Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Greek Heroes?
Based upon our readings and discussions regarding several Greek Heroes
(Jason/Perseus/Hercules), what patterns are you noticing? Do
you now think differently about the labeling of a hero or heroine?
Argue, explain, and defend. Please complete this blog response during class on 11-19-19.
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25 comments:
I feel like Hercules is a hero because he is constantly saving people he may kill a few but this is because he does not know his own strength and this doesn't help him but its not interlay his fault. Jason is a hero because he is trying to save his mom and he has to bring back the head of madusa for her to be free basically.
The one pattern that stands out to me when comparing heroes is the fact that they all have a origin story, call to adventure, trials, and either victory or glorious death. All these aspects about heros apply to almost every superhero and myth. The hero starts out with an origin story then he/she gets a call to adventure then goes through some trials and comes out either dead or alive.
The thing that stands out with these heroes is that they all have the same pattern, they receive the call to action, the adventure, the trials and finally, they either die a hero, or they live a hero. These types of stories apply to many heroes in today's media.
The main similarity that I noticed was that they are given flaws. This gives them more depth and relatability. Them being a hero but yet still very human helps the reader connected with them and maybe even have sympathy for their mistakes. For example, Hercules accidently kills many people, but carries a tremendous amount of guilt with him for his actions and would do anything to be forgiven by both himself and others.
All three of these characters were heroes in there own way, and they all went through hard times. However, Hercules went through way more than the other two, even though he didn't have to. His ability to feel sorry for himself overshadowed his ability to feel guilty, leading to the deaths of many people at his hands. The bases of each of their stories are very similar, but Hercules decided to take a very different path towards achieving his goal of being acquitted.
one thing in common with the three heroes Hercules, Jason, and Perseus is that they all have a similar call to adventure. wether it to cut off the head of medusa, get the golden fleece. or fight immortal enemies. they all have a call to fame to prove themselves as heroes. all three of them show heroic traits during these trials.
After reading about all three Greek heroes, I think Hercules was the truest hero. He never really had help from outside forces. Even though he did do some terrible things and sometimes killed just out of anger, he was still incredibly strong and did a lot of good. For the most part he did the things he did to help others.
One thing I've noticed was that all of them have high steaks. Jason with the fleece, and precious with his mom, and Hercules with redemption. For all of them, it's not as simple as a quest their more involved and have more riding on it. All of them do share common goals that often revolve around themselves but helping others while doing so.
A common pattern all three heroes have is that they all have a massive ego, often having to endure numerous trials to prove themselves to others. All three heroes are strong, have a lot of talent, and receive help or are in good favor of the gods. There is often a love interest and then a death. Hercules while a hero, does not know the power of his strength and often causes tragedies, Jason betrayed and used his wife. Both of these characteristics are not associated with a hero.
The pattern that most stands out to me is the fact that all three heroes have an origin story, they are called to action on an adventure away from home, they all get guidance from a god/goddess, and are usually victorious in their trials. These hero patterns apply to almost every Greek myth or "superhero" of today, however it is unnecessary for the modern day hero. I do not think differently of the labeling of today's heroes, such as policemen, firefighters, etc, but the pattern can be applied to the fictional hero stories we see today.
Jason, Pursues, and Hercules are all heroes because they realize they are heroes and want to complete a great journey. They all had a goal or a mission and nothing would get in there way. All of the heroes were helped and chosen by the gods to be heroes. This makes me think that the ancient Greeks didn't believe that everyone could be a hero, and everyone had a role to play for the gods and their role was not to be a hero. Some of the heroes are very smart and think before they act but others act before they think with makes me think that there are many different types of heroes and all of there "powers" were fitting to help in their journeys.
A pattern I am noticing is they all follow the heroes circle, however the greek heroes seem to have a lot more death and destruction involved with their stories. Now based on what I know about the circle, I think everyone is a hero because we can all relate going through the circle. I just think that greek circles are much more dramatic and death defying. So basically to me it makes the word hero much less valuable because we are all heroes in a sense, so it's much less special when someone is a hero.
In all of these stories you have perseus and Jason who set out on their adventure for themselves and then you have Hercules who does all of the heroic acts to redeem himself. Nonetheless all 3 heros still exhibit the patterns of the hero's journey, they all have a call to adventure, trials, and victory. But hercules victory is not like perseus and Jason, Instead of finding gratitude in his winnings Hercules does not feel complete like perseus and Jason did after their journeys.
