“How is the role of the Greek hero in the Iliad similar or different from the concept of the modern hero?” Provide specific examples
Since early in our lives, we are introduced the concept of a hero from stories we are told by our parents and family members. These personages are usually described as fearless and righteous individuals who spend their lives in constant battles and confrontations with people and situations that try to push them to choose the easy was out, leaving their values behind. In most stories, these heroes have super powers which they use to fight crime and bad guys, so that people can live their lives in peace. Growing up we eventually realize that although super powers are just a fantasy, heroes can be real.
The Iliad of Homer tells a story of a long-lasting war between two powerful kingdoms that took place many centuries ago. Back in those days, the Gods were in constant contact with humans, and humans praised them with high regards. Homer even believes some of the Gods had direct influence on the war, and that there were even differences between them as they took sides. But there is one thing that Homer left very clear, and that was the concept of the Greek hero. “Heroes in Greek Mythology were men or women of special strength, courage, or ability. They were often of divine ancestry and noted for superhuman courageous acts (GreekMythology.com, 2018)”. To be considered a hero, you had to be a great warrior, had fought equally strong opponents, and had either won those battles or died fighting. If you were considered a hero, your name would have been remembered for centuries to come. Achilles is a great example of a hero back in those days as he was known to be a great warrior and fought and killed many opponents. Perhaps his death was unusual compared to other great fighters, but he died fighting.
Nowadays, different people have different concepts of a hero. My perception of a hero could be way different than my classmates’, but that doesn’t make any of us wrong since our perception is most likely based on personal experiences. My concept of a hero is simple: fight for what you believe in no matter what the world tells you, as long as you don’t hurt anyone in the process. There’s a lot of people I see as heroes. I know a lot of single mothers who work twice as hard to make sure they have food on their tables for their kids, I know a lot of fathers who work multiple jobs in order to provide for their kids and families, and I also know people that left their home country looking for an opportunity to live a better life. I may see many people as heroes, but I also see a lot of people as villains. I’ve seen many people taking advantage of illegal workers by not paying them a fair and legal rate, forcing them to work long shifts and not paying them at an overtime rate, and not providing a safe working environment.
There are also people who dedicate their lives to fight for human rights of the less privileged. Martin Luther K...
