Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Heroes?

Based upon today's Socratic Seminar regarding Greek Heroes, what was the single most thought provoking comment that you digested during the conversation?  Did the comment make you think?  Notice?  Other?  Please respond today in class.

25 comments:

JeremyD2013 said...

I enjoyed the Socratic Seminar and found that the conversation about the difference in motivation between modern day heroes and those of ancient time heroes, like Batman proves that he is only interested in working for the people by not asking for anything in return while each quest in ancient times leads to quest.

Kati A. said...

I think it is interesting to look at the differences in moral standings between Greek heroes and modern day heroes. It seems that a lot of people believe that modern day heroes are all good despite the fact that they also have their flaws. By most, Greek heroes are seen as arrogant and prideful with only their best interests in minds. On the other hand, we seem to put our modern day heroes on a pedestal even though we are all aware of the reasons why we could not have a real "Batman." I think it was an interesting dynamic and this discussion left me with a new outlook on our heroes in modern times.

connorm2014 said...

Today during the socratic seminar the most thought provoking question was do the hero's of today take the elements of hero's of greek myth and I said that the hero's of today don't have quests for immortality.

Anonymous said...

Heroes want to be immortal. Achilles from the movie Troy knew he would die if he went to the battle but he would be immortalized, he chose to go anyways. Modern day heroes like Batman, Superman and others fight crime because they want justice. The single most significant comment I heard was today's heroes fight crime to have justice, whereas Greek heroes defended their pride and was only fighting for immortality or something that would lead to pride.

Lizzie said...

I think it was the comment about how modern heroes aren't all about themselves, they are wanting to help others from problems that arise, the Greek heroes were mainly all about themselves and what helping someone can get them, with that being said, they wanted the recognition of being a hero regardless if they deserve the title of a hero or not.

Anonymous said...

The most provoking thought that I heard was that the modern hero's are hero's because they are self less but the Greek hero's are hero's because they do it for the pride and recognition versus trying to actually help people. The comment made me realize the difference between modern day hero's and Greek hero's and it made me think that maybe our modern society is more compassionate and caring then that of ancient Greece. Their hero's were always looking for pride or to prove themselves but, our hero's hide their faces and have secret identities so they obviously aren't doing heroic deeds for pride they are doing it to truly help others.

Brianc2012 said...

I think that the part of the discussion that made me think the most was the talk about the difference between todays heroes and Greek heroes. I believe that there is a difference between todays heroes and Greek heroes because the Greek heroes went on their quest out of pride and for themselves, where as todays heroes do this because they want to help others. I think this question is very open ended too because many opinions can be made on whether Greek heroes are the same as heroes today.

maureen said...

Modern heroes are extremely different then Greek heroes. The stories of today's heroes are based solely on entertainment and enjoyment for people, the stories of ancient Greek heroes are stories created as guidance and advice for people. Green heroes played a much more serious part in society then the figures we view as heroes today. People no longer feel the need for guidance about their life, they base their action, thoughts, and decisions off of mainly what they feel.

Adam L said...

The most thought provoking comment today was the idea of how the hero has changed with society. In today's world, a hero is highly unrealistic. Some heroes in today's world are not even from this planet (such as Superman), but instead come to Earth to protect humanity. While to ancient Greeks, heroes are not as perfect. Perseus, Jason, and Theseus were typical citizens. They were all flawed men who went off on quests to find immortality or some sort of higher power. Greek heroes seem more set on individual gain while the heroes of today's world are needed to help protect society from danger and evil.

Tanner L said...

I felt that the comment that interested me the most is that the older Greek heroes are just doing heroic deeds in order to be more noticed and popular in society (and possibly to achieve the status as kings as seen in some stories), while the heroes of our modern times are doing heroic actions in order to benefit the target parts of society. This expresses the "evolution" of hero tales that has developed over time, from arrogance to generosity, where the stories of those who we idolize so much are ultimately dependent on how society acts.

Anonymous said...

I think the most thought provoking comment during the Socratic seminar was that Greek heroes are answering to the gods above them but modern day heroes are answering to the people they have sworn to protect. Greek heroes don't care about the people, they only care about what the gods thought of them. Our heroes need the approval of the people or else their pointless and forgotten.

Anonymous said...

The most thought provoking comment was about how society has changed our view of heroes. I believe that society has changed our view of heroes because instead of feeling as though the hero is one of us, the hero is someone we should aspire to be. We no longer use the hero stories to try and answer what is happening in our world scientifically. I think that as our society continues to change then our idea of a hero will also continue to change. This is normal for the human race, we constantly develop and come up with new perspectives. This is why Shakespearean heroes are different from the ancient Greek heroes, and ours are different from those times.

JoeJohnson said...

the most thought provoking comment for me was how real the heroes are in modern days compared to Greek heroes. The modern day hero is not a real person they have super powers and are above people, but in the greek myths the heros are just people and they have flaws and human characteristics.

Anonymous said...

"Why is Theseus pictured as a more perfect hero over the others?" Wesley
I feel that he is pictured way because he was used to win over the island of Crete because it showed Crete's king being defeated by a stronger warrior. It also shows how Athens gained its Democratic ways.

AllieB said...

Someone had made a comment about how heroes at one point had been able to just go out and do what they do to become heroes. Today's heroes have to answer to the law if they are caught taking justice into their own hands. To be a hero, it seems there's alot more at steak and it makes it a bit hopeless for the hero.

