Batman and Theseus False Heroes Revered by the Masses A hero is universally seen as a selfless individual who puts the needs of others before themselves. Heroes usually hold the same values; honor, nobility, integrity, and strength. Now what happens when a person does not hold those heroic values? What if their motivations did not have good intentions? These are the questions that will be answered using the deconstruction critical lenses. “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality; we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate.” (Lebarge web) The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has evolved into the modern trilogy of Batman which, when deconstructed, reveals how the selfish motivations of …show more content…
Now Theseus is older and is in his father’s palace in Athens, the fame seeking youth decided to set his sights on a new journey. A journey which would lead to him being loved and remembered by all the people of Athens. During this time Athens had a severe problem, the neighboring island Crete would attack them every so often. The king of Athens decided to try and compromise with Crete. He stated if Crete left Athens alone for nine years they would send fourteen Athenian youths seven male and seven females as a sacrifice to Minos to be fed to the Minotaur king Minos pet. The king of Athens goal was to build a strong navy, so they could defend themselves from Crete. Surprisingly the king of Crete Mino kept his word and never attacked Athens. Now nine years had come, and it was Athens turn to keep their word. The king of Athens was conflicted as he knew the value of keeping one's word. Theseus seeing this as the perfect opportunity to earn new fame and liken his image in Athens volunteered as the seventh male Athenian youth. Theseus’s goal is to slay the Minotaur and save his fellow Athenians. Theseus promises his father, he will return alive and when he does, he will change the color of the sail on the ship from white to black. In the event the sails stay black his father should assume Theseus has met his demise. After the Athenians arrive in Crete they are welcomed by King Mino’s and princess Ariadne, upon seeing
As time goes on and new generations come about, many of the ideals of former generations seem to become irrelevant. Scott LaBarge, a professor of philosophy, elaborates on this idea and others in his essay. “Why Heroes Are Important” is LaBarge’s pursuit to persuade others of his idea of heroes in today’s society. He claims that many of our youth do not know what a proper hero is and that former generations should be educating them. LaBarge begins his persuasion by describing his personal experience and credibility; then, he briefly describes the history of heroes to tie in his opinion on the definition; finally, he uses Aristotle’s idea of Kairos to explain how his opinion proves true according to current events.
Theseus’ quest hoped to end the unnecessary sacrifices, but caused another. Theseus’ father, Aegeus was the King of Athens. Aegeus put a sword and shoes in a hole under a boulder, when Theseus could lift the stone, he was old enough to become the heir. Theseus was successful and traveled to Athens by land, a perilous route, killing all the bandits. Upon arrival at Athens he was praised and invited to the King’s dinner. Aegeus recognized his sword in Theseus’ hand and declared Theseus as his son and the heir. Every nine years the Minotaur took fourteen victims into his Labyrinth and Theseus was determined to end the cycle. He offered to be a victim, with a plan to kill the beast. In exchange for a marriage, Theseus received a ball of yarn along
In the essay, Kristin Lewis writes that heroes inspire us to be “our better selves.” Comparing Theseus and Ariadne two heros from “Into the Maze Of Doom”. Super Heroes inspire us to be who we want to be. These stories are modern myths that express qualities that we value such as courage,selflessness, and grit.
Although Batman and King Arthur both ended up becoming heroes, King Arthur did not have the desire to become king once he pulled the sword out of the stone. Initially Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone in order to give it to his foster brother, Kay. Arthur did not obtain the sword for his own benefit and personal well-being. As a result of Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone he ended up becoming the new king of Camelot. Arthur became the king to help the people and to instill a code of ethics; he did not want to become king for the glory or honor that came with it. However Batman did have the desire to become a hero for the city of Gotham. His intentions were the same as King Arthur’s. He did it to protect the people and to restore
Theseus grew up in his mother’s hometown, a city in southern Greece. His father was the Athenian king, Aegeus. Once Theseus was strong enough to move the great stone his father had placed, he sought out for him. Once reunited, Theseus had heard about the cruel ruler of Crete, Minos, building the labyrinth, and every nine years a tribute of seven maidens and seven youths had to be made. When the time came for the tributes to be handed over, “Theseus came forward and offered to be one of the victims.
