Modern Day Heroes
Modern Day Heroes
The oldest civilizations developed a system of powerful gods that would protect their city or nation. When one nation defeated another, it was assumed that the nation that won had the stronger god. As Greece developed into a strong nation and came to power, it dominated most of the world, taking its sophisticated family of gods with it. These gods performed bravely and courageously in a super-sized soap opera in the heavens. These myths have carried on into the present Twenty-first century.
If we had been living in Greece back in 300 BC, we would know the exploits of the gods such as Zeus, the most powerful god, the leader of all the others. We would listen to the stories of Perseus, the son of Zeus and a human woman. We would be able to identify with Perseus. He killed the snake-haired Madusa, which made his father happy. If there were t-shirt togas, I can imagine people wearing printing on those togas with sayings such as, "Perseus the Great", or "Zeus is Number I".
We can identify with the Grecian people of 2500 years ago because we have our own heroes. Three years ago, when the Cardinals were having a poor season, the ballpark was packed with fans coming to see their hero Big Mac. Recently we saw a different group of heroes, the New York firefighters and policemen. We will never forget the images of "9-11".
We need to have heroes too. They might be athletes, musicians, movie stars, or God. It seems that we have a need for an identity outside of ourselves.