Criteria For Heroes Essays - Greek Mythology, Mythology, Literature

Criteria for Heroes The ancient Greeks had strict criteria for individuals to follow if they were to be seen as heroes. Above all, a man needed to be a skilled warrior, but this was not the only requirement. To be a hero, a warrior had to respect authority, both governmental and religious. The Greeks gave heroes no room for pride. These men were to be modest, not only giving credit to their culture and the gods for any great deeds they had done, but also accepting everything that happened as Fate, not scenarios they had created for themselves. In other words, they did not make themselves what they were; rather, they had been predestined to become it. The final requirement of being a hero was coolness. Heroes were not permitted to be blinded by rage or have mood swings. In The Iliad, two Greeks are presented to the reader as heroes. They are Achilles and Diomedes. Although they are both good contenders for the title of hero, Diomedes is by far the better of the two. Diomedes is one of the finest and brav est of the Greek warriors. He is respectful to all authority figures and has little or no pride. Always wise and reasonable, he may be the vision of the perfect nobleman. Both Achilles and Diomedes easily meet the first requirement, that a hero must have skill on the battlefield. Throughout The Iliad, Homer tells of their incredible (though usually god-aided) feats during the many battles of the Trojan War. Perhaps the greatest example of Achilles? fighting skill is when he fights with and kills Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors (260-261). However, this fight may have never happened if Athena had not disguised herself as one of Hector?s brothers and convinced him to fight (260). That was not enough though, as Athena then helped Achilles win the fight (260-261). This seems to be the case with all of Achilles? battles. A god, goddess, or gods help him in battle by strengthening and encouraging him and his men, or they rally a Trojan army into entering a futile final battle. Diomedes is also guilty of receiving help from the gods. After praying for Athena?s aid, Diomedes proceeds to not only slay Pandaros (who wounded him earlier) and many othe r Trojans, but also wound Aeneas in his hip and his mother Aphrodite in her hand (60-64). Later on in the same battle, Diomedes thrusts his spear through the belly of Ares, also done with the help of Athena (73). Another example of Diomedes skill comes when he and Odysseus spy on the Trojan camp. Diomedes goes ahead of Odysseus and strikes down so many Trojans that ?the ground was reddened with blood? (124). Even before this, Diomedes prayed again to Athena for help. It seems no Greek warrior could fight their own battles; instead, they requested help from the gods. This fact makes it difficult to discern the better fighter between Achilles and Diomedes, but the common choice would probably be Achilles because of his legendary status and he was the son of an immortal. Achilles fails miserably at respecting anyone in authority, whether governmental or religious. He not only disrespects King Agamemnon?s authority, but also the goddess Athena herself. This lack of respect begins when Achilles calls an assembly of the Greeks, something only Agamemnon was able to do (12). He then proceeds to insult the king, telling him he is greedy, shameless, a cheater, and a drunk (14-15). To top it off, Achilles contemplates drawing his sword to strike down Agamemnon, and is only stopped by Athena grabbing his hair (14-15). (Needless to say, killing the leader of your nation would be the ultimate act of disrespect to the government.) Although he does so badly with respect for government authority, Achilles has no problem respecting human religious authority, only because he has no encounters with priests, prophets, and etceteras. However, he does show some disrespect to Athena for stopping his murder of King Agamemnon. Instead of following the goddess? orders whole -heartedly, he does it quite reluctantly and talks back in the process (15). Diomedes is the opposite of Achilles in the area of respect and demonstrates a great

Akindele Owolabi Essays (1145 words) - Racism, Identity Politics

Akindele Owolabi Essays (1145 words) - Racism, Identity Politics Akindele Owolabi Nikongo Ba'Nikongo The African Experience in film November 28, 2015 Racism in the Americas and Africa Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Racism has been especially prevalent in Africa and in the Americas for the past few decades. In the Americas, Blacks have been discriminated against and attacked because of their color. Even though blacks are originally from Africa, the same discrimination and general mistreatment has been done there as well. Racism has affected the lives of blacks through violence, through acting as a unifying force, and through perpetuating poverty. Throughout history, blacks have been victims at the hands of violence for decades. "Cry Freedom" depicts that experience in Africa. The movie "Cry Freedom" is essentially about the fight against apartheid from the perspective of a journalist Donald Woods and it also shows the highlights of Steve Biko's life. Steve Biko was one of the many South Africans that were jailed, beaten, tortured, killed during the apartheid era. Also depicted in the film, when blacks went to riot in front of the police against the unfair laws of apartheid, they were attacked with pepper spray and if they continued to riot, were sometimes shot on site. Police spared no one; men, women, and children were all shot mercilessly. This these actions by the police were also displayed in the motion picture a "Dry White season". Gordon Ngubene, the son of an all white school teacher's gardener, was beaten then captured and tortured by the local police. In the Americas, violence was definitely an experience blacks had to deal with due to racism. The film Mississippi burning displayed violence during the Civil Right movement as three Civil Rights workers, who were organizing a voter registry clinic, went missing in Mississippi's Jessup County. While the FBI are still investigating the murders, the Ku Klux Klan, with help from the police, target the frightened African-Americans, brutally torturing them and setting their houses on fire. In the motion picture Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee, there was a brief part in the beginning of the film that showed Malcolm's life as a young child in Omaha, Nebraska. His family's home was set on fire and his father was killed by the Klu Klux Klan causing him and his siblings to become wards of the state. A last example of violence due to racism is in the fictional movie "Higher learning". Deja, the young collegiate track star for Columbus University, was killed by a fellow classmate/white supr emacist Remy in his attempts to terrorize the blacks on campus and to show his Aryan Brothers that he was a true white supremacist. These are just a few of many other examples that shows how racism towards Blacks causes violence and in some cases leads to death. Although racism has exacerbated violence and other negative things, it has created a sense of unity in black communities. A prime example of that is in the film Malcolm X. The black men of Malcolm's community came together and were unified through Islam. Although later on conflicts occurred within the nation of Islam, at the moment, it gave the blacks in his community a sense of hope and purpose and encouraged them throughout their conflicts with the whites. In South Africa their bravery and unity helped them in their peaceful protests and sometimes riots. The Africans came together in their community whenever they were about to go protest in front of the police. Although they knew some of them would be attacked and killed by the police, they were still unified because of the strong passion they had for the elimination of the apartheid era. On the campus of Columbus University in "higher learning", the black students also came together. They met to bring up matters that concerned them such as not feeling like their school is a safe environment and the discrimination from their campus police and some of their fellow classmates that were in the white Fraternities and Sororities. Racism can create a sense of unity force. Throughout history humans have always come together in hard times for encouragement and support of one another. In