After reading the stories on these heroes, a few patterns I have found is that they all go on adventures that involves tests or tasks of some sort. Each hero has a purpose for doing what they are doing and in each way they are all heroes. Although they do kill many people, I think in the end they are all still heroes for what they are trying to accomplish. They are just trying to accomplish their task no matter the lives they sacrifice or what other things happen.
One pattern that has stuck out to me while reading about these three heroes is their willingness to suffer punishment. I believe that this shows how much strength and determination they all posses because as a hero one must be willing to do things for the good of others. I think that one can only be categorized as a hero if they go through the 'hero's journey' because that is what leads them to fulfill that role. A modern-day hero can be grouped in a similar way, going through trials that build them up to be strong and motivated people.
I feel that many of the greek heros fight with a personal reason. Hercules for killing his family. Jason for the king. Percius for his mother. Many of them did many things they did were to relieve for their own pain or the pain of their families. However, I do not look at labeling a hero differently because they still did many quests and had many battles for the public. They were still heros in the mind of Greeks.
I think what makes each of them a hero is the extreme contrasts. For Hercules, the contrast is he kills people on accident because he doesn't know his own strength but he also saves a lot more people. For Jason, he gets the golden fleece but he also hurts some of the people trying to help him. For Perseus, it is not so much a direct cause but more a bi-product. He got the head of Medusa but he also left his mother behind and made her run away. She was almost killed because of him. I think the second major part that makes them a hero is their general kindness and willing to sacrifice themselves for a greater good.
- Nick B.
All of the greek heroes we've seen so far are very imperfect. They all do the wrong thing most of the time, then later redeem themselves from it. In the end they all get what they want though which kind of defeats the purpose of them being a hero. Most of their "sacrifices" are very trivial.
The main similarity I found is how each hero has something to start them off, some sort of reason or quest to obtain something they desire. like hercules trying to obtain peace from killing his family, or jason trying to get the fleece or persius trying to save his mother.
Based upon the our class readings and discussions I noticed that heroes usually take some sort of journey and then come back either a hero or not. During their journey, most heroes seem to find out things about themselves, or things about their communities. I think that in different ways everyone is a hero no matter what they do. Every hero is conquering their own things and I think that makes them a hero.
The pattern that is repeated is when the hero feels embarrassed or sad at the beginning and they want to prove something to the person that made them feel that way. Perseus was embarrassed that he didn't have a gift for his mom, Hercules was sad and embarrassed by himself about killing his family and Jason wanted the fleece so that he could be king. He was embarrassed that his uncle had stolen the throne from him without him really knowing. I do think differently about the hero or heroine because today they don't do something because they feel embarrassed or sad, they usually do it because someone needs their help and they are the only ones who can do it.
From reading the stories of the Greek Heroes, Jason, Perseus, and Hercules, a pattern that I notice is that they are all strong and powerful. I also noticed that they always "win" or complete their journey. I think that there are two definitions of a hero, one being someone that takes a stand from something that is right and helps people, and the other definition is someone who has much bravery and noble qualities like the Greek Heroes.
After reading numerous stories of greek heroes, I think Jason has to one of the bigger heroes. Every hero had a call to adventure and something that strived them, but Jason I felt was less of being a hero and more proving that anything was possible as long as you believed in yourself. No one believed that he would be able to get the head of Medusa, but he proved them all wrong. And proving them wrong was his call to adventure.
With these three characters, we see a certain level of thickheaded habits and extreme hubris. We see characters like Hercules killing the guilty and innocent quite quickly, ferociously, and with immense regret following. Hercules lacks foresight and self-control, and so is constantly being punished or punishing himself for his mistakes. When I see Jason, I see a hero who can think before he acts, who uses intelligence as well as brute strength to achieve his goal of rightfully claiming the thrown that is entitled to him. As far as Perseus is concerned, we can see that his drive to fame is in order to prove himself and dethrone a cruel king, the betterment of society is not his goal, it is rather the betterment of himself and his mother.
The patterns I see just throughout these three readings that have been sticking out to me is that they all had a journey or "mission" they had to go on, trials they had to face, and they all were praised by the public if they succeeded. I have always thought of a hero as someone who would fight to defend someone or a common injustice, and someone who didn't need to be praised to feel they made a difference. After reading these stories the way I label a hero has not changed.
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