The Making of a Hero
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”
(Joseph Campbell). The preceding line is written by Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer. Through many of Campbell’s works he describes his beliefs of heroes in mythology and expresses that hero's look beyond themselves. .The selflessness Campbell describes can also be seen in the works Antigone, the Iliad, On the Rainy River, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. A hero’s physical characteristics can be muscular and strong, to scrawny and smart, but the underlying virtue of the hero remains the same.
To illustrate the morality of a hero, in Antigone, the main character Antigone, expresses heroism by her self sacrifice for her brother and her devotion to the Gods. The story begins with the death of Antigone and Ismene’s brothers Polyneices and Eteocles. The new king of Thebes Creon, created a law saying no one
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In Greek Mythology a hero is someone who has great courage, strengths, and is celebrated for his/her bold exploits. Antigone shows that she has great courage and strength by giving her brother a proper burial even though it is against the king's wishes and it will lead to her death. Antigone says that Polyneices is so dear to her that she will give her life for his honor. The Gods believe that everyone should have a proper burial. Antigone believes that her crime is holy because it is following the laws of the Gods. She hopes the people of Thebes will honor her for her bold actions. Antigone and Creon are arguing about Antigone’s actions. Creon believes it was wrong to go against him, and that she should be punished. Antigone accepts the consequences of her actions but she