Epic Heroes In The Iliad And Aeneid Essay

Being an Epic Hero

Being an epic hero can change the way a person lives. It can alter your identity. There are two examples of an epic hero in The Illiad and The Aneid. In present time there is a different meaning to be a hero and it is harder to become one. I believe that it is possible to exist as a true hero in our current society.

An epic hero possesses the traits a civilization thinks are important. The Greeks thought of heroes as a special class of people between regular people and the gods. You need to possess courage, strength, cleverness, and leadership. To me, the definition of an epic hero is someone is created by a particular culture, usually as the badge of this culture. People look on the epic hero as their idol, but he does not actually exist in the world. In people's mind the epic hero is very powerful and with high intelligence. When a brute force appears, the epic hero will come up soon. He defeats the evil spirit, and peace is restored to the culture.

In The Illiad heroes were humans, male or female, of the remote past, endowed with superhuman abilities and descended from the immortal gods themselves. The prime example is Akhilleus, more commonly known as Achilles in the English tradition. This, the greatest hero of the Iliad, was the son of Thetis, a sea-goddess known for her broad cosmic powers.In The Aneid ,one of the most significant ways in which Virgil reflects the unique ideals of a Roman hero is through his use of certain parallels. It seems that Virgil is inviting the reader to recourse back to Homer in order to highlight the contrast between Aeneas and Homeric heroes like Thetis in the Illiad. This analogy makes the reader aware of the distinctive nature of Aeneas as an epic hero when compared to those of the Greek era, and during books one to four, Virgil seems keen to portray how prone he is to lapses of human weakness. In todays society heroes do exist to people. A hero is someone of admirable traits or qualities. All of us have a hero. To some, a hero might be their favorite actor or musician. To others, someone closer to home, like a father or uncle. But a hero means different things to different people. However, I believe a True Hero is someone who goes above and beyond their job description, who heads into danger simply because another human being needs help. A hero is someone who has no reason to help other than human decency and the courage to act.

In conclusion, heroes are seen everywhere, and are kept in the hearts of those who admire hem. Whether the heroes ends justify his means, that is left up to those who hear of their tales. A hero differs greatly to many people, and it has always been that way. Admire them for their traits and model yourself after them and you may become someones hero one day as well.