Anonymous said...

I think that the single most important thing said today is that heroes from today aren't really human. Compared to heroes in ancient Greek times, heroes are always blessed with some sort of power. In Greece, they more or less are on their own. No one of these heroes have been blessed with a power so they maintain their true personality. I think that this is what all Greece's culture is about. They understand that they are human and they have flaws but why does somebody have to gain a power or have some absurd amount of money to become a hero. Anybody can be a hero and I believe that that is what the Greeks are trying to get at.

Anonymous said...

In today's Socratic discussion, a comment that stood out to me, was when one student asked why the ancient Greek heroes went on long quests to only make a name for themselves. This question stood out to me because it shined light on a good point. In ancient times people would look up to these heroes that save the day and slay some atrocious monster but they would do it merely for their own personal gain. On the contrary, modern heroes save the day for just, unselfish motives.

Anonymous said...

One of the comments during the seminar that was interesting to me was that Greek heroes differ from our heroes today based on their motivation and desire to want to complete their quests. In the story of Jason he went out on his quest for the Golden Fleece simply to uphold is thrown and sort of his status where as heroes today like Spiderman or Batman do things for other people and to save cities. I think the Greek heroes were much more self focused they the heroes of today.

GrantK said...

It was interesting how the Greek heroes seem selfish compared to modern day heroes. It made me think about how much different in character the heroes are. I also strongly agree with the statement about how you can gain pride with out being heroic just for your name to be remembered, as long as you are doing it for the better. The Socratic seminar made me realize some important things about Greek heroes.

NgocN said...

I was very interested in our conversation about the difference between today's heroes and Greek heroes. Today's heroes save people out of kindness not for their own selfish reason like Greek Myth heroes. Today's heroes do things without no one knowing who they are so they don't mind not getting credit while Greek Myth heroes do things in order to make themselves better. It made me realize that the term for "hero" today and in the past are really different but Greek heroes are also a way to explain life in the past while our heroes are just simply fantasies.

kielyO said...

I really liked the debate about todays heros and Ancient Greek Heros. Today, heros like Batman and Spider man have secret identities, which keeps their real identity in secret. This shows a lot about todays heros, as they continue to fight and save the day and never ask for anything in return, this tells us they have rare qualities that defy the human need for glory and power like the Ancient Greek heros strived for. But, Batman and spider man and super man are very unrealistic. If they were real, they would symbolize all the absolute perfect and flawless qualities in human beings. In reality, this would almost be impossible. The modern day heros rarely make mistakes, and seem to have little or no flaws that 99% of humans in the world have. The Greeks, on the other hand, emphasized these flaws in their heros as they are what make humans truly human, because everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect, this has been proven time and time again throughout history. So therefor, the greeks have portrayed heros as they most likely would be found today, with flaws and power hungry and looking for glory, unlike our picture perfect superman, batman, and spiderman characters who never want anything in return and don't want glory, and do it just because they want too.

KendallC2014 said...

During today's Socratic Seminar, one of the most thought provoking comments was the differences between today's heroes and Greek heroes. The Greek heroes went on their quests to gain fame and fortune. Their quests almost always benefited the heroes themselves. Modern heroes are driven by their desire to help others. They help others not because they gain anything from it, but simply to do something for someone else. Today's modern heroes do not receive credit for their deeds, in contrast to Greek heroes. Modern heroes are often criticized for their actions by authority, who insist that the law should be handled by them.

tpetrie said...

Heroes are known for their good deeds that they have accomplished over time. The Greek heroes have shown heroism by going out and showing to the world that nothing will stop them from one their pride that they feel and the heart they have to prove they are a true hero. More modern day heroes demonstrate their love for the people in the vicinity that they live in. Its more about the people then themselves. Even though at some point they might have more pride it comes down to the people they are saving and the control over everyday violence that can harm our world. Soldiers, parents, teachers,firefighters, police...These are just many of the true heroes that live in the world that make it a better place.

Anonymous said...

Drives of Heroes have changed over the course of the human race. In the Greeks day and age a hero would go on an impossible quest that could never be done or completed without the help of a god or some divinity. During the quest the hero has several other things he or she looks to obtain. Such as immortality, and to make a name for themselves. Today our heroes like Batman and Superman are looking to help those in need drawing attention to there hero names not the name most would know them by such a Mr. Wayne and Mr. Kent they simply want to help with no connection to the person who is doing to good things. In the Greek tales the heroes have no special name Jason didn't make up some false name to keep the credit given to him by his actions he was Jason. One of the questions I asked that I thought stirred up conversation with those who had not had the chance to talk was the question "Do elements of Greek Myths enter our tales of our heroes like Batman. Also do they not try to accept credit for their actions because they are vigilantist and are taking the law into their own hands and does that make them stronger or weaker as a hero." When asked it was concluded that elements were carried over and that the heroes of our time are stronger for it because they have the danger of being caught by the law unlike in the Greek tales where heroes can go around as they please without worrying they could be put in prison.

Anonymous said...

No matter how the ending it is, the process of the hero all need to went through the hardest time and got to the top of their life became a hero. In the text book, the introduction told us the Perseus story is on the level of the fairy story,and even though there are "bad" people in the myth against the hero but the hero will always win at the end no matter they are died or won and kill the enemy.I think the story of the hero show the good side of human how they concern about each other willing to fight for another, also their desire and lost the important things in their life.