Where Do Heroes Go When They Die?
This entry could be an essay on the fading idea of a hero.
It could be a diatribe on the lack of 'true' heroes.
It could even be a discussion of the characteristics of heroes, asking perhaps, "Is a basketball player the same kind of hero as is Achilles?"
But this entry is none of these. Instead what this blog concerns is how we nearly everyday encounter things from the past yet are so completely unaware of them.
In archaic Greece there was no sense of heaven and hell. The gods lived in various locations, most notably, Mt. Olympus; humans lived on earth. Mt. Olympus was not 'heaven' and humans did not go there.
When humans died, regardless of good or bad, they went to Hades or Tartarus. It was the underworld but not 'hell', just a place not on earth where mortals dwelled after death.
But in the human psyche, particularly for ancient Greeks, it seemed self-evident that some humans--heroes--deserve a little more than, let's say, economy class after-life accommodations.
It is with mentioning that heroes were always 'good'. Heracles killed his children, Achilles sulked in his tent and let his beloved Patroclus go to his death. The key element of their being heroes was not always being good or the best. Rather they faced adversity and made choices. Though those choices may not have been the best, and though they may have led to disaster, the hero never shrunk from responsibility. Instead he learned from the adversity and the consequences of his choices. In a way, he 'lived' through the obstacles. That is key: no going around the bumps in the road of life. Instead, an almost single-minded determinism to drive right through the obstacle.
Such people, the Ancient Greeks thought, deserved more. So instead of in Hades with the rest of us, the heroes were afforded a happy after-death in the Elysian Fields.
I wonder what the heroes might think of what has become of their Elysian Fields.
In a complete turn of fate the Elysian fields are immortalized in a very real, but very different, place. And it is a very modern place, filled with high-end shops, trendy fashion designers and the latest in haute couture.
That place is the Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris. The avenue leads from the Arc de Triumph to the of Palace du Louvre.
So next time you are strolling the Elysées, consider what the heroes might be thinking. Or imagine yourself as one, and this is your after-life!
Tom
It could be a diatribe on the lack of 'true' heroes.
It could even be a discussion of the characteristics of heroes, asking perhaps, "Is a basketball player the same kind of hero as is Achilles?"
But this entry is none of these. Instead what this blog concerns is how we nearly everyday encounter things from the past yet are so completely unaware of them.
In archaic Greece there was no sense of heaven and hell. The gods lived in various locations, most notably, Mt. Olympus; humans lived on earth. Mt. Olympus was not 'heaven' and humans did not go there.
When humans died, regardless of good or bad, they went to Hades or Tartarus. It was the underworld but not 'hell', just a place not on earth where mortals dwelled after death.
But in the human psyche, particularly for ancient Greeks, it seemed self-evident that some humans--heroes--deserve a little more than, let's say, economy class after-life accommodations.
It is with mentioning that heroes were always 'good'. Heracles killed his children, Achilles sulked in his tent and let his beloved Patroclus go to his death. The key element of their being heroes was not always being good or the best. Rather they faced adversity and made choices. Though those choices may not have been the best, and though they may have led to disaster, the hero never shrunk from responsibility. Instead he learned from the adversity and the consequences of his choices. In a way, he 'lived' through the obstacles. That is key: no going around the bumps in the road of life. Instead, an almost single-minded determinism to drive right through the obstacle.
Such people, the Ancient Greeks thought, deserved more. So instead of in Hades with the rest of us, the heroes were afforded a happy after-death in the Elysian Fields.
I wonder what the heroes might think of what has become of their Elysian Fields.
In a complete turn of fate the Elysian fields are immortalized in a very real, but very different, place. And it is a very modern place, filled with high-end shops, trendy fashion designers and the latest in haute couture.
That place is the Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris. The avenue leads from the Arc de Triumph to the of Palace du Louvre.
So next time you are strolling the Elysées, consider what the heroes might be thinking. Or imagine yourself as one, and this is your after-life!
Tom
Labels: Culture, Greek Mythology
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