Throughout the history of the world, people have continued to love and admire those that they believed were worthy enough to look up to; the concept of a hero has existed anciently and continues to be popular in today’s world. Those of the ancient world definitely define heroes in a different way than those of today; as time went on, one can say that the defining characteristics of a hero definitely has changed and evolved into something new. It is easy to decipher and understand a society by their concepts of heroes, for one can see the things that are valued the most from that specific society. Although the heroes of the ancient world have been seen to have some differences from those of the modern world, including their individual superpowers, the ancient and modern heroes were all loyal and physically attractive.

The Romans were loyal to their gods; they believed that following the will of their gods needed to be a major part of their lives. They felt that the gods’ will was more powerful than their own, and they chose to be faithful to them. The Romans are a loyal people, and have been seen to choose their gods over anything. Aeneas, a hero seen in ancient Roman history, is described as “pious Aeneas” throughout most of The Aeneid written by Virgil. Aeneas is a man of great worth, for he was the man who was described as the Trojan founder of Rome (Virgil 1). He was a man that listened to the gods in everything that he did. When the Trojans were being attacked by the Greeks in Troy, Aeneas was about to kill Helen, but then his mother, Venus, who is a god, comes and tells him that “it is not the detestable beauty of Tyndarean Helen or sinful Paris that is to blame…it is the gods” (Virgil 44). After this encounter, Aeneas chooses not to kill Helen, since he was told not to by the gods. It can be seen that the gods mend the fate of the mortals, and that being obedient to them is a highly valued trait of the successful heroes.

Just like the Romans, the heroes of the modern world are loyal, but not to “gods”, rather to their hearts. The heroes of today can be seen following what they believe to be right; they are loyal to the greater good, and will choose to fight and protect them. If a higher “being” or superior tells those heroes today something that goes against what they believe, they will most likely not obey their counsel. In The Incredibles, it can be seen that Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are heroes admired by the people; however, eventually “supers” become banned/illegal by the government and are not allowed to perform and use their powers. In the story, Mr. Incredible decides to break the law and the “relive the glory days” and perform “public services” because he believes that it is right for them to use their powers to help those in need. Within this society, it can be seen that being loyal to one’s self is an important value and factor in society because it is what the individual believes to be right. The Incredibles believed that fighting for the greater good, even though it was illegal, was right.

Along with being loyal, the ancient heroes and the modern heroes were those that were physically attractive. In today’s media, the people that the general public would usually look up to are those that are relatively appealing with good features. In The Avengers, Captain America is an icon loved by many in the movie, not only for his loyalty to the United States of America, but also because of his aesthetic, appeal, and attractiveness. His general outward appearance showed the public that he was capable of saving those who were in need. Iron Man from The Avengers also was a man who was known to be attractive; it was seen that a lot of females loved him, not only for his money, but for his good looks.

Similar to the heroes today, those from Rome were also known to be portrayed and seen as physically attractive. Augustus, also known as Augustus Caesar or Octavian, was the first emperor for the Roman Empire; he was seen as a hero in most people’s eyes because of his charisma and success (Grant). The artists of the Roman age manifested the concept of “idealism” through their works and created a piece called “Augustus of the Prima Porta.” In this piece of work, the artists portrayed their hero as an attractive young male with physically nice features; however, they may have portrayed him this way, but during this time, Augustus was around 70 years old, short, with bad teeth and spots all over his body. In The Aeneid, Aeneas was portrayed as an attractive man that was looked up to as a hero. Dido, talks about Aeneas positively and says, “his looks, the way he carries himself, his brave heart” (Virgil 52). Here it is seen that Dido is attracted to Aeneas and believes him to be a good man. The Romans believed that it was important to portray their heroes as physically attractive; this type of portrayal gave them more power.

Even though loyalty and attractiveness in heroes are important aspects that both the ancient and modern world have in common, one of the biggest differences that the two types of heroes have are their superpowers. It has been seen that the heroes of today have different powers that they can acquire or that they are born with. In The Avengers, Captain America started off as a small and skinny soldier that really could not do as much. Eventually, through an experiment and transformation, he became muscular and gained so much strength. On the other hand, the Incredibles family in The Incredibles, were all born with their superpowers of strength, elasticity, super-speed, and invisibility.

The heroes portrayed in the ancient world did not have superpowers compared to the Incredibles or Captain America. Instead, the heroes, like Aeneas, relied on their physical strength. The heroes in the ancient world were not blessed with powers or any special abilities such as invisibility or super-speed, but they were blessed with the powers from the gods. During multiple times, along with the mortals’ natural physical strength, the gods have been seen to help the mortals from above in order to bring to pass what they believed to be the outcome/destiny. Towards the end of The Aeneid, Aeneas is fighting Turnus, and Jupiter sends him help from above in order to weaken Turnus and defeat him in battle (Virgil 193). Aeneas was able to fight and defeat Turnus with his physical mortal strength, along with help from the gods.

