Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
The modern mind likes its heroism served with death. "They died heroes" begin news reports of death in battles and disasters, man-made or natural. Altruism, self-sacrifice, and disregard for danger define the modern hero, both in life and in death. Sometimes heroes are defined by the fact of their survival: war heroes return home after enduring the trauma of battle, captivity, or torture. Regardless of individual circumstances, to be a modern hero entails joining a community of individuals defined by the same essential qualities of selflessness and courage: to be a hero is to be willing to sacrifice oneself and risk one's life for a greater cause, and to be remembered as much for how one faced death as for what one accomplished in life.
Editor
Sabine Albersmeier
Publisher
Walters Art Museum
City
Baltimore
ISBN
9780300154726
Repository Citation
Pache, C.O. (2009). The hero beyond himself: Heroic death in ancient Greek poetry and art. In S. Albersmeier (Ed.), Heroes: Mortals and myths in ancient Greece (pp. 88-107). Walters Art Museum.
Publication Information
Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece