FREE ESSAY ON CRITERIA FOR HEROES

CRITERIA FOR HEROES

Criteria for Heroes
The ancient Greeks had strict criteria for individuals to follow if they were to be seen
as heroes. Above all, a man needed to be a skilled warrior, but this was not the only
requirement. To be a hero, a warrior had to respect authority, both governmental and
religious. The Greeks gave heroes no room for pride. These men were to be modest, not
only giving credit to their culture and the gods for any great deeds they had done, but
also accepting everything that happened as Fate, not scenarios they had created for
themselves. In other words, they did not make themselves what they were; rather, they had
been predestined to become it. The final requirement of being a hero was coolness. Heroes
were not permitted to be blinded by rage or have mood swings. In The Iliad, two Greeks
are presented to the reader as heroes. They are Achilles and Diomedes. Although they are
both good contenders for the title of hero, Diomedes is by far the better of the two.
Diomedes is one of the finest and bravest of the Greek warriors. He is respectful to all
authority figures and has little or no pride. Always wise and reasonable, he may be the
vision of the perfect nobleman. 
Both Achilles and Diomedes easily meet the first requirement, that a hero must have skill
on the battlefield. Throughout The Iliad, Homer tells of their incredible (though usually
god-aided) feats during the many battles of the Trojan War. Perhaps the greatest example
of Achillesi fighting skill is when he fights with and kills Hector, the greatest of the
Trojan warriors (260-261). However, this fight may have never happened if Athena had not
disguised herself as one of Hectoris brothers and convinced him to fight (260). That was
not enough though, as Athena then helped Achilles win the fight (260-261). This seems to
be the case with all of Achillesi battles. A god, goddess, or gods help him in battle by
strengthening and encouraging him and his men, or they rally a Trojan army into entering
a futile final battle. Diomedes is also guilty of receiving help from the gods. After
praying for Athenais aid, Diomedes proceeds to not only slay Pandaros (who wounded him
earlier) and many other Trojans, but also wound Aeneas in his hip and his mother
Aphrodite in her hand (60-64). Later on in the same battle, Diomedes thrusts his spear
through the belly of Ares, also done with the help of Athena (73). Another example of
Diomedes skill comes when he and Odysseus spy on the Trojan camp. Diomedes goes ahead of
Odysseus and strikes down so many Trojans that ithe ground was reddened with bloodi
(124). Even before this, Diomedes prayed again to Athena for help. It seems no Greek
warrior could fight their own battles; instead, they requested help from the gods. This
fact makes it difficult to discern the better fighter between Achilles and Diomedes, but
the common choice would probably be Achilles because of his legendary status and he was
the son of an immortal. 
Achilles fails miserably at respecting anyone in authority, whether governmental or
religious. He not only disrespects King Agamemnonis authority, but also the goddess
Athena herself. This lack of respect begins when Achilles calls an assembly of the
Greeks, something only Agamemnon was able to do (12). He then proceeds to insult the
king, telling him he is greedy, shameless, a cheater, and a drunk (14-15). To top it off,
Achilles contemplates drawing his sword to strike down Agamemnon, and is only stopped by
Athena grabbing his hair (14-15). (Needless to say, killing the leader of your nation
would be the ultimate act of disrespect to the government.) Although he does so badly
with respect for government authority, Achilles has no problem respecting human religious
authority, only because he has no encounters with priests, prophets, and etceteras.
However, he does show some disrespect to Athena for stopping his murder of King
Agamemnon. Instead of following the goddessi orders whole-heartedly, he does it quite
reluctantly and talks back in the process (15). Diomedes is the opposite of Achilles in
the area of respect and demonstrates a great respect for government authority. He risks
his own life to save the aging Greek commander Nestor and help him escape from Hector
after many other Greeks had already fled (94). As far as Diomedesi respect for religious
authority, he does not encounter any priests or so on either. He does however, follows
Athenais orders exactly after she tells him not to fight with any of the gods except
Aphrodite (who he later wounds in the hand) (60, 64). With Diomedesi complete respect for
government authority and following Athenais orders exactly, it is incredibly easy to see
that Diomedes is the better of the two contenders within this requirement. 
Humility is another requirement Achilles fails to meet. His excessive pride is seen
throughout The Iliad. When he tells Agamemnon that he is withdrawing himself and all his
forces from the Trojan War, Achilles makes it sound as if he has done greater things than
anyone, putting himself on a pedestal (15). Never does Achilles credit anyone or anything
for his success, including the gods. It is always he himself who has done something.
Although Achilles is so prideful about his deeds, he is able to accept Fate (somewhat
blindly however). As he reprimands his horses as if it were their fault Patroclos was
killed, one of them tells Achilles his death is near (235). Achilles tells the horse he
knows this, indicating he accepts it (but he may not have remembered earlier advice on
how to escape it) (236). Diomedes does not credit himself for his accomplishments. He
usually gets around glorifying himself by thanking the gods. Before his idueli with
Glaucos, Diomedes goes through his lineage, which could be interpreted as crediting
previous generations for his skill and success (76). He is seen (with Odysseus) crediting
Athena for a successful reconnaissance mission in the Trojan camp (126). As well as being
humble, Diomedes accepts fate and acts accordingly. At one point, Agamemnon thinks the
war is lost and wishes to return home, but Diomedes declares that the entire Greek force
can leave, but he will stay because Troy is fated to fall (102-103). Achillesi pride
contributes to his downfall (not mentioned in The Iliad), and it also shows Diomedes to
have far less hubris than his egotistical fellow Greek warrior. 
Coolness may be the requirement Achilles is furthest from meeting. Almost every time his
name is mentioned, he is in some fit of rage. His very first tantrum is when he about
kills Agamemnon, only being stopped by Athena (14-15). His next episode of anger comes
after the death of Patroclos, but it is actually helpful to the Greeks. Achilles charges
over the battlefield, destroying all Trojan warriors he crossed paths with (239-244). The
final act of Achillesi great anger is after he kills Hector. Achilles is still deeply
hurt by the death of his friend Patroclos, so he drags Hectoris body behind his chariot
(after allowing other Greeks to pierce it with spears), mutilating it (262-263). Diomedes
has only one fit of anger, but this could be blamed on Athena rather than poor
anger-management techniques. Fueled by divine strength, Diomedes begins to
single-handedly drive back the Trojans (60-63). He is about to kill Aeneas, but Aphrodite
saves her son, angering Diomedes, who thrusts his spear into her hand (63-64). Throughout
the rest of The Iliad, Diomedes is portrayed as a cool-headed individual. This trait may
be best exhibited in the nighttime spying mission with Odysseus in which he completes the
mission because he keeps calm and does not become fueled by rage (115-126). Diomedes is
obviously the cooler-headed between himself and Achilles, who was always losing his
temper at one thing or another. 
The ancient Greeks had strict criteria for individuals to follow if they were to be seen
as heroes. Those requirements were skill in battle, respect for authority, humility, and
coolness under fire. Not many men met all requirements, including Achilles, but they were
still viewed as heroes. Between Achilles and Diomedes, Diomedes was the better choice for
the title of hero. He was one of the finest Greek soldiers. Diomedes was respectful of
authority, humble about his successes, and was very levelheaded. Achilles had great
fighting skill as well; however, he had trouble respecting authority and keeping his
cool, both results of his excessive pride. If Achilles had not been so prideful, he could
have been a much greater warrior and hero, perhaps achieving status equal to the gods. He
simply had too much pride. Diomedes was humble; therefore, it was easier for him to
respect authority and keep a level head. 
Bibliography
the criterias for hereos