What makes a Hero, Beginning with the Ancient Greeks

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Hero is generally used in two ways. One describes warriors that have more strength and courage than other warriors. The other is to set aside people who are better than others in their moral, physical, or intellectual qualities. No other word has come close in meaning to this word or has been based on this word.

In Greece, centuries ago, Ancient Greek Heroes were part of a special cult in which they were fastened to its religious beliefs and life. These heroes have been analyzed via a lot of different theories throughout the years. Many believe that these heroes were dreamed up characters of history. Others would argue that the were simply symbols of natures forces. Most authorities stand by the belief that these heroes were "depotentiated" or disgraced gods who were forced to be placed somewhere between god and men. Rohde, in Psych, states that the Ancient Greek Heroes are simply the souls of the dead, which are waiting to enter a more meaningful universe upon being separated from their human body. However, only important and impressive men of the past fit into the minority that was allowed to reach the rank of hero after death. Local cults maintained the belief in worship of these heroes, known as ancestor worship. They were able to preserve it into the pre-Homeric times. In truth, seldom is a god disgraced to the rank of a hero. If they were, they were not considered a real hero to be worshiped by a cult. In order to be worshiped by a cult, a person had to live the life of a man on the face of the earth. If they were to be worshiped, degraded gods would have go through this. In other words, to become a cult-hero, a god would have to go through the experience of death like other earth-born people. Basically, if being a man was not experienced, then being a god was not possible. Simply stated, a hero is the spirit of a dead man, not a degraded god. The exist in a class completely separate from the class between gods and men.

There are many different ways in describing a hero and nobody knows for sure what makes a hero, but what we do know is that heroes are what we all wish to become, outstanding moral figures that will be remembered throughout history. The hero is what inspires all of us, during the medieval time period heroes were embedded in a warriors armor and also the stained glass of a castle or sanctuary.