Greek mythology Second Assignment Task 3

What makes a true mythological hero or heroine?

In this essay, the processes and qualities central to the development of a specific group of male

individuals1 [good references throughout], who are extant in myths of the past and famous for their

physical and mental prowess, will be explored.

In the paper at hand, chronological, geographical, literary, societal, and ethnic constraints have been

imposed on the analysis of select, male mythological heroes and their relationship to society.

Findings will primarily be based on literary2 evidence. Regarding clarification of the selected

elements of a hero’s manhood psychological tenets have been referred to as well. It has been found

that the makings of a mythological hero, although divergent in content and detail, follow universal

patterns. [good introductory statements]

Generally established as members of Ancient Greek aristocracy, mythological heroes do not only

surpass ordinary members of their society in skill, strength, ingenuity, and courage but also exceed

their own personal, local, and historical limitations ‘to the generally valid, normally human forms’.

(Campbell, p. 20)✓

Early visual representations of mythological heroes of Archaic and Classical Greece are extant in

Classical Greek sculpture, as on the pediments and frieze of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia,

with the labours of Heracles as their main focus (cf. Walker, p.65) or on the paintings on the

Theseion [aka Hephaisteion], where Theseus’ deeds have been immortalized. [good examples]

Oral as well as literary portrayals of mythological heroes first emerge when poets, and their

audiences start to turn away from exclusive divine adoration and start to inquire into mortal men’s

fates as well. (cf. Handley, p.236). Both, literary and architectural manifestations of mythological

heroes pay tribute to the fact that physical prowess is of preeminent importance to patriarch

communities of Bronze Age Greece.✓ Although from the perspective of the characters of early

epics, the polis was yet to come, mythologists (cf. Kearns, Redfield, Green) think of Homer as a

link between the heroic political culture of the past and the newly emerging polis culture. ✓

1
Oxford Companion to World Mythology cf. https://ezproxy-prd.bodleian.ox.ac.uk:4663/levels/collegiate
last accessed on 03/11/19
2
Greek authors and their work will be quoted according to
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/collection?collection=Perseus:collection:Greco-Roman last accessed
on 03/11/19
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Greek mythology Second Assignment Task 3
What makes a true mythological hero or heroine?

The Iliad adds brute force to the heroes’ physical excellence. (cf. Gottschall, p.283). Thus, Hector,

when inside the town of Troy, is portrayed as a paragon of civilized decency, whereas, as a warrior,

he ‘αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ὥς τε λέων/ ὀλοόφρων βουσὶν ἐπελθών ‘(Hom. Iliad, 15,605) [nice quotation].

Achilles, who is compared to the very same animal ‘λέων δ᾽ ὣς ἄγρια οἶδεν’, considers an

especially humiliating and painful death for Hector (Hom. Iliad 22, 345–48 ‘αἲ γάρ πως αὐτόν με

μένος καὶ θυμὸς ἀνήη ὤμ᾽ ἀποταμνόμενον κρέα ἔδμεναι, οἷα ἔοργας’). ✓

Mythological heroes are delineated as men of action rather than of thought [Odysseus? Nestor?

Oidipous?], who live by a rigid code of honour that guides their behaviour in war and competition.

They are prepared to act, either as socially transformative agents of their communities (cf. Carlyle,

Weber), or as champions of their own personal limitations (cf. Campbell, Ragland, Rank). [good

points]

In Plato’s Ideal State just like in Homeric societies, courage is regarded as yet another character

trait indispensable for a mythological hero [interesting – give a reference if possible]. Because

heroes are usually impulsive in their actions and reactions and court challenges that endanger their

lives and the existence of their communities, they remain outside society. [again, interesting]

Another prerequisite in the making of a hero are the extraordinary circumstances concerning his

conception and birth, as well as the events following his birth. ✓ Most mythological heroes are of

noble, if not divine descent. Their births are preceded by familial problems as well as political

disagreements in their communities and are overshadowed by oracles, dreams, or miracles that

often prove detrimental to their fathers’ health (cf. Brunel). Theseus’ father asks the Oracle of

Delphi why he is still without a male heir but does not understand the prophecy he receives, that

‘ἀσκοῦ τὸν προὔχοντα πόδα, μέγα φέρτατε λαῶν

μὴ λύσῃς πρὶν δῆμον Ἀθηνέων εἰσαφικέσθαι ‘
Plut. Theseus 3,3✓

Later, it is revealed to Theseus that he was born to two fathers, one mortal and one divine. Heracles’

birth mirrors Theseus’, as both Zeus and Amphitryon are celebrated as his fathers. ✓ The part taken

by the divine father takes in the myth is to spur the hero on to deeds that can advance culture.

Heroes may be abandoned by their fathers at birth in order to evade later disaster heralded by oracles

or, like Theseus, or Telemachus, they experience the bodily absence of their fathers at home. Their
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Greek mythology Second Assignment Task 3
What makes a true mythological hero or heroine?

miraculous conception and birth reflect the progressing of the imaginative capacities and energies

of childhood in adult psychic lives. This void left by absent male parents is filled by substitute

father figures, who prepare the young heroes for practice of courageous deeds benefiting the

community. [good discussion]

As scholars hold (cf. Campbell, Brunel, Drapes, Edmund), the infant hero proves himself in a way

that ‘signs of the divine essence […] shine through’ (cf. Leeming, p.119) in infancy. The baby or

young child is suddenly challenged by unknown forces infinitely larger than himself. There is

evidence of supernatural strength in infant Heracles, when he strangles two snakes sent by Hera, or

in seven-year-old Theseus, who arms himself with an axe to defeat an imaginary lion in Heracles’

presence. Convinced by his strength, Theseus easily accesses his father’s tokens (cf. Plut.Theseus

6,3 ‘ὁ δὲ τὴν μὲν πέτραν ὑπέδυ καὶ ῥᾳδίως ἀνέωσε’) later. ✓

As a young adult, the hero is confronted with an incident of terrible injustice that makes him

violate human and divine laws -Theseus vehemently opposes Athens’ annual contribution to the

Minotaur’s food - and even defy the gods - Prometheus is guilty of hybris when he takes fire as a

gift to the humans. The mythological hero consciously decides to part with his family and

community and willingly crosses a threshold not to be re-crossed again by going on a

mythological journey. Apart from the hero’s birth, his childhood, his physical and mental assets

and his complete separation from society, this journey, the Quest, is regarded as another stepping-

stone on the way to becoming a hero. [further good examples/points]

The Quest, a metaphor for a productive human life, is usually depicted as a journey that consists

of a series of victories over and annihilations of invincible beasts or the successful completion of

tasks impossible for ordinary members of a society. All of the mythological hero’s labours aim at

‘breaking new ground’ (Leeming, pp.122 sq.). Not only do lost items or persons have to be found,

as Telemachus and Theseus search for their absent fathers. Objects or places of fundamental

importance for the hero’s community also have to be brought back or visited when Jason seeks

the plant of immortality, the Golden Fleece. Moreover, it may also be the hero’s knowledge itself,

acquired during his quest, that society is in need of [example?]. As Carlyle aptly put it, ‘every

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Greek mythology Second Assignment Task 3
What makes a true mythological hero or heroine?

true man feels that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him’

(Carlyle, p.21). ✓

Sometimes the mythological hero embarks on his journey immediately, such as Theseus,

‘τότε δὲ τοῦ Θησέως τὸν πατέρα θαρρύνοντος καὶ

μεγαληγοροῦντος ὡς χειρώσεται τὸν Μινώταυρον ‘
Plut. Thes.17,4

sometimes communal trickery and persuasion are needed.

‘ἦ οὐ μέμνῃ ὅτε κεῖσε κατήλυθον ὑμέτερον δῶ,

ὀτρυνέων Ὀδυσῆα σὺν ἀντιθέῳ Μενελάῳ Ἴλιον’
Hom. Od. 24,115-116 [yes – both good examples]

Heroes are matched with more divine mentor figures to aid them, such as Poseidon, who supports

Theseus, or Athena who supports Perseus, Telemachus, and Odysseus, among others.

McPherson, among others, asserts that the hero’s journey is never finished, or if it is, heroes may

have to undergo more than one quest. Thus, Heracles seeks atonement for killing his wife and

children and serves ‘[King] Eurystheus until he [has] achieved twelve great tasks’ (MacPherson,

p.15). In his killing of dangerous beasts and his fighting against bandits, Hercules clearly displays

his immortal side, whereas his mortal side is evident in the constant aid he offers, either while

travelling to or from a labour. [good discussion]

Theseus’ encounter with the monster that lurks in the Cretan Labyrinth is interpreted as the

process of Individuation (cf. Leeming, p.122), which is closely linked to religious rituals in

antiquity. The mythological human being has to decide whether to defy death or to surrender to

death as any true mythological hero usually does. ✓ Thereby, the way to rebirth will be

commenced.

Occasionally, the mythological hero descends to the Underworld as one who has experienced

physical death already, sometimes as a living being who, in his descent, suffers a symbolic death.

When he has overcome the dangers, the hero, usually assisted by a beautiful young woman,

ascends from the underworld, and eventually rises from the dead.

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Greek mythology Second Assignment Task 3
What makes a true mythological hero or heroine?

Should the hero return, he may be celebrated as the saviour of an entire society because

he brings aid or pride to the community or he may just as well remain an outsider, as Bacchylides

shows with Theseus.

[…] παῖδα δ᾽ ἔμμεν

πρώθηβον, ἀρηΐων δ᾽ ἀθυρμάτων
μεμνᾶσθαι πολέμου τε καὶ
χαλκεοκτύπου μάχας:

Bacchyl. Dith.18 [nice apt quotation]

Although the wish to persevere against ostensibly unsurmountable odds is probably common to

all Mankind, only mythological heroes are capable of surmounting them, due to the stepping-

stones given in the text. Nevertheless, analysing a mythological hero’s characteristics is

tantamount to inspecting oneself in a mirror.

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