Some of the material in the article is taken from my former site About Facts. Greek and Roman Heroes Some of these heroes were real and some mythical.
The ancient Greeks had a very rich hero tradition. Homer wrote some of the most famous stories in the world that still endure to this day and are regarded as some of the best literature ever written. They are the Iliad and the Odyssey. He also wrote about the siege of Troy and the wanderings of Ulysses. The Greek capacity for story telling was second to none. The famous Greek tragedies are still being played out today. There were playwrights like Aeschylus who wrote the first tragedies in 498 BC, Euripides who was born in 480 BC, Sophocles, perhaps the most famous playwright of the ancient Greeks, who was born in 497 BC and wrote at least 123 plays, yet only seven can be found. Last is Aristophanes born somewhere around 440 BC. He was famous for writing the Greek comedies. Since Sophocles was so famous, I think it might be important to know what plays of his survived. The plays that survived from Sophocles are: 1. Electra Ancient Greek mythology contains many interesting stories of heroes that accomplished the seemingly impossible. There were many different types of heroes. Hercules was the strongest hero; Jason was the most adventurous hero and Odysseus the most cunning. Let’s take a quick look into the stories and legends of ancient Greece. Hercules was the strongest man on Earth. Well, half man anyway. His father was the god Zeus. In a fit of madness caused by the goddess Hera he killed his wife and children. Apollo told him he had to serve under the king of Mycenae and Tiryns for 12 years as punishment for what he had done. But this wasn't the entire punishment. The rest of it consisted of performing 12 labors. He had performed 10 labors, the original amount required but two were not counted by Eurystheus, the king, as labors. Those were killing the hydra and cleaning the stables, so 2 more were assigned. Here are the labors Hercules had to perform: 1. Obtaining the skin of a lion that was terrorizing the country side. Hercules accomplished all of the tasks. Jason was the son of the king of Lolcus. He had been sent off in secret by his mother who made believe that he was dead to protect him from his uncle who had stolen the throne and imprisoned his father. He was raised by a Centaur. He had a kind heart and when he decided to return to Lolcus to take back the throne he carried an old woman across the river and she turned out to be Hera testing him. He was tricked by his uncle in going on a quest for the Golden Fleece. He left on a ship named the Argo and the crew was made up of his friends and called the Argonauts. On the trip he had many trials. He was attacked by the Harpies, sailed between the clashing rocks, challenged by King Aeetes who disliked strangers, bulls that breathed fire, curse of the dragons teeth and the dragon that guarded the fleece. Odysseus was responsible for building the famous Trojan Horse. The Greeks had been trying to capture Troy for ten years and Odysseus suggested that they build a giant wooden horse and hide soldiers inside it. The rest of the Greeks were to hide leaving the horse. They figured the Trojans would think the Greeks left and to celebrate, pull the horse into the city. They did and after the Trojans were done celebrating the Greeks sneaked out of the horse and opened the city gates and Troy fell. Ulysses is usually not listed when one mentions ancient Greek heroes. The reason for this is that he is believed to be complete fiction, at least that is the impression that I get. But if I was right than why is Hercules listed and why do I say some were heroes and some mythology? It is all very confusing isn't it? The funny thing is that so much in Homer's tales has turned out to be true. It may turn out some day that there really was a Hercules, not half god of course, and even a Ulysses. Troy was found and before that, it was believed to just have been fiction. This has given hope to many Atlantis believers. Not to be outdone, the ancient Romans had their heroes. Aeneas was not a Roman but a Trojan prince. Both the Greeks and Romans felt he embodied the virtues that were important to both cultures. But when it comes to true Roman heroes, it has to be recognized even though Romans were responsible for the death of Julius Caesar, most of the Roman people, and probably even some of his enemies considered him a hero. One had only to study his battles and how he was victorious even when greatly outnumbered. While the Romans hated Spartacus, he was a hero to the millions of enslaved people in Rome. He proved the Roman army could be defeated by doing just this in the many battles he fought until on the cusp of getting out of Rome with his slave army, he turned around and decided to try and conquer Rome itself, which led to his downfall. Another great Roman hero was Scipio. The Romans were being beat by Hannibal the general they most feared. Scipio took on Hannibal and fought him for over 14 years and saved the country. Every country has its heroes and they give the people something to aspire to during times of trouble. We have George Washington who saved our country. Sometimes the most unexpected become the heroes history remembers.
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