56 pages • 1-hour read
Tales of the Greek Heroes
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence and death.
The Significance of Heroism in Greek Mythology
The heroic ideal is a central aspect of Ancient Greek myths, which Green’s retelling explores. The mythical hero is a larger-than-life figure, often a demigod with supernatural powers, who embodies the values and ideals of Ancient Greek society. To explore this concept, Green structures the book around Heracles’s various feats, which provide an overarching storyline in his retelling of the diverse myths of the Heroic Age.
In choosing and tweaking classical sources, Green emphasizes Heracles’s role as the ultimate hero—a savior of both the gods and humanity who helps Zeus maintain cosmic order against the threat of the giants. Heracles’s arrival, for instance, is expected by Zeus and foretold by Prometheus. This framing marks Heracles as the culmination of the Heroic Age—“the greatest hero of all” (54)—and, in its religious overtones, leans into the veneration of heroic figures like Heracles in Greek society.
Beyond this religious function, myths like Heracles’s served as moral and ethical teachings that exemplified Greek ideas of virtue and honor. Heracles’s choice between vice and virtue is a particularly pivotal moment, suggesting that honorable pursuits can only be accomplished by facing and overcoming adversity. He and other heroes must therefore embark on perilous journeys and quests, confronting immense challenges and monsters to prove their courage, fortitude, and worth. Heracles’s ultimate elevation to godhood is largely a function of his heritage as Zeus’s son, but it symbolically suggests the transcendence that is possible through the pursuit of excellence. Heracles’s flaws paradoxically underscore this point by highlighting his humanity; early in his life, he murders an innocent man due to his violent temperament, and though he ultimately becomes immortal, Heracles does not evade the experience of death.
While Green mostly appeals to conventional notions of heroism, many of the heroes he depicts were ambiguous figures in myth. In some instances, Green downplays these ambiguities to emphasize the ideal, as in his depiction of Theseus’s abandonment of Ariadne on Naxos. However, the complexity of heroism in Greek mythology comes through in Jason’s story. While Jason is also a legendary hero on an epic journey with a righteous purpose, demonstrating courage and strength in the face of adversity, he ultimately succumbs to his weaknesses and desires. Green’s Jason thus interrogates the heroic ideal, indicating how it can tip into ambition and pride.
The Complex Relationship Between Gods and Humans
The Olympian pantheon and their relationships and interactions with humans are central to Greek mythology, as explained by Green in the opening of the book. The gods are characterized by anthropomorphism; despite being immortal and having supernatural powers, they also exhibit human characteristics as well as earthly desires and emotions. Green emphasizes that ancient Greeks imagined the gods “like themselves”; they thus “could be cruel, or mean, deceitful, selfish, jealous, or even wicked” (6). This intertwining of the human and divine suggests a complex and often ambiguous relationship.
On the one hand, there is no question that a hierarchical relationship exists between gods and humans. The Olympians (via Prometheus) create humanity, and they exert power and control to manipulate people’s destinies, sometimes appearing to humans in disguise to guide them or inform them about the future. For instance, Zeus often favors and protects Heracles while also pursuing mortals as lovers. Such myths frame the relationship between mortals and immortals as interpersonal but unequal. Moreover, while Green generally depicts the Olympian gods favorably, juxtaposing them with the Titans and the giants to underscore their embodiment of a cosmic order, they are not always benevolent in their dealings with humanity. Apart from punishing humans who do wrong, as any divine authority might do, the Greek gods also project their own conflicts onto humanity, with destructive consequences. For example, Hera’s personal resentment toward Zeus complicates Heracles’s quest, as he must endure her constant trials. Prometheus’s story similarly emphasizes the gods’ ambiguous agency in the world, as he is punished by Zeus for benefiting humanity.
Despite their power and authority, however, the gods are not omnipotent. They rely on humans for their status—and not only because they demand worship and sacrifice. Zeus is the patriarchal authority in the Pantheon, defeating the Titans in the Titanomachy and establishing his domination over gods and humans. However, Zeus depends on Heracles to reaffirm his power over the giants at the end of the book. Indeed, Heracles’s very existence illustrates the interdependence of gods and mortals, as he is the son of a human woman.
Ultimately, the relationship between humans and gods reflects the ancient Greeks’ questions about human existence; for instance, a god’s anger might explain natural phenomena or simply the complexities of life. In this sense, the relationship truly is one of interdