Calvin Coolidge once said, “Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion” (brainyquote.com). Heroes are among one of the most popular literary figures of all time. A Greek philosopher, Aristotle, wrote his notion of classic from of heroism called tragic heroism in his work entitled Poetics. In Poetics, Aristotle explains that there are certain qualities that a tragic hero has that can qualify him or her as tragically heroic. Two Grecian literary legends, Achilles from Homer’s Iliad and Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, fit the description of an Aristotelian tragic hero.
Achilles, from Homer’s The Iliad, is a tragic hero. Achilles’s quick rage coincides with a key characteristic of a tragic hero. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae takes Briseis, Achilles’s prize, or woman. This act is an insult to him, as it is betraying Agamemnon as a more powerful figure, which makes Achilles seem like less of a man. Achilles is enraged by this act of self-righteousness; Homer writes, “Should he draw sharp sword at his hip, thrust though the ranks and kill Agamemnon now? - or check his rage and beat his own fury down?” (371) Achilles’s rage, or hamartia, is very apparent within his thoughts. Just being told that his prize was taken brought out a monstrous rage in him, a rage that contemplated killing Agamemnon because it made Achilles seem helpless. His arrogant temper, his tragic flaw, per Aristotle’s Poetics, can classify him as a tragic hero. Another factor of a tragic heroism that is present in Achilles is his noble stature. His mother, the sea goddess Thetis, has gone to Olympia on the behalf of Achilles to persuade Zeus, the king of the gods, to help the Trojans defeat the Achaeans. Achilles’s demigod standing is revealed when Homer writes, ...
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...status. Sophocles’s titular character Oedipus is also a tragic hero because of his hamartia that causes his undeserved downfall. These two Grecian literary legends can be defined as Aristotelian heroes. Though Aristotle’s ideas of tragic heroism have been disputed and expanded, his notion of tragic heroism has left its mark some of the world’s most renowned literature.
Works Cited
Aristotle. Poetics. Tans. S.H. Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive. Web Atomic and Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 13 Sept. 2007. 4 Nov. 2008 http://classics.mit.edu/. Calvin Coolidge. 2001-2013 brainyquote.com. November 7, 2012
Homer. The Iliad. Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall,
2007. Print.
Much of what we know today of Greek culture was passed on through history via The Iliad by Homer. The Greeks, one of the earliest recorded civilizations that our species is aware of, had a large influence on the Roman Empire and by extension most of the civilizations of our known history. Through history and different cultures, there are various stories of heroes and heroism, and it seems that the definition of heroism has changed frequently since classical antiquity. “Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’s son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses.”(The Iliad I.1-2) So opens The Iliad, a story of the Trojan War and the flawed hero, Achilles. Achilles, an example of the Greeks ideal hero, is not without his flaws. His anger while understandable during the earlier parts of the poem begins to appear irrational during book IX. The Greeks, who aspired to embody the qualities they valued in their heroes, treated the story of The Iliad with great reverence.
Some perceive Oedipus, in Oedipus the King, to be an evil villain, while others a completely innocent man who is plagued by fate. Sophocles, however, desired to portray Oedipus as a mix between the two- as a tragic hero. According to Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus fits the criteria of a tragic hero.
Tragedy; it’s inevitable. In life, everyone is bound to experience a rough time. These rough times and flaws are what test a hero and build character. Someone experiencing hard times transforms an average person and his mistakes into something remarkable and heroic. What characteristics make a him a tragic hero rather than just an ordinary person? A hero is a person who is admired for courageous acts, noble qualities and outstanding achievements. Despite possessing the same qualities as an ordinary hero, a tragic hero, who is born a noble birth and usually male, has a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to his ruin. The hero 's flaws can range vastly. Tragically, however, the flaws possessed with eventually ruin the person 's reputation and also
In the Iliad, Achilles is the main protagonist. He is a demi-god and is the son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus who was the King of the Myrmidons. He was a Greek hero of the Trojan War. He falls in love with a battle prize called Briseis. He is to portray, “as a brave, loyal, cocky, intelligent and even superhuman soldier. In Achilles ' case, the word "superhuman" is literal; he is the result of a union between a god and a mortal.”(Harvard 1)
According to Aristotle, Oedipus in Sophocles's play, Oedipus the King, would be considered a tragic hero. Oedipus is considered a tragic hero not only because he made the mistake of killing Laius, because he ends up exiling himself from his own city. At the end of Sophocles’s play Oedipus eventually reaches an all time low. This downfall is caused by him discovering what negative things he has done to his family and to his city. This downfall was caused by Apollo, the Greek god of Prophecy. Apollo is the cause of the downfall because it is proven many times in the play that you can’t control your own destiny which ultimately means that Oedipus’s fate was already written out for him by the
When discussing literature, most people would say that The Iliad is the first great tragedy. In literature, a tragedy is defined as a work in which the main character or protagonist encounters extreme loss, pain, and/or sadness. Perhaps one of the most memorable and absolutely tragic deaths that really crushes the main character, Achilleus, in this story is the death of Patroklos, Achilleus’ closest friend and ally. Toward the end of the epic, as the Achaians are being pushed back hard by the Trojan army, Patroklos dons Achilleus’ armor and goes to battle in his stead. And in a disastrous turn of events, Apollo, Euphorbos, and Hektor all have a hand in Patroklos’ death. So, we ask this question: who is responsible for the death of Patroklos?
