This essay will analyze various heroic characters that we have encountered in the movies through the semester. the goal is to discover what is it about them that makes them heroes. Where is it that their strength lies, and why is that certain trait or skill perceived as a strength. I will try compare that with the most ideal traits that we want people to have in our current societies to see if there is any kind of similarities, or if we have changed over time and now we aspire to have different traits. I will also be comparing them to heroes from resent films that portray a character who is either a hero or has heroic characteristics. Now without further to do let’s dive right into the first hero on this list.
The first hero we will be covering in this essay will be Achilles from the movie “troy” directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Achilles played by the actor Brad Pitt is meant to be the main character of this story. Right of the bat we know there must be something special about this person if he is to be the main character. And indeed he does have a sum of various traits that are worthy of a main character. He the best strongest fighter that the Greeks have. He has a crew of elite warriors who faithfully follow him into any type of battle no matter how helpless the situation might be. He is even said to have been the son of the goddess Thetis. He the sole person that can turn the tides of any battle towards his favor. Now he is also an incredibly prideful man capable of forsaking a people’s lives, because he has a grudge against who leads them. In the Iliad he is also said to be less loving toward women, and these them as less than men. He is also a blindingly vengeful soul. In the movie it did not matter to him that part of the reason of why his cousin Patroclus died was because he put on his armor. Or that Hector killed him thinking it was Achilles. Achilles knowing that it was a clear misunderstanding still humiliated him, and still tried to preventing from having and afterlife. This character has a particularly intimidating build. He is strong but vengeful and prideful. He is a leader but he is fearless and sometimes even reckless, as we the in the movies first battle against the Trojans. He is the ideal warrior in the eyes of the Greeks, he is as a hero should be. Perhaps it was Achilles ambition to reach the end goal of being forever remembered as great warrior. That determination to reach godhood no matter what that pusses him to heroism.
Now to more modern eyes he could be perceived to be not as heroic. I would go as far as to say the he could be perceived as somewhat villainous, at least in his actions against Hector. His lack of capacity to understand that his cousin was mainly because he decided to take his armor and throw himself into the battlefield, is one of the things that people in our current society particularly dislike and see it as a flaw in the character. This man is the toughest fighterß in this story and not ones does he uses this strength nobly. He fights not to protect others or to survive a war. He fights because he wants prestige and to be remembers as legend. Although he has incredible determination and strength his goals are still selfish in the end. Achilles is the type of man that would first see his comrades die than swallow his pride and fight alongside them. Again this is something that our current society looks down a pond. Most of the superhero’s we see now a days are self-sacrificing’s. they are level minded meaning they are able to understand have compassion, and even forgive unforgivable things. They tend to fight for others and not for themselves. They fight when they need to not when they want to. This is perhaps because we live in a calmer society that has a more idealistic view on what human beings should be like. Maybe it is because now a day’s people just close their eyes to the more unsavory characteristics that surround human being. Especially when it comes to things like war, even under this extreme situations people believe the character should be benevolent and honorable. Regardless of the reason why, Achilles fails to display these characteristics in his actions. Although Achilles could have the greatest hero when Homer introduced him to the people of the around 762 B.C. through what is popularly believed the have been a squeal to the Odyssey the Iliad, to people of this this century he is no hero. He is undeniably strong and perhaps a fearless leader, but his is definitely not received as a hero.
Up next and from the same source we will be taking a look at Hector from the Iliad. Hector is portrayed to be a little bit different in the movie, then he is in the Iliad. I will be using the movies portrayal of this character. Hector is introduced to be the son of the king Priam, and he is the prince that is supposed to be the next to succeed the Trojan throne. Now although hector is not the main character of the story, he is one of the most notable characters. He is like Achilles in that he is the strongest warrior, but for the Trojan forces. Hector throughout the movie acts strong and with compassion. When hector hears of what his brother has done he does not hurt him or get erratically angry. He controls his emotions and actions, and although he does hurt him with spiteful words they are true and his brother Paris deserved it. When he gets home we see that his is well received by his father and the people of troy. He also speaks his mind in to the counsel, and his words are often wise. While the counsel relies heavily on the gods to help them, hector relies on his knowledge and intuition. For example, in the scene where everyone is agreeing to seek out the Greeks and attack their base. Hector wisely tells them that they use rely on their unreachable wall, because of they seek them out they will be unified. Although his father did not heed his words we later on see that indeed Hector was right all along. Another very distinct characteristic that Hector portrays is his very clear and strong affection for his wife and son. In this time period it was more usual that a man would be less affectionate and more distant in love relationships. Even so throughout the movie see he show affection to his wife with the are alone and in public. Hector is also again a strong warrior and leader. While Achilles sits out the battle because of the incident he had with Agamemnon. Hector reaps thought Greek soldiers, in a battle that was would end up being a win for the Trojans.
Then later on when Hector kills Achilles cousin thinking it was Achilles himself, and is then challenge to a duel against the now revenge driven Achilles he did not back down. Great details about how much he meant to the people around him could be extracted from this scene. First his father’s words to him, “Hector no father ever had a better son” (Priam). After he kisses him he still feels the need to let him know how admirable he was. Then his brother Paris who says, “You are the best man I know” (Paris). It is also worthwhile mentioning that Hector intervened in the duel Paris had with Menalaus. Hector knew that the war could end with his brother’s death, and many lives could be spared because of it. Perhaps out of a selfish motive of not wanting to see his brother die he still intervene potentially forsaking thousands of lives. In the end although his motives might have been selfish his cause was kind and understandable. Going back to the duel against Achilles. Hector fight bravely until the very end ultimately losing his life in battle. After he dies and Achilles takes his body we see something incredible. The king in a desperate attempt to give his son a deserved proper burial, puts his life in the life of Achilles and begs on his knees. This truly show how deserving of the label hero hector was.
