The Heroic Ideal: Western Archetypes from the Greeks to the Present

by M. Gregory Kendrick

Overview

The word "hero" seems in its present usage, an all-purpose moniker applied to everyone from Medal of Honor recipients to celebrities to comic book characters. This book explores the Western idea of the hero, from its initial use in ancient Greece, where it identified demigods or aristocratic, mortal warriors, through today. Sections examine the concept of the hero as presented in the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. Special attention is paid to particular heroic types, such as warriors, martyrs, athletes, knights, saints, scientists, rebels, secret servicemen, and even anti-heroes. This book also reconstructs how definitions of heroism have been inextricably linked to shifts in Western thinking about religion, social relations, political authority, and ethical conduct.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786437863
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/08/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

M. Gregory Kendrick is a professor of modern European history and director of the UCLA Freshman Cluster Program at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Introduction    

PART ONE. MYRMIDONS, MARTYRS, AND MUSCLE MEN: HEROISM IN THE ANCIENT WORLD     
1. Neither Human nor Divine: The Hemitheoi and Their Cults     
2. “Of arms and the man I sing”: The Hero as Myrmidon     
3. “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise”: The Hero as Martyr     
4. “Creatures of a Day”: The Hero as Athlete     

PART TWO. SOLDIERS AND SERVANTS OF CHRIST: HEROISM IN THE MIDDLE AGES     
5. Miles Christi: The Hero as Warrior of Christ     
6. Imitatio Christi: The Hero as Saint     

PART THREE. REBELS, ROGUES, AND REPROBATES: HEROISM IN THE MODERN WORLD     
7. “To boldly go where no one has gone before”: The Hero as Explorer     
8. “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom”: The Hero as Romantic Rebel     
9. Black Angels and New Men: Heroism in a Totalitarian Context     
10. Rogues, Reprobates, Outcasts, and Oddballs: The Anti-Hero     

Epilogue     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

fascinating...highly recommended”—Choice.

From the Publisher

fascinating...highly recommended

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