The characteristics that the ancient and modern heroes portray show how different the two types are, and what the concept of a “hero” has evolved into. It has been seen that the ancient Roman heroes have different sources of motivation and values compared to the modern heroes; however, this source of motivation falls under the same umbrella manifesting a true characteristic of a hero that both parties portray: loyalty. Both parties have also been seen to have a good way of presenting themselves, by making themselves physically attractive and aesthetically appealing. The ancient and modern heroes are different in the things they can do/perform, essentially making them very distinct from each other; however, in both of these cultures, the hero has and will continue to be somebody the people can look up to.  

 

 

Works Cited

Grant, Michael. “Augustus.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 12 Oct. 2018, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustus-Roman-emperor.

Virgil, and Stanley Lombardo. The Essential Aeneid. Hackett Pub. Co., 2006.

Suicide has been a phenomenon ever since the world began; authors, artists, philosophers, and many other people throughout the history of time have tried to delve into the cracks concerning suicide and the reasons behind it. Ancient authors, like Homer and Sophocles, have explored the tragic idea of suicide in some of their famous works. Those familiar with these two authors have been able to compare the phenomenon between now and in the ancient world, not only to find differences, but similarities concerning the reasons as to why some people make the decision to take their own lives, revealing certain truths about the two different time eras and their societies.

The topic of suicide was not unfamiliar in the ancient world; multiple people have accounted for many instances where others have killed themselves. Although suicide itself is a common phenomenon compared to today’s age, there were some differences concerning the topic. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus goes to the Underworld and encounters Ajax; Odysseus and Ajax had fought for Achille’s armor, but Odysseus had beaten him, leaving Ajax without the armor that he so longed. It was described that Ajax was depressed that he did not win the armor because it was his way of winning honor, and since the Greeks valued Odysseus more than himself; he planned to kill Agamemnon Menelaus out of anger, but instead killed a Greek livestock and a herdsman due to Athena clouding his mind from what was real or not (ancientworldmagazine.com). According to Josho Brouwers, after all this happened, he felt that there was no reason to live. This type of suicide is somewhat different to how those today commit suicide due to different values; in the ancient world, since honor and pride was something worth so much to the people, if one were to lose that or simply not have it, one would not feel worthy enough to live.

Just like those individuals in the ancient world, people today have lost the will to live; however, the situations and circumstances on how people have lost the will to live are somewhat different to the ancient world. Pride and honor is not of major significance in the twentieth century; however, things such as being accepted, being loved, being happy, etc., are things that are valued in today’s day and age. Todd B. Kashdan has stated that some of the strongest risk factors that can lead to suicide include, feeling hopeless, depression, history of abuse, psychiatric hospitalization, low socioeconomic status and greatly stressful events. It has been seen in multiple cases that people who have committed suicide have had a history of dealing with mental trauma, such as different types of stresses (Harley).

In the ancient world, those that committed suicide will deal with one bad situation and then decide to kill themselves. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, when Jocasta realizes the truth about Oedipus, and that he was actually her son that she married who killed her husband, she decided to hang herself (Sophocles 55). Jocasta’s decision to kill herself was a very drastic and quick decision (Sophocles 49). Today, suicides are usually tediously thought through, and contain events that lead up to the actual suicidal act. In an article called “Exam stress among causes of teen suicide,” written by Nicola Harley, it states that “there are often family problems such as drug misuse or domestic violence and more recent stresses such as bullying or bereavement, leading to a ‘final straw’ factor.” There are a lot of reasons as to why people commit suicide now, but as the article says, it usually ends up being the “final straw factor” for many.

Despite all the differences between the two eras concerning suicide, there are some aspects that make the phenomenon similar during both times. It has been seen that the events leading to suicide in the ancient world are different from the events that lead to suicide in today’s age; however, the emotions felt during these times can definitely compare between the two. The feelings of despair, hopelessness, depression, etc., are feelings that people have experienced all throughout time, that essentially could have led to their ultimate “final straw.” Ajax, in Homer’s The Odyssey, was depressed and lost his will to live before he killed himself, and a teenager by the name of Nicholas Swint from Herriman, Utah, was also depressed before he committed suicide (Jacobson). It was described that Nicholas was seen sad by his peers at school, and that his depression eventually led to his own death (Jacobson). Suicides are different in their own way, depending on who’s involved and their situation; however, the majority of individuals are not going to decide to commit suicide who are not depressed or upset about something going on in their lives. Another similar aspect of the suicides that have happened throughout history have been how the actual suicidal act is executed; the biggest commonality has been the act of hanging yourselves. Those in the ancient world have hung themselves, and there are those today that use this specific act as their way of committing suicide.

