achilles for days and finally in a moving and emotional conversation between Hector's father and Achilles he returns Hector's body to the family. The emotional journey of Achilles reaches a climax and at that point, his true heroic character was apparent. Achilles, the tragic hero, life was end shortly thereafter in battle. Oedipus the Rex and the Portrayal of Hero Cole (pp. 45-56) mentions that Oedipus, a classical tragic play used for entertainment ad morality. It is a perfect example of a classical tragic hero, using vivid drama and syntax. Although he starts off with a contentious life, it is ended in a drudgerious way. Kind Lauis, Oedipus' own father, thought he could prevent his predicted fate and "lured" (Burton, pp. 34-47) many people in believing that his fate was "demolished" (Burton, pp. 34-47); however, neither Oedipus nor his "father" (Cole, pp. 45-56) realize that they and the characters around them "enhanced" (Cole, pp. 45-56) this fate from happening. Because Oedipus was "blinded" by the assurances of others, he does not realize that his actions, and the actions of the influence around him, caused his tragic flaw! (Cole, pp. 45-56). The cause of Oedipus' fate was like a "virus" spreading around from person to person until the truth was exposed; not done in a cheerful way! Oedipus, the most important character, played a major role in the denial or his truth and the downfall of his power; he pushed this thought into himself, making him weaker and gullible to anything. His arrogance and perfection blinded him from realizing what the real cause was. Not only did the prophecy have part in his "tragic flaw" (Cole, pp. 45-56), but his arising and ever developing character had a part in this "downfall" (Cole, pp. 45-56). Towards the beginning, Oedipus' power helped in the way that it gave an idealistic image to the public, but it unexpectedly increased and "conceited" (Cole, pp. 45-56) his character; destruction. His desire for things and believing (want) for superstition made him weaker. Teirsias proves this by saying," You would provoke a stone. Tell us you villain, tell us you and do not stand their quietly..." (Cole, pp. 45-56). It was like Oedipus' insolence towards many people, including Teiresias and "the minority" (Knox, pp. 78-86), helped in the development of his flaw; may have been the god's punishment. If his character were different, he may not have had such a self inflicted ending. Sophocles believed that man could not defy the nature of the gods. He wrote that Oedipus truly thought he had escaped his fate as it was predicted to him. Is that why Oedipus so distrusted godly intervention in Thebes and though himself to be more mortal than his own people believed him to be It is an important question to contemplate. In the first episode, page 20, Oedipus says to the blind prophet, Tiresias, "What truth Hardly learned from your profession" (Knox, pp. 78-86). This statement is proof enough that Oedipus questions oracles and predictions. He follows what the prophet says because his people believe it to be true. Sophocles, then, has portrayed aging as a moral and spiritual journey. Its surprises, terrors, mysteries, and triumphs, he would argue, can only be successfully crossed with humility and self-knowledge, love and compassion, acceptance of mortality, and a sense of the sacred. Our own scientific culture resembles Oedipus as a young hero, the brilliant problem solver who neglects the existential ground of his greatness. Like the young Oedipus, we study the ages of life to control the facts of human existence in time and space. And like the young Oedipus, we have suppressed the existential terrain of the life cycle by construing it as a technical problem. As a result, old age in our culture too often seems like a "season" without a purpose; old people too often appear only as strangers, not as pilgrims (Burton, pp. 34-47). Yet for all its power, the triumph of Oedipus remains troubling. Oedipus prevails, but in Antigone his family line comes to a miserable end. Rather than forgive even one of his sons, he allows them to slaughter each other in battle. His daughters live out the mystery of undeserved fate. We are forced to wonder: Did Oedipus's children pay the price for his glory Did he put his own spiritual welfare above obligations to their future lives Does successful culmination of life's journey require undue sacrifices from those, like Antigone, who make it possible The Greek tragedians insisted that all wisdom is incomplete; every triumph exacts its toll. I do not know the answers to these questions. Yet somehow, I am like the aged Oedipus who gives me courage to affirm my own destiny. Standing in between my daughter and my grandmother, I recognize myself as the animal that goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at midday, and three legs in the afternoon. Cut loose from the anchoring old rocks of my childhood, I embark on what Anne Sexton calls "the awful rowing toward God" (Knox, pp. 78-86), in search of an innocent and playful wisdom. Along the way, I hope to see if my own old age corresponds to my middle-aged ideal of it. Beowulf and Portrayal of Hero Beowulf is an epic, a long, narrative poem that relates the adventures of the epic hero. Beowulf is the epic hero in this poem. An epic hero is a larger-than-life character that embodies the values and the traditions of his culture. Beowulf has all the qualities and traits that an epic hero possesses. Beowulf exhibits the traits of a larger-than-life character. He kills Grendel without the use of weapons. He uses his superhuman strength to break Grendel's bones and win the battle. Beowulf also kills Grendel's mother, who is more dangerous than Grendel. He shows his superior strength when he lifts the sword and strikes Grendel's mother in the neck. In the text, the sword is described as "the best of all weapons but so massive that no ordinary man could lift" (Knox, pp. 78-86). Beowulf shows tremendous courage when he puts his life at risk to kill the dragon. These battles indicate that Beowulf is superior to all warriors and is truly larger-than-life (Burton, pp. 34-47). Beowulf possesses all the traits of an epic hero. He is courageous, strong, skillful with weapons, and loyal. He is courageous because he goes into the battles fearless. His strength, as well as his skill with weapons, is evident in the battles. The most important quality that makes Beowulf an epic hero is loyalty. Beowulf embodies the traditions of his culture. His loyalty is evident in his relationship with the Thanes. Beowulf gives his life for his people. He eventually dies after battling the dragon for treasure. Beowulf also boasts, which is tradition of the Anglo-Saxon Warriors. Beowulf boasts when he talks about beating Brecca in a swimming match. In the text, Beowulf says, "No man swims in the sea as I can, no strength is a match for mine" (Burton, pp. 34-47). The warriors revered the boasting. Beowulf encompasses the traits of a true epic hero. He demonstrates his heroic qualities in the battles with Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. Beowulf is a larger-than-life character, he embodies the traditions of his culture, and he embodies the values of his culture. Conclusion In short, a hero is understood in Greek and classical mythology as a person of divine ancestry who has an unlimited and unprecedented courage, strength and power and it is celebrated by both the gods and people. Classical and ancient Greek heroes portray traits of strength, ability, resourcefulness, honor and pride and power. Heroic characters, in all the above mentioned works, depict these characteristics by confronting challenges through out these epic poems. Works Cited Burton, R. W. B., The Chorus in Sophocles' Tragedies. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980, pp. 34-47. Cole, Thomas R., Oedipus & the meaning of aging: Personal reflections & historical perspectives, Generations, 07387806, Fall, 1990, Vol. 14, Issue 4, pp. 45-56 Knox, B. M. W., The Heroic Temper, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994, pp. 78-86. Blackmore, Tim, Blind Daring: Vision and Re-vision of Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrranus in Frank Miller's Daredevil: Born Again. (cover story), Journal of Popular Culture, Winter, 1993, Vol. 27 Issue 3, pp. 135-162. Read More