Throughout the play, there are many examples that support the argument that Oedipus is a tragic hero. By definition, a tragic hero is “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat”. Oedipus is a concerned and loving king whose people trust him explicitly. However, throughout the play, he makes choices that put him in bad situations. The play tells the story of Oedipus' journey to try and uncover the mystery of Laius' murder, as told by the oracle. Throughout his journey, he commits horrible crimes, and destroys both himself and his life. Oedipus also drags innocent people down with him. Oedipus is a tragic hero because of his fatal flaws, he was born of noble birth, he showed excessive pride and he became more self aware.
First off, Achilles has a few heroic characteristics. I don’t want to compare him to any other heroes I’ve studied because I don’t like him, but I’d say Odysseus, because they fought for the same goal in the Trojan War. But personally, I think he is a sissy for not fighting throughout the entire Trojan War until things got personal because Hector killed his friend. But hey, killing Hector in his blind rage helped the cause, and thusly his people. So he isn’t all that bad. Then, as N.S. Gill will write, Achilles does this. “An enraged Achilles kills Hector and then dishonors the body by dragging it around tied to the back of a chariot for 9 days.” So, yeah, Achilles is kind of a prick. But then again, Achilles reflects the moral codes of the culture that bore him, so in a strange way, he is the embodiment of a hero. To them at least. To me, he seems to have good ...
The Iliad, the Greek epic documented by Homer that describes the battles and events of the ten year siege on Troy by the Greek army. Both Trojans and Greeks had their fair share of heroes and warriors, but none could match the skill and strength of the swift runner, Achilles. Achilles had the attributes of a perfect warrior with his god-like speed and combat abilities. However, even though he was Greek’s greatest warrior, he still possessed several flaws that made him fit the role of the Tragic Hero impeccably. Defined by Aristotle, a Tragic Hero is someone who possesses a high status of nobility and greatness, but must have imperfections so that mere mortals cannot relate to the hero. Lastly, the Tragic Hero’s downfall must be partially their own fault through personal choice rather than by an evil act, while also appearing to be not entirely deserved of their unfortunate fate. Achilles is a true Tragic Hero because he withholds all of these traits. Achilles proves to be a good man that puts his loved ones first, reveals his tragic flaws of pride and anger, shows dynamic qualities as a character when his flaws are challenged, and has a moment of clarity at the end of his rage. Achilles truly exemplifies the qualities of a Tragic Hero.
In his classic work "Poetics" Aristotle provided a model of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is more admirable than the average person. This results in the tragic hero being admired by the audience. For the audience to accept a tragic ending as just, it is crucial that the tragic hero be responsible for their undoing. At the same time though, they must remain admired and respected. This is achieved by the tragic hero having a fatal flaw that leads to their undoing. One of literature's examples of the tragic hero is Achilles from Homer's The Iliad. However, Achilles is different from the classic tragic hero in one major way - his story does not end tragically. Unlike the usual tragic hero, Achilles is able to change, reverse his downfall, and actually prove himself as a true hero.
According to Aristotle's theory of tragedy and his definition of the central character, Oedipus the hero of Sophocles is considered a classical model of the tragic hero. The tragic hero of a tragedy is essential element to arouse pity and fear of the audience to achieve the emotional purgation or catharathis. Therefore, this character must have some features or characteristics this state of purgation. In fact, Oedipus as a character has all the features of the tragic hero as demanded by Aristotle.
The first reason Achilles is an epic hero is because he embodied the characteristics of the ideal Greek citizen at the time Homer wrote; he is in a position of power and regards honor highly. “O my mother! I was born to die young, it is true, but honour I was to have from Zeus, Olympian, thunderer on high! And now he has not given me one little bit! Yes, my lord king Agamemnon has insulted me! He has taken my prize and keeps it, he has robbed me myself” (page 17), Achilles cried to his mother. Agamemnon stole Achilles’ prize, Briseis, so Achilles is begging his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, to help him regain his honor. In Greece, honor was crucial and by taking Achilles’ prize, Agamemnon has stripped him not only of his hard-won prize but of his honor as well. Such a double loss would have been catastrophic for a Greek citizen. Classicist Ian Johnston highlights the significance of his loss, suggesting that “the greatest harm that can occur to a particular warrior is shame, the community’s public recognition that he has let the group down or failed to live up to its shared rules.”Being shamed, in this case, by Agamemnon, would cause the Achaeans to lose respect for Achilles, and as one of their leaders, this would be a tragedy for him. Achilles’ desire to regain his honor sho...
In the stories The Iliad and Oedipus Rex, Oedipus and Achilles exemplified the portrayal of how a personal characters' fate may lay in their own hands. The egotistical mindset Oedipus held triggered one of the most tragic turns in his future, resembling Achilles. As for his excess pride, it resulted in the loss of his good friend Patroclus.
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
Greek Drama had three main categories The Comedy, Satyr Plays, and The Tragedy. The most popular of the three is The Tragedy, its themes are often such as loss of love, complex relationships between men and the gods, and corruption of power. These dramas taught the people of the city the difference between good and bad behavior and the ramifications of going against the gods. According to Aristotle, the perfect tragedy consisted of the downfall of the hero through a great misunderstanding, causing suffering and awareness for the protagonist meanwhile making the audience feel pity and fear. The prominent writer who Aristotle based his perfect tragedy theory was Sophocles, his drama Oedipus the King had all the elements of a perfect tragedy.