Heroes surround us in today's world, as did they in ancient times. Heroic stories like Achilles, a superhuman hero, from ancient Greek culture, are well known. As are stories of Katherine Johnson, an influential scientist, and activist, in today's culture. Achilles and Katherine possess many characteristics of epic heroes. Thesis Achilles is a well-known hero, with a well-known eponym made from his name. Achilles was an important leader in the Greek army during the Trojan war. He was the best warrior in the entire army since his mother is Thetis, a goddess. He was also able to kill Hector, the best Trojan warrior, which shows his skills as a warrior. One more support. Achilles deeds reflect values admired by Greek society. Greeks admire hospitality, Katherine is a well-known scientist with a recent best selling box office movie made off of her story. Katherine leads the way for women and civil rights by encouraging women and minorities to pursue and attain their career goal. President Barack Obama awarded her the honor of the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on November 16th, 2016. Katherine is outstanding in math and science and is full of determination. At the age of ten, Katherine was intelligent enough to attend high school. Katherine graduated high school at the age of fourteen and went on to graduate college at the age of eighteen. After graduation, she got a job for The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, and she calculated the correct launch window for Americans first human space flight. She also verified the calculations for John Glenn's, first American to orbit the Earth, historic first orbit of the earth. She also calculated the trajectory of Apollo 11s first flight to the moon. Katherine had to go on a long journey to be able to achieve all of her accomplishments. Katherine's father, Josh Johnson, saw potential in his daughter so he packed up the family and drove 120 miles to West Virginia so Katherine could continue her education into high school. Katherine proved to her father the move was worth it when she graduated high school at the age of fourteen and went on to be one of America's most influential space scientists. All these accomplishments of Katherines are why she is an epic
Greek mythology is a beloved part of literature that has given humans thousands of stories to tell. From stories about deadly quests, powerful deities, to the even more famed aspect of Greek Mythology, its epic heroes. One of the many authors who took inspiration from Greek Mythology, and will serve as reference for this paper, is Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. 1988. The most well known epic heroes from Greek Mythology which Edith Hamilton writes about in her book are Hercules, Jason, Perseus, and Theseus, but the debate lies in which of these heroes is the best. To which the answer is, Theseus is the better epic hero because he possessed superior strength, intelligence, and courage, he was the most just from all other heroes,
Using the above definition of hero and heroism, this essay attempts to assess three famous heroic characters portrayed in arguably the three greatest literary epics known to humankind, Achilles of Ancient Greece, Sundiata Keita of Ancient Mali and Rama of Ayodhya in what is today Modern India. With references to Stanley Lombardo’s translation of Homer’s Iliad, D.T. Niane’s Sundiata and R.K. Narayan’s translation of Valmiki’s Ramayana, this essay seeks to compare and contrast the attributes of these heroes, the morals associated with their heroism and their reasons for engaging in battle.
A hero in literature, as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is the main character of a literary work that is celebrated through ancient legends of a society. Most heroes, especially of ancient lore, have extreme and unlimited strength, skill in battle, and courage, while partaking in war or dangerous adventures regularly. They are always studied in literature, which makes them timeless, because they can help us learn different messages about our actions even in today’s world. In comparison it is concluded that even though Achilles and Sir Gawain were created at different time periods they still have similarities and both show us today how society was in the past. These heroes represent more than just a work of literature, but the value systems of entire societies, which is invaluable knowledge for
The concept of heroism has been explored by every author in every generation of writing. The earliest heroes were “self” described heroes that existed within Greek mythology and gained the actual title “Hero” by completing feats that, while they were humanly possible, were only accomplishable by those at peak human form, both physically and mentally. For as long as heroism has been used in literature, and spoken word, they have all had the common theme of humanity. The most prominent heroes were all human, some were “underdog” heroes starting at a disadvantage, some were a manifestation, or reflection, of the average person of the time, and yet others were supposed to represent the peak of humanity. The hero embodies the ideals of the society but is often helpless at the hands of fate.
I. Colin Powell said, “A dream does not become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work”. This quote is the perfect one to describe Katherine Johnson because when she first got into NACA, they would not let women in the meetings they had to discuss the process of their projects or of their future projects. With her determination, Katherine was let into the meetings and thanks to that, she was able to do what she did. Because of all her hard work, Katherine Johnson has been recognized for doing the calculation that sent the first American to space, and overcoming the barriers of being an African American woman. (THESIS).
