Classical Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Classical Mythology - Essay Example He writes: "As a guiding principle I believe that every poem must be its own sole freshly created universe, and therefore have no belief in 'tradition' or a common myth-kitty... To me the whole of the ancient world, the whole of classical and biblical mythology, means very little, and I think that using them today not only fills poems full of dead spots but dodges the poet's duty to be original." (Larkin 1983:69) Larkin has a right to his view but from what we have witnessed, literature from Renaissance till today is in awe of Greek and Roman mythological characters. And when we discuss mythology, we simply cannot ignore the role played by Homer in reinforcing myths. And one of his key epics dealing with images of classical mythology was Iliad. In this paper, we shall focus on the role of heroism in ancient world with reference to Iliad and how a modern hero borrows from ancient definition of a hero. Homer's Iliad presents the oldest yet most enduring picture of hero and heroism. Who is a hero and what constitutes heroism are questions that Iliad answers but in a manner which may not appeal to modern sensibilities. For us today, hero is a man of who is sensitive, courageous and responsible with compassion for the community. However apart from courage, no other attribute mattered for construction of a heroic figure in Greek epics of ancient times. Homer follows tradition when he creates heroe s and develops a heroic code in his work Iliad but there are occasions where the poet tried to deviate from conventional picture of a hero and from these deviations emerge a new and more reformed image of heroism. A modern day hero borrows from ancient picture of a hero in terms of enduring courage. However a serious distinction must be made here. When we talk about modern hero in this paper, we are only referring to modern mythical heroes like superman and Spiderman and not necessarily heroes in ordinary literature. This distinction is made because while in the ancient plays, heroes were people with extraordinary courage and strength, in modern literature, a protagonist is called a hero and he can be as weak or flawed as any ordinary person. Fishwick explains this difference in these words: "Different ages and cultures vary the heroic personality, but all heroes are true to their age. Whatever their situation, the motives they urge are elementary, the morality they advocate is obvious. History is not very effective without people, and people are ineffective without leaders. The search for heroes is inherent in human nature. Pre-literate societies allow men, heroes, and gods to stand on a footing of tolerable equality. In remote areas of the world men are still deified in their own lifetime. The idea of aloofness in super-human power comes late in history." (Fishwicck, 1954: 3) Homer's ideal hero may have many shades but he is invariably a traditional image of ruthless ambition and unbridled courage at least for most of the epic: "Everywhere can be found, reshaped according to shifting cultural standards, the ideal hero, chevalier sans pear et sans reproached, the crafty hero, the boaster, the grim and aging warrior, the slightly buffoonish hero, the aged king, the warrior virgin, the wise counselor, or the young reckless fighter." (Cedric H. Whitman: p. 26) Homer's heroes most notably, Achilles and Agamemnon were products of a society that weighed a man's worth in terms of public honor.