Heroes, Achilles and the Modern Hero

By Ben

3/15/05

Greeks 2 of 10

"A man distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, and strength. " That is the definition of a hero by today’s standards. The way we view a hero and what makes a person a hero in someone’s eyes is mostly derived from the onlooker’s worldview. Even the secular way of assessing a hero today is largely based on a general biblical, Judeo-Christian belief. The characteristics of heroes include courage, strength, honor, and doing what is right even when it is hard.

On top of the secular traits of a hero, a biblical hero is confident and willing to sacrifice himself for others. As it says in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Putting others first, moral courage, and servant leadership are key to the Judeo-Christian worldview. We can look at King David; he was courageous military leader and did what God wanted him to do most of the time. He also repented for the mistakes that he made, which took great courage. Also, for examples of modern heroes, many members of the military would qualify. As a whole the military embodies courage, strength, and many other qualities of a hero. The reason that a lot of these people are known as heroes is because they are the ones who step up and take on the danger or problem that others avoid.

In comparison, a Greek hero was almost super-human. He was a great warrior who was courageous, brave, and triumphant. Achilles was a hero of Greek mythology. His actions, as a hero, are described in the Iliad by Homer. His soldiers followed him willingly because he was the greatest warrior in the force besieging Troy. However, because of his selfishness and unwillingness to submit to authority, he caused the death of his best friend and many others. The Greeks still considered him a hero. Achilles defeated Hector, who had killed Achilles’ best friend. Achilles dragged off and mutilated Hector’s body. This was considered the norm and encouraged in ancient Greece. Now what does this story tell you about the difference between your way of thinking and theirs? The father of Hector, who was the King of Troy, was guided to Achilles by one of the goddesses. Because of the king’s pleading, Achilles did an "unheroic act". He gave the body of Hector back to the King of Troy. Homer by telling this story was questioning the worldview of the time and saying it might not be a bad thing that Achilles was merciful.

While there are several similarities between our heroes and ancient Greek heroes, our modern view is significantly different. Both are courageous and better than the average person in their culture. Yet there are many differences between the two such as the difference of moral behavior, and values. We value life and mercy balanced with justice. The Greek heroes did not value life as we do or believe in having much mercy. Furthermore, Greek heroes did not take responsibility for their actions. The gods and goddesses were blamed for causing all problems and telling people what to do. From looking at the heroes of Greek mythology, we can learn a lot about the ancient Greek worldview and how they lived.