The Greek heroic code and modern times

The Hollywood film 'Troy' (2004) was a pretty good depiction of Homer's Iliad: the costumes, the buildings, the roles in society and the action. That's probably what life looked like in the Aegean world of 1200BC.

The wooden horse is dragged inside the gates of Troy.
I also liked how the film brought out the heroic code. There was no great hope of a pleasant afterlife, so the best one could do was win glory in this life and achieve a sort of immortality in that way eg by excellence in fighting. In the film (and Homer's poem), Achilles lives out this principle most of all. As a loner on the edge of the Greek army, not submitting to King Agamemnon's authority, he is almost solely concerned with his own glory. Brad Pitt was fairly convincing as Achilles, though the original character is more brooding, distant and fierce. (Hector, the Trojan prince, is perhaps more of a good person in the modern (and Christian) sense in that he fights to defend his city (Troy) and ultimately his family, though also admittedly his own 'honour'.)


Brad Pitt as Achilles, the 'hero' of the Iliad: an awesome warrior, subservient to none




Hector in 'Troy' (2004) - the 'good' guy

The heroic code was transferred a few hundred years later to athletes in the ancient Olympics (founded 776BC by tradition) and other games, and the spirit of vying for glory lives on in modern athletics (cf the current European championships) and we find it too in the arts, not to mention among footballers and pop stars. In a sense the ancient Greeks invented the modern celebrity....

a laurel wreath, the prize for winning an event in ancient Greek games


ancient Greek runner

The problem with the heroic code, in ancient Greek and other cultures, is that it was egotistical and costly to others eg in war, through death, loss and injury. The same principle occurred in ancient Rome, where self-promoting generals went out conquering other peoples, to win glory and lots of booty for themselves.

The Roman triumph: a general enjoys his hour of glory as he parades through the streets of Rome.
(Yes, his face was painted red: to imitate the god Mars.)

The US rabbi Shmuley Boteach has an interesting book 'The Private Adam' in which he argues it is better to be a hero by serving others and making sacrifices: what he calls 'The Private Adam', drawing on Jewish teaching and the Hebrew Bible. This, not very surprisingly, lines up with Christian teaching on how to be outstanding: 'He who wishes to be great must be the servant of all'.

the book 'Private Adam'

Jesus washing his disciples' feet: the Christian pitch on being great

I suppose in our culture (UK, 21st century) we admire a mixture of the ancient Greek and the Jewish/Christian heroic: we like people who are strong and excel, but who also give to others.

However, the heroic code has been tamed: we don't admire or tolerate causing pain or loss. To be sure, when someone wins in business, sport or the arts, there have to be losers, but we don't want to see them ruined.

Perhaps this is why the celebrity who does lots for charity is one of the top heroes of today: they are glamorous and excel without hurting others, and then they help others.

Eddie Izzard's multi-marathon jog: an ultimate hero of our time ?

Perhaps it's inevitable we've ended up with a mix of striving for excellence and serving others as our ideal: you need to make efforts to have major admirable achievements, but we've learned it's better to help than to harm others.

What sort of hero would you be ?

Reading:

The Iliad by Homer

Private Adam: Becoming a Hero in a Selfish Age by Shmuley Boteach

Some handy ancient Greek words:

aristeuein = to excel

heros = hero

aidws = shame, honour

kleos = glory