As defined by Merriam Webster dictionary a hero is “ a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). That means by proper definition none of the Greek heroes qualify. Nevertheless, Greek mythology has a different definition of what a hero is and it is defined by distinctive characteristics. According to Momi Awana, Greek heroes are valued by the embracement of their mortality, superhuman abilities, un-heroic behaviors, and impermanent death (Awana, n.d.). Although some may argue because of how we today define a hero, based off of the Greek values Achilles was a courageous, loyal, and epic Greek hero who fought and led the Trojan War. He encompasses all the qualities valued by the Greeks of this time and therefore makes him the hero that he was and still is today.
Do you have a hero that you look up to? The way dictionary.com defines a hero as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding behavior, and noble qualities”. A hero is not a person that is a menace to the people or person he or she is a hero to, and does not sit around being lazy, doing nothing with his or her life. There are three characteristics that I would use to analyze and define a hero; leadership, passion, and sage.
In the introduction of the Essential Illiad given by Sheila Murnaghan, Achilles is labeled as “the greatest of the Greek heroes”. In classic mythology a hero is a person of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits and is often the offspring of a mortal and a god. Achilles was the greatest fighter among the Greeks or Trojans and feared no man in battle. He was also the offspring of a mortal and a god so by classic mythology definition, Achilles was indeed a hero. A hero is defined by the present day Websters Dictionary as: “one who inspires through manners and actions; an individual who leads through personal example and accomplishments requiring bravery, skill, determination, and other admirable qualities.” Achilles, in no manner, fits this definition. By contemporary standards, he is instead a pathetic villain. Aside from being a kidnapper, rapist and murderer, Achilles proves to be emotionally weak, selfish, and malicious. Many times throughout the Illiad, Achilles is also referred to as “godlike”. The gods of Greek mythology were subject to the same emotions and character flaws as humans, and though privileged to some foresight, the gods had similar mental capacities as humans. What really set the gods apart were their powers (controlling the elements, changing their appearance, etc.), great strength, and immortality. Because of his great strength and apparent invincibility, it is easy to see why Achilles would...
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)
...teristics and literary devices. The general archetypical description of a hero follows an outline of a muscular figure and super abilities. Yet on the contrary, in myths, heroes may not possess any of those traits. Whether the so-called hero is learning their lesson, overcoming struggle or even descending into darkness, all heroes share some similar and almost identical characteristics. A vast majority of all mythological heroes share the same basic idea which, helps audiences identify whether or not the character is indeed a hero or not. From story to myth or fairytale to drama, the hero is one character who changes the plot entirely. Whether that hero may be saving a burning building, or discovering who they are themselves, our heroes all give us hopes and dreams that one day even our worth will be recognized by ourselves and others as our admirable hero’s are.
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
Katherine began working in aeronautics as a “computer” in 1952, and after the formation of NASA, she began performing calculations that sent astronauts into orbit and to the moon in the 1960s. She was later put in charge with determining how to get a human into space and back. Katherine later learned that calculating space flight came down to the basics of geometry
Homer makes it clear that Achilles is a man mainly driven by his hunger for glory. Achilles has all the traits of a superhuman from his strength to his incredible ability to fight on the battlefield. Even with these great abilities, it is hard for many readers to perceive him as a hero because of the way he acts. Homer takes this brief time period out of this whole ten-year war just to demonstrate how Achilles cannot control himself when he goes into a rage. In todays world Achilles would not last long as a soldier in any army because he would be court marshaled for insubordination. Achilles ye...
We’ve all had are moments when we wanted to be a hero, to wear a cape, and help others who felt they needed a helping hand. Being a hero can be so much more than saving someone from a life or death situation. In the ancient Greece modern time, a hero was a woman who was well-known and would obtain a status after a death of a lover. To the Greeks, the urgency of heroes was a mythical thing because it molded the future “heroes” (Kreyche p. 82). This dates to today’s heroes. Every mythical and non-mythical story has its heroes, especially the ones kids have created in books and movies. The definition of heroes has progressively changed throughout the years. Today, our heroes consist of a person having “great courage, especially for a noble purpose” (“heroism”). Throughout the years, heroism has been created to show one’s grateful purpose, their effects of being a hero, and what it took to keep the status of a “hero”.