10/28/19 Raphael Morgenshtern Period 8

10/28/2019

Raphael Morgenshtern, Period 8 #21

Modern Mythology 2020

The heroic characteristics of Jason in Greek Mythology

To kick the class off today, we started discussing examples of how Jason was able to rise to the occasion with no one else’s help as a hero. What we soon realized is that very few people in the class would actually call Jason a hero at all. Leaving his wife and only succeeding in his quests with the help of others didn’t reflect as heroic qualities to the class. We then were presented with the characteristics of Greek heroes and found that Jason bears a lot of these qualities. Qualities such as being high born, noble but with a fatal flaw, and the most surprising was the requirement to be a man. 

This was a great spin into how these strange characteristics were in fact just the way that the Greeks specifically viewed heroes and how throughout time different societies saw heroes differently. In Medieval times a hero was considered one of honor through patriotism and the physical defense of his king and country. Later the romantic hero became popular, a hero that is at odds with society and does not conform to authority. The final major type we learned of is the new perception, anti-heroes and vigilantes. These heroes do acts that are completely morally justified to the follower of the story despite not being justified in the heroes universe.

The most captivating thing I learned today was why certain societies preferred certain heroes. Although we didn’t have the time to fully go over this in class, I was still able to build my own perspective on this idea. I believe that all admired heroes are only like because they are a representation of the audience’s noble desire for purpose and meaning. For the Greeks, a hero was a man born into power, with the physical capability to take down monsters. A man that would find purpose through being assigned a seemingly impossible task from a higher power and going through trifle to accomplish it for their own honor. In the modern world, however, no one wants to take orders or be assigned missions, we are sick of structure and envy those who can make their own rules and pursue their own goals. The heroes we make reflect this, heroes that change the world by not trusting the standing system, heroes that give their lives for others and never for themselves, and heroes that find their own righteous mission and purpose no matter the place they were born into.