Now to see how our current society would receive him. Throughout the movie Hector shows compassion, strength, and courage. These like I covered earlier are all are what audiences now a days look for in heroic characters. Prince Hector fits this heroic mold outstandingly well. It is very easy to sympathize with him and understand what drives him do the things he does. This is the exact reason why the movies general audience perceived Hector as a much more likable character as a hero then the main character of this story Achilles. Which tells you about the difference in culture the Greek culture and todays culture. I think it is also interesting that most of the audience had a greater reaction to the death of Hector more so than the death of Achilles. It was as if his devastation action after killing Hector made his death seem just.
The difference in conception to what a hero should be is unbelievably fascinating. What the Greeks considered to be a heroic warrior without parallel, is almost considered to be not necessarily villainous but definitely not your typical mold either. The pride and heartless strength he applies to battle was almost necessary to be a hero in Greece, and it is the complete opposite of what todays heroes are. On the other hand, Hector seems to show to much compassion could be looked at as a weakness in the time this story was written. Yet this is what gives him the heroic trait in our current society. I also find it is interesting that although Achilles and hector are very different in terms of what drives and how they want their actions to define them they both are still undeniably hero’s to their perspective side. Heroism seems to be dependent on what qualities society at that time deems to be necessary to elevate one’s self above the average human being.
Continuing on I will begin to analyze the character Oedipus Rex from “Oedipus the King” directed by Philip Saville. Oedipus is considered to be a tragic hero, because of the circumstances that surround his life’s path. It was prophesized before he was even born that he would inevitably kill his father and marry his own mother. Now let’s look at what characteristics Oedipus has that make him a hero. He is first introduced to us as the great king of Thebes. People seemed to look up to him, and that was for no small thing. He was an intelligent ruler known for being the only one capable of answering the sphinx’s riddle. He was a father to two sons and two daughters. He was also married to the queen of the previous king called Jocasta. We would later come to know that Jocasta was indeed Oedipus’s biological mother, fulfilling one portion of the prophesy. Oedipus also has something called Hamartia which basically stands for “missing the mark”. This is what people tend to call a tragic flaw. I would like to go a little bit more in depth into this tragic flaw for a second. One of Oedipus heroic traits is his determination to get the bottom of the mystery involving the murder of the previous king. To me it did not seem like determination. It was more like an obsession with trying not to find the murderer, but to clear his name. deep down I think he was hoping to clear his name. Hoping that one of the murdered the people he murdered on the road incident was not his father Laius. There comes a point where he is almost one-hundred percent sure that the person he killed indeed was his father, and still pushes forward in a desperate attempt to clear his name. Never the less it for the sake of bigger numbers support I will be taking this a determination to find justice regardless of anything.
Now how well would Oedipus fit into today’s standards of heroism. I think that his devotion as a leader is one of the traits that stand out the most. his people trust in him and follow him faithfully and that is undeniably admirable. He is also willing to go as far as needed to get justice no matter the price. Both of these are what today we see as heroic. That is not counting his history of saving the people of Thebes by answering the sphinx riddle. Being wise is also a special trait. He also has a tainted past. It was prophesized and perhaps he had no choice in the matter, but he took a man’s life unjustly. He killed his father Laius, just because he annoyed him while they were riding. That is not a heroic act at all on the contrary that would be the deed of a villain. I have strong certainty that although he is an unusual character with very special traits, he would not be south after is an admirable hero according to societies standards. It just his past that messes with the concept of what a hero looks like. It didn’t seem like he regretted killing him. It was only after he found out he was his biological dad that ramose sinks in. If he knew of the prophesy why did he kill to begin with.
Oedipus’s daughter Antigone will be the next character we will analyze. In the movie “Antigone” directed by Yorgos Javellas she is presented to us as the main protagonist of the story. This will be a very unique character for the simple fact that she is a woman. There are not many heroic women involve in the stories told in ancient Greece or in Rome. Antigone in the story defies the ruler of the current king Creon who her after her biological father Oedipus died. King Creon had stated that Eteocles would get a proper burial for a hero, but polyline would be left to rot without a proper burial. Not having a proper burial meant he would be unable to find his way to the afterlife, and would basically stay in a hellish limbo. So Antigone tries do a burial ceremony for his brother behind the kings back by herself. Sadly, she does get noticed by a guard, and gets sentenced to die in a cave. Before she has a chance to be saved she decides to commit suicide and hangs herself. The ending to her story was a very tragic one, and far from heroic. Even so the actions she took while she was alive were very heroic and selfless. From the very beginning she knew she would die if anyone were to notice her burying her brother it would end up in her death. She gave up everything for her brother in the end, and that is courage worthy of a hero.
Today’s society would most likely look at Antigone as a very heroic character. I would go as far as saying that today’s society might see Antigone’s deeds more heroic then those of her father. Oedipus’s motives are a little bit harder to fully understand, but Antigone is clearly set on saving her brother from eternal torment. Although looking at the event that came from their deeds, Antigone’s were far more devastating. After Oedipus accepted his fate the kingdom was speared from dyeing to the spreading disease. After Antigone buried her brother not only did it cost her life, both her betrothed Haemon son of Creon and his mother both took their own lives. Ultimately leaving Thebes without a ruler, because in the last scene of the movie we see Creon leaving by himself. Both of these characters share great determination and do heroic deeds like saving someone.
Next we will be taking a look at Jason from the movie “Jason and the Argonauts” directed by Don Chaffey. This movie was referred to as the avengers of their time, and that I think couldn’t be said better. Jason who was to be the next in throne as king of Lolcos