Heroes have been around for centuries and are still prevalent in modern society.  There are several diverse heroic roles including our own personal heroes, fictional superheroes, political heroes, civil heroes, etc.  Society wants and needs these figures to display a moral code, lead with conviction, and teach or demonstrate other sought after attributes.

Romans used heroic narratives as historical records, which included supernatural events and these stories often included the importance and loyalty shown to Rome. A notorious example is found in Roman poet, Vergil’s, poem “The Aeneid.” This twelve chapter epic poem outlines the story of Aeneas fleeing from Troy and sailing towards Italy.  With help from the gods on his voyage, he lands in Italy and through war he won the right to stay and thus begin his reign. Aeneas is described to be the son of goddess Aphrodite and Anchises and brings this divine leadership to the Rome. He lives his life by divine command or commonly known as pietas meaning he did the will of the gods and was very dedicated to obedience for what was seen to be right. He embodied the role of a heroic warrior always doing what was best for the majority of the people and for Italy.  As Frozone says in one of my favorite animated movies, The Incredibles, we are talking about the “greater good” 

Romulus and Remus are more examples of heroes in Roman mythology, and is the story of the founding of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus. They are twin brothers descended from Greek and Latin nobility and were spared by the god Tiberinus. They sought the gods wisdom and direction often throughout their lives and especially when deciding where to build Rome. Romulus displayed that strength and decision-making and willingness to follow the gods. He was the decision maker amongst the two and eventually became the founder and king of Rome. These attributes of strength and devotion to Rome were very important in Roman heroism.

These characters display strong influence from the gods and brute strength. The importance of dedication to family and Rome was particularly stressed in Roman literature and bravery. They are set as an example to all and seen as leaders. Over time heroes have evolved and you see the same basic principles of power and leadership, but with very different motives. Modern superheroes have supernatural powers rather than divine guidance and are driven by moral standards in society more so than honor to their family or to deity. They believe in the defending of the innocent and upholding societal structure.

Spiderman is the story of a teenage boy who is bit by a radioactive spider and then receives super human powers allowing him to use “spidey” senses, and spider webs. He uses these powers to defend the city and its citizens. He is driven by a moral code to do good and defeat the “bad guys.” Superman is a hero that comes from another planet as a child and then grows up on Earth, overtime he discovers his superhuman powers and keeps them secret to defend his family and friends. He has deep inset morals of right and wrong and the protection of the innocent. This pattern can be seen in any modern day superhero and there are a plethora of movies that show their attributes as heroes.

All these movies and media depict heroic attributes, but what makes them entertaining is the consequences of and the process of overcoming a fatal flaw. This flaw keeps things interesting and takes the stories of all these heroes for interesting turns. In Roman literature or history this is a common trait that is shown to warn listeners and readers against it. Aeneas exhibits no control especially in the end of “The Aeneid” when his enemy is surrendering and begging for mercy and he still kills him against past advice from his father. His father specifically said, “spare the conquered” and he ignores that in a rage of anger because the man that was surrendering killed his friend Pallas. Romulus as well displayed ego and inability to control himself when he kills his twin brother for power over Rome. Spiderman is very attached to his emotions and is often overcome by his enemies because they play off his strong emotions towards people, specifically Mary Jane and his family. And for Superman, the crystal Kryptonite has a crippling effect on him. This happens across the board in heroes; they always have a flaw that governs many of the decisions they make in their journey, nearly brings them to their downfall, but many of them can still come out on top. 

The employment of flaws in Roman heroes and modern day heroes is used as a teaching tool to warn against these attributes. Modern day heroes are depicted in movies as working to help each other, failing because of their flaws, and then overcoming these flaws for the greater good. It allows audiences to interpret the importance of overcoming shortcomings and how this will further their ability to help others. This helps society to cling to these figures for guidance and enlightenment. This is how heroes have been utilized for centuries and will continue to be used for many years to come.  

Suicide in Ancient Greece and Today

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the state of Utah for minors(Francis B. Annor).  One would have to be ignorant to gloss over or downplay this rampant raise in the number of suicides today. There are several trends, ideations, and essentially “reasons” why people commit suicide today.  This paper will compare the similarities and differences in the reasons people take their own lives today, why they did in Ancient Greece, and what this reveals about these different societies.    Unfortunately, this decision to end one’s own life is not something only prevalent in the last century or even last 50 years.  Suicide has been plaguing man since the beginning of time, and there is definitely something to be learned from the experiences of those in Ancient Greece as well as today.

There are many scenarios and situations that correlate as to why someone might have suicide ideations, but for the sake of this paper the reasons that will be focused on are: false expectations, traumatic life experiences, and lack of a support system. First example that is seen of false expectations in Greek literature is in Homer’s poem Odyssey. In Book XI the main character Odysseus visits the underworld and meets a man by the name of Ajax, a well-known warrior(though slightly lesser known than his associates Achilles and Odysseus) who struggles with the expectations set for him by society, the gods, his peers, and himself.  Ajax fights nobly in the Trojan war, and even battles for his friends Achilles’ body and his god-made armor after Achilles is killed.  After this battle it is decided that the much-coveted armor will go to Odysseus instead of Ajax.  Ajax is distraught by this and impales himself with the sword.  Since this is Greek Literature written thousands of years ago, it’s impossible to know exactly what was going on in Ajax’s head, but from the context it can be deduced that he felt like he did not measure up to the unrealistic expectations.  An example of this in today’s society is found in Jane E. Brody’s article on suicide among college students in America posted in the New York Times. The article discusses the correlation between stresses college students experience and suicide ideation. At one point it offers some advice when it comes to the expectations that are felt by college students. It states, “…Don’t saddle students with unrealistic academic expectations. Even when parents don’t say so out loud, children know when failure to get an A results in parental disapproval.”  Both of these experiences relay how false and unrealistically high expectations can cause suicidal ideations in people.

