The Face of Heroism

Ancient Greece had two heroes—Odysseus and Achilles. Greek culture had a preference, and so does ours.

Odysseus (to the left) recognizes Achilles amongst Lycomedes’ daughters. He had hidden a helmet and a sword among his gifts to the girls. Achilles could not resist the lure of the weapons, and revealed his identity (Gauffier. Romae. 1791). [Image: Public domain]

War is a fundamental part of human history. We contain multitudes, and one of them is violence. Violence is anthropological. Force is the true hero at the center of Homer’s Iliad. And Achilles its ultimate symbol—the epic poem’s hero is brute strength and glory on the battlefield.

Humans have other cognitive faculties—logical-mathematical, but also intuitive and sentimental intelligence. Wit is the hero at the center of Homer’s Odyssey. And Odysseus its foremost champion—the adventurer who uses cunning strategies to overcome challenges.

“Poets are not to blame for how things are; Zeus is; he gives to each as his will.”¹

The ancient Greeks put parts of their nature in gods so they could talk to them and understand the self. That’s how they could understand human propulsions and persuasions. Which is reason enough to read the classics.

We’d be wise to read more literature in general. It would help us discern what makes humans tick. We have the word, and education can help us contain violence, with its origin in the sacred. (You can read the series on War in Literature for an exploration into the tragedy of war and the horror that dwells in human hearts.)

Back to our heroes. Achilles and Odysseus fought side-to-side, so there’s none of that ‘taking sides’ here. What I’d like to put forward is a more nuanced concept of heroism.

I’ll use the attributes of each of the two heroes as depicted in ancient Greek literature to illustrate some differences. They both have human qualities that resonate—or we would not have the two epic poems to read to this day.²

Let’s start with the most obvious.

Force // Wit

The two aren’t mutually exclusive. However, Achilles embodies force, while Odysseus represents wit. The one is the ‘here and now’ of the decade-long Trojan war, the other is the strategist who ends the misery and begins a decade-long trip.

Achilles is the greatest weapon the Greeks think they have in the war. In fact, when he withdraws after the dispute with Agamennon there’s a bit of panic going around in the Greek camp.

So everyone’s relieved when he joins again—you know how it feels when your best chance to victory is on the team. To avenge Patroclus, Achilles chases and then kills Hector, the Trojan’s hero.