To what extent did Alexander the Great conform to Classical Greek notions of the hero in life and in literature?
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Get Help Now!In Greek history many men have earned the title of Hero. Many of these heroes are the feature character in an epic or tragedy. These classical heroes are character such as Achilles and Odysseus. In order to become a hero an individual had to possess certain qualities. He had to be of Royal or divine birth. This means that from birth they have already been raised to a higher standing than other humans. A hero must also possess great strength in any field. The skill didn’t matter. Just so long as no one else was better than he was. In order to be fully recognised as a hero it was not enough to be great at something, a hero had to accomplish feats which no other human could possibly accomplish or be involved in incredible events. Traditionally a hero should also be able to show admirable traits such as courage, loyalty and fairness. However it was also quite common that a hero has a serious flaw in their character J. Darnell, ‘The Greek Hero Ideal’, viewed 3 May 2014, http://www.slideshare.net/jdarnell/the-greek-hero-ideal. . It is a widely discussed topic about whether or not Alexander the Great was a hero. This report will discuss the qualities of a hero in contrast to Alexander’s deeds. Unlike other classical heroes Alexander was not of divine birth nor had an ancestral divine lineage. He was simply a mortal. However he was born a prince in a royal family. This is ultimately what gave him access to the title of hero. Without it there is fair cause to believe that he never would have accomplished the great things he did. At the age of 12 Alexander accomplished his first great accomplishment in taming the horse ‘Bucephalus’ N.S. Gill’s Ancient/Classical History Glossary, ‘Bucephalus’, viewed 5 May 2014, http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/alexander/g/Bucephalus.htm. . It was not uncommon for heroes to accomplish a great feat at a young age. Doing so showed that in the future the child would become a great man and in this respect Alexander certainly accomplished it…
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