Myths and Heroes : How do Heroes become legends, in moments where we need them ?

Mythes and Heroes

How do Heroes become legends, in moments where we need them ?

1. The definition of a Hero

1. An Heroic man

• Mostly concerned about other people
• Strong values he fights for
• The acts make the heroes : first thing about a hero, he stands for something with determination. Determination might be the hero’s most important quality.

1. A model from the viewer perspective

• What makes a hero is also the public that is watching him. The public judges the actions of the hero, deciding whether he is a terrorist, an hypocrite or a real, inspiring hero.
• That being seen, it appears that the vision of a hero depends on the person : exemple, Churchill once said about Ghandi that he was just “a fakir of a type well known in the east, striding half-naked up the steps of the viceregal palace”.
• The other important part of a hero is his public : this public might be real, it also might just be a mental image judging him, what Nietzsche calls “The Self”, but he needs that push inside him, to be a hero, and he needs to control it, not to be overwhelmed by it.

1. The legend, a myth build upon one’s actions

1. The rise of a legend : the way of the ubermensch ?

• In Nietzche’s philosophy, the “good” way to live, is by seeking what he calls the “superman”, or the ubermensch. A superior Mankind, not affected by everyday’s problem, for he has understood the truth and sadness of life, coming back to “earth”, to the true values.
• That is exactly the way we imagine a hero : leaving brightly, entirely, without regrets, or without hesitating.
• And it is, in a way, how a legend gets to life : leaving like the thunder is a lot of sound, and a lot of light : it will probably get to the ears and eyes of the public, or to your own ears and eyes, and the legend, representation of the hero in the public’s mind, will be born.

1. The need for the hero, an inspiring way of life.

• This way of living, without hesitation, regrets, without what life got of dirty, sad, abhorrent, is very attractive for people.
• People need to have heroes, so they can set an Ideal, like a goal, they wish to rejoin.
• The hero, and the legend that comes with him, is inspirational for people. The moments he start inspiring people, above him, he starts being a hero in people’s mind, and his legend arise.

Conclusion

A hero forms himself out of what he lives for, the evenement that falls onto him. Those moments affect everyone, and they lead people to chose hero for themselves, to keep going : and this is the way legends forms, and it is a virtuous circle : this legend exists to inspire other people, and exists because people believe in it. People need heroes just as heroes need them : the important thing is that it must not become a drug, something you can’t do without.

Myths and heroes

Who is Robin Hood ?

To be even more specific, I could even say “What is Robin Hood for a hero ?”

1. A model

1. Robin Hood represents courage, humility and generosity

Robin Hood inspires people by his exemple. He is one of the first heroes of the anglo-saxon culture.

1. People need heroes to become heroes themselves

1. An ambivalent thief

1. A controversial character

• Who was he, really ?
• Is it a thief, is it a humanist ?

1. A common hero

• A hero from the people

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