Epic Hero: Comparison Between Homer's Iliad and Thor (2011)
Hoy les traigo un trabajo que hice para mi universidad, sobre un tema muy interesante. El hecho de que existen patrones y estereotipos ya conceptualizados en nuestra sociedad, para convertir a las personas en “héroes o salvadores”. Y en este ensayo podremos obtener ejemplos que no distan mucho de la realidad.
La épica es un género narrativo en el que se presentan hechos legendarios o ficticios relacionados con las hazañas de uno o varios héroes y las luchas reales o imaginarias en las que han participado. Estos héroes se caracterizan por concentrarse en su persona en las virtudes más apreciadas por una sociedad determinada. El héroe épico busca convencer a los demás de la verdad y va de menos a más, siendo al principio de la historia un "niño" inmaduro y estúpido y al final un ser maduro y completo, experimentando así una transformación a mejor. Durante el proceso de transformación pasa por varias etapas, que quedarán expuestos en este texto a través de la comparación entre dos héroes icónicos: Aquiles, héroe de Grecia y uno de los principales protagonistas de la epopeya griega escrita por Homero “La Ilíada”;
The first point to be discussed refers to the circumstances that originate what will come later, the first conflict: The initial Incidents of each narration. Regarding the movie Thor (2011), the fact that gives rise to the story is that Thor, who is called "The God of Thunder", gets carried away by his arrogance and against his father's orders, travels to Jotunheim to confront Laufrey. As a result of his reckless actions, they rekindle an ancient war between the kingdom of Asgard and Jotunheim, destroying the fragile truce between the two worlds.
On the other hand, in the Iliad story, Achilles is clearly not the one who starts the Trojan War; perel io his anger, which arises from the injustice inflicted on him by Agamemnon the king of kings of the Achaean army, he blinded him and made the decision not to help his companions in the following days of war against the Trojans. Also, Achilles states that they will soon cry for him and that Agamemnon is going to regret everything he did. To make his words effective, he asks his mother Thetis to convince Zeus to massacre the Achaeans through the Teucrians, until his own recognize his mistake. If Achilles had not made this request, it would have been very likely that the Greeks would have fought on equal terms and perhaps won the war more easily, since they had very high-ranking and experienced warriors.
Simultaneously, there is an internal struggle between Thor and his half-brother Loki to see who inherits the throne of Asgard. Similar to Homer's story, where Achilles has a fight with Agamemnon for stealing his girlfriend, Briseis.
In Stoicism, the hero understands that he has a responsibility that includes waiting, temperance, not giving up. Thor is banished by the high father of Asgard, who with all the sorrow of his soul had to cast him down to Earth. His arrogance will practically vanish the moment he “gets his feet on the ground”, when he understands that he must be a savior and not an aimless warrior who acts without thinking. Although in the Iliad no one banishes Achilles, he banishes himself from the war, isolating himself in his own bubble and thanks to his rancor and his hatred, his arrogance instead of fading increases because despite the fact that his companions beg him and ask him to help them, Achilles ignores their requests because his pride is stronger than him.
During the fall from grace the hero faces the most momentous challenge and the most feared adversary. Thor will face the fury of his brother Loki, who took advantage of Thor's exile situation and the war between the two kingdoms, to usurp the throne of the high father of Asgard. Thor's friends (warriors) travel to earth in search of him because he is the one who must defeat his brother and regain the throne. Loki sends the Destroyer, an automaton, to chase them down and kill Thor. The warriors find the God of Lightning, but the Destroyer attacks and defeats them, prompting Thor to offer himself in his place.
In Homer's epic, Achilles had already fallen into the first anger with Agamemnon stealing his bride, but his second anger is much worse. Achilles' best friend, Patroclus, donned Achilles' armor and posed as him in war to terrorize the Trojans, due to Achilles' posture and refusal to fight. Patroclus manages to defeat the Teucer army with ease and in his attempt to scale the walls of Troy he tragically dies at the hands of Hector, prince of Troy. It is at that moment that Achilles goes crazy and decides to confront Hector, his greatest enemy. In both stories, the heroes face their greatest opponents to achieve "Justice", Thor to regain the throne and Achilles to avenge the death of his beloved friend.
In overcoming obstacles, the measure of the enemy will measure that of the hero (the avenger) and his feat. Thor has areté (excellence), more than for being the son of Odin and Gaea and for possessing physical abilities far superior to his Asgardian compatriots, for his sacrifice which makes him worthy of wielding Mjolnir. The hammer returns to him, restoring his powers and allowing him to defeat the Destroyer. Having regained his divinity, Thor must fight for the throne that now belongs to his brother, and at the same time he will have to fight for peace in the kingdom of Asgard, disturbed by the Jotunheim's.
In the Iliad, Hector and Achilles finally face each other. As soon as the latter learned of the death of his beloved Patroclus, he was filled with rage against Hector and engaged him in a fierce fight to the death, from which he emerged the winner. Achilles is the son of Thetis and Peleus, which makes him a demigod, so he has more advantage than Hector in battle.
The exaltation to symbol: Thor finally defeats the Jotunheim's and his brother. He manages to redeem himself and obtain the throne of Asgard and the pardon of his father. Although Loki stole the throne, confronted his brother and wanted to kill Odin, out of thirst for power and envy, Thor forgives him and invites him to reign with him in Asgard. At the end of the Iliad, Achilles kills Hector and gets revenge for the death of his best friend. But he still felt pain and was not satisfied, so he tied the corpse of the Trojan prince to his chariot and dragged it wildly across the ground. In the final song, King Priam, father of Hector, begs Achilles to return his son's body so that he can be buried and honored as usual and after the pleas, Achilles is moved by the pain of the king and He gives him the body of his son. It is here that Achilles is considered an epic hero, because he shows mercy to his enemy, just like Thor, they both decide to forgive and show kindness to him.
Through the test carried out, it was possible to observe, analyze and compare Homer's Iliad with the Thor movie (Filmed in 2011), taking into consideration the most important aspects of the epic, specifically the archetype or the characteristics of a hero. epic.
In both stories, the events are presented by an initial conflict. Such conflicts are in a certain way similar, since, although the causes that originate such conflicts are different, the two lead to the same point: A war. The consequences that these conflicts bring, force the epic hero to act and not give up. The heroes of this branch of literature know that they are responsible for fighting for a cause and expect to be rewarded. For example, Achilles wants to avenge the death of Patroclus and seeks Hector's head as a reward to be "at peace" with himself. In the case of Thor, he wants to take back the throne to do justice and preserve the peace between Asgard and Jotunheim.
Although both stories are different from each other and narrate events from different times, in both the real is mixed with the fantastic, the characteristics of epic literature are present and the respective heroes of each story meet the five points of the epic hero scheme . The two heroes have characteristics in common because their figure itself is a typical motif that is repeated in many ways in all cultures, molding and forming the individual aspirations of the members of society and at a certain point appropriates the fantasies groups of entire cultures. Both Achilles and Thor bravely face their adversaries, overcoming them, being kind and pious when the situation calls for it. These heroes are attractive and complex figures; and they represent common mental processes for society, the archetypes of the collective unconscious.