Because of the nature of the presentation of this book, the summary will need to be separated into two distinct sections: The first section will cover the plot and events of the book Ship of Theseus, while the second section will cover the plot and events of the "real life" story taking place in the margins.
Some of the most well known heroes of ancient greek all the way to modern day all have a special aid. They have someone on the sidelines who change their course for the better. In the batman movie series, batman is honored and seen as the solo hero. What nobody know is that there is a faithful man behind the success of batman that is always there for him. Alfred, batman's butler, has been there as a loyal server and father to Bruce wayne. Not only does alfred care for batman but he also gives him advice and helps him succeed as batman. Alfred relates greatly to the father figure that is presented in the Odyssey, Zeus. Zeus and Alfred may seem very different but they compare greatly. They both are there for the hero of the story
The idea of heroismhas been traced back to centuries of years throughout history. Greek Mythology is the father of this concept of heroism and this concept has continued to grow and develop through stories, writings, and films over the years. Humans have always been intrigued with the idea of heroism which is why many movies, books, and stories are written after this very idea. In Linda Seger’s “Creating the Myth”, she argues there are 10-points into creating every “hero myth”, using Luke Skywalker in Star Wars as her hero myth example; in the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry follows Seger’s 10-point system of creating a
The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.
In Athens, a young man named Theseus decided he would go and kill the minotaur in order to stop the death of the Athenians. He told his worrying father that if he died the ship would return with black sails but if he was alive the ship would return with white sails. when they arrived at Crete Theseus told Minos what he planned to do. Minos was not worried because he knew that even if Theseus killed the minotaur he would not be able to escape.
This article is about a heroic prince saving his town, and conquering the evil of this story. However, everything does not turn out to be a “happily ever after” kind of story. The evil in this story is King Minos of Crete. He was feared and every rulers of the land around him. Whatever he wanted, he received because the people were certain that if war is waged, the king would demolish them, so they obeyed his every word. In his palace in Crete, there was a maze, and in that maze, there lived a minotaur. Every year, King Minos asked the king of Athens for seven young men and seven young women, and he got his quarry every year. One day, Theseus asked his father, the king of Athens, why they send people to Crete every year, and his father responded
American Heroes were inspired by Greek Tragic Heroes, yet both are very different from each other, but American Heroes have very similar traits to those who are Contemporary Heroes. An American Hero is a person who seeks justice and always defeats the enemy which results in all people having the justice they deserve. American Heroes also tends to protect all and has the tendency to fall in love with the “ damsel in distress”. This type of hero goes about his daily life, just like anyone else would, until it is time to fight, and at that time, their “supernatural” powers shine through in their fighting techniques. On the other side, all Tragic Heroes possess a flaw that will change their life from a life of happiness to a life of pain and despair. Ordinarily, Contemporary Heroes have nearly the same traits as American Heroes. Contemporary Heroes save and protect many individuals from violence and harm and lives a normal life until they have to face another obstacle. Both American and Contemporary Heroes are able to celebrate their victories, while Tragic Heroes can not do so because they are not victorious.
The hero archetype has prevailed throughout literature and media for thousands of years. This quixotic character completes a quest or expedition with little to no faults. In recent times, the ideal hero archetype is challenged by the untoward anti-hero archetype. Today, the anti-hero is largely represented and featured in recent film and society. The hero archetype is losing prevalence in modern fiction stories due to the increasing demand of the anti-hero.
[refusing] to go by water, because the voyage was safe and easy” (210). Another way Theseus shows his strength and courage is by killing the minotaur. For years this horrible monster with the body of a bull and a human head has taken the lives of children offered to king Minos. Theseus, wanting to show his courage, “. . . came forward and offered to be one of the victims” (212). No one knew his intentions of killing the minotaur.
Heroes are prevalent in everyone’s life. Whether someone’s hero is a living person or a fabled character from a movie, everybody has come into contact with some sort of hero. In fact, the concept of heroes has existed for hundreds of years, dating all the way back to Ancient Greece. Over time, heroes have drastically changed. As society has evolved, our heroes have evolved with it. Their goals and motivations have changed to coincide with the views of modern society. Modern day heroes have less selfish motives, better qualities, and are portrayed differently than ancient heroes.