To see how this applies in today’s society there is an online case study published in 2018 by Natalia Macrynikola on social connectedness and suicide in young adults says, “…the desire to feel connected with others is a fundamental human need. Indeed, a lack of belonging has been consistently associated with negative outcomes, including mortality from disease and ill health…Research also suggests that lack of social connectedness may be associated with the development of suicidal thoughts and behavior.”  A support system is critical to mankind’s overall well-being. A lack of social connectedness, or problems in familial and other personal relationships can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions.  An example of this in Greek literature is found in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.  Oedipus and his family have a lot of complicated and problematic relationships.  In the course of the play the audience learns that Oedipus killed his father without knowing it was his father and that he was currently married to his own mother, Jocasta.  When all of this information is revealed Jocasta hangs herself.  That support system is gone for her and without it there isn’t a lot of hope.

Furthermore, traumatic life experiences are a consistent reason between today’s society and ancient Greece for why one might commit suicide.  In the play Women of Trachis by Sophocles the character Deianeira experiences several traumatic experiences.  Her husband, Heracles, has been missing for over a year and when he finally returns he comes home with a concubine.  Obviously, this is devastating to Deianeira. In an effort to secure her husband’s affections, Deianeira gives him what she believes is a love potion but mistakenly poisons and kills Heracles. This accidental murder of her husband leads her son to betray her leaving her completely alone.  Deianeira is driven mad by all of the upheaval in her life.  She feels utterly hopeless and kills herself(pg. 871).  The same case study mentioned earlier informs that “The association between stressful life events (SLEs) and suicide risk has been well established.”

In addition, more of the differences between reasons for suicide ideations in Greek literature vs. today’s society is in mental health awareness and differing religious beliefs.  Mental health is much more widely publicized and accepted in today’s society than in ancient Greece.  This is evident in the fact that all of the literature referenced in this paper scarcely refers to any mental illness at all.  Although all of the characters and scenarios introduced thus far surely struggled with some kind of mental illness, no evidence of that is clearly stated in the text. Adversely, in an observational study done on suicide rates of youth in the state of Utah from 2011-2015 we learn that “35.2%(of the) decedents with data had a diagnosed mental health problem, and 44 (31.0%), including 34 (23.9%) who had no mental health diagnosis, were described as being in a depressed mood at or near the time of death. Among the 50(35.2%) decedents with a mental health diagnosis, 42 (84.0%) were in treatment at the time of death.”(Francis B. Annor)  This statistic shows how much more widely acknowledged mental illness is and that there are resources trying to aid the epidemic.

Again, the difference in religious beliefs of Ancient Greece and today’s society tell a lot about why someone might commit suicide.  For the ancient Greeks there was a lot of pride in death.  A man’s life was only worth how epically he died.  In the example of Ajax mentioned earlier, his suicide was almost more honorable than having to live his life and die in battle without Achilles’ armor.  Even though they don’t believe in a glorious afterlife, everyone goes to the underworld, it was still worth it for the pride of dying a certain way. In the most common religious beliefs today, people choose to take their own lives with the hope or faith that there is something better after this life.  That is one of the biggest differences between the way the two societies view dying, even via suicide.

A lot can be learned about these two different civilizations through this topic of suicide ideation, attempts, and behavior. Pride is much more important to the Greeks, although it still plays a role in the society today.  Overall, from both civilizations it is obvious that there are human needs that must be met for a person to thrive.

Bibliography

Brody, Jane E. “Preventing Suicide among College Students.” New York Times, Jul 03, 2018. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/2063149580?accountid=4488.

Macrynikola, Natalia, Regina Miranda, and Ariella Soffer. “Social Connectedness, Stressful Life Events, and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors among Young Adults.” Comprehensive Psychiatry, vol. 80, 2018, pp. 140-149. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1973105761?accountid=4488, doi:http://dx.doi.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.09.008.

A Family Fanatic

I am passionate about my family and all families in general. I am the ninth of twelve children, and to say I’m obsessed with all of them is an understatement. My family started doing Foster Care when I was seven and that’s how we met and adopted my two youngest siblings. My experiences in my family have made me want nothing more than to help struggling individuals and families, which is why I am studying Family Studies with a goal to get my Masters in Social Work.

Wanna-be Mexican

Although I am 100% Caucasian and my original ancestors came from England, my Dad and the last four generations of his family grew up in Mexico which is why I’ve always felt a certain bond to that country and culture. Being one of the youngest kids/grandkids in my family meant that I was neglected when it came to teaching the children to speak Spanish. I have grown up travelling to Mexico once or twice a year, and I love it there. I am passionate about my Family History and learning about my ancestors’ experiences. Because of this, I’ve decided to minor in Spanish even though I don’t speak a lick of Espanol.

Singer and Socialite

I suffer from a debilitating disease called F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out).  I love to be social and am completely re-energized by spending time with people. I love sports, movie nights, karaoke, dance parties, camping, desserts, hosting activities, and everything in between.  If it involves people, I’m there and I love it. Truly one of the hardest things I have to experience in this life is that I can’t be with all of my different friend groups, family, and be at school at the same time. I’m forever trying to find that balance.

A Faux Southerner

I served my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints along the Florida-Georgia line in the Florida Jacksonville mission. I quickly fell in love with and adopted the traditions and lifestyle of the southerners. An accent is sometimes included. Front-porch sitting, having a love and concern for everyone around you, and the candor are just a few things I love. I got home from my mission just four months ago and am excited to be back at school.