A research on suicide has said that in the United States the average rate for teen suicide has increased by 23.5 percent throughout the years of 2011 to 2015, and in the state of Utah alone, there was a 136 percent raise (Mundell). An explanation for this immense increase in the state of Utah can possibly deal with the idea of not being able to live up to certain expectations; Utah is a predominantly Latter-day Saint location, where the majority of the people try to live their lives at a certain standard. According to Luke Ramseth, not being able to live up to those standards/expectations of the societal norm, can be detrimental to some people, and essentially, even fatal. Being “different” or not feeling “adequate” can cause mental stress upon certain individuals, making them feel somewhat helpless and can lead to other forms of harm from other people such as bullying (Ramseth). For the individuals that have committed suicide for these reasons, it just shows how much pressure certain societies can put on those people that live within them; it shows that some people may feel that they cannot be different from the majority, but instead that they must conform. This is somewhat similar to the ancient world because their societies did have norms that were meant to be kept by the people; however, suicide now usually is not a drastic and/or quick decision made by those contemplating it. Those in the ancient world have been seen to commit suicide rather quickly after specific events in their lives that they wanted to get away from, such as not receiving your honor like Ajax, or finding out a truth like Jocasta; their decisions to commit suicide can be seen as impulsive.

As seen throughout the history of the world, suicide is a real thing. Despite the differences and similarities between the ancient world and today, it truly is a tragic phenomenon. People are, and will continue to study the idea of suicide, with all the events leading up to it, the causes, etc., in order to have a better understanding of what might be the roots behind these tragedies. The events described by Homer and Sophocles concerning suicide gives people a better understanding of how it has evolved, transformed, changed and/or remained the same over the centuries, helping others understand how certain people have lived certain lives in different societies.

 

 

Works Cited

Brouwers, Josho. “The Suicide of Ajax.” Ancient World Magazine, 16 Apr. 2018, http://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/suicide-ajax/.

Harley, Nicola. “Exam Stress among Causes of Teen Suicide.” The Telegraph, 26 May 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/26/exam-stress-among-causes-of-teen-suicide/.

Jacobson, Jen. “Seventh Teen Suicide Prompts Community Involvement in Herriman.” Good4Utah, 7 May 2018, http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/seventh-teen-suicide-prompts-community-involvement-in-herriman/1165932094.

Kashdan, Todd B. “Why Do People Kill Themselves? New Warning Signs.” Psychology Today, 15 May 2014, http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/curious/201405/why-do-people-kill-themselves-new-warning-signs.

Mundell, E.J. “CDC Probes Troubling Rise in Suicide Among Utah Teens.” U.S. News, 22 Mar. 2018, health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2018-03-22/cdc-probes-troubling-rise-in-suicide-among-utah-teens.

Ramseth, Luke. “Why Does Utah Have a High Suicide Rate? A Researcher Is Starting a Years-Long Search for Answers.” The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Apr. 2018, http://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2018/04/07/utah-needs-a-better-strategy-to-prevent-suicide-a-researcher-is-about-to-spend-years-talking-with-grieving-families-to-design-it/.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Unabridged With Glossary and Notes ed., Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic, 2007.

 

 

Open Ear
I’m the type of person that likes to listen; I love to listen to people and what they have to say. Growing up, I knew how it felt to have someone to talk to, so I knew that it was important to be that person that a friend could always talk to. I love to listen and help those that might be dealing with things, because I believe that essentially, we all deal with something! I’ve learned that being a listener can make a difference in someone’s life.

Active Athlete
I love to stay active; I grew up playing sports and have loved to participate in anything outdoors. I grew up playing soccer, but I swam and threw javelin for track and field in high school. I am a frequent goer to the gym, because I believe in a healthy and active lifestyle. Since I love all things outdoors, I really do love going on hikes and runs.

Relationship Emphasizer
If anyone knows me, I value our friendship. I am a strong believer in creating relationships with everyone. I am a social person and have always valued relationships my entire life: from strangers, to acquaintances, to close friends, to best friends, to family members. I find value in the simplest relationships. I believe we meet people on this Earth for specific reasons and the Lord wants us to bless other people’s lives, even if it’s just for a short amount of time.

Music Junky
I love listening to music and appreciate all kinds of music. Music is one of the things that helps me get through the day. I will listen to anything, just depending on my mood. Music is a huge factor in my life because it can really influence my mood. As much as I love to listen to music, I also love to create it. I like to sing when I can, and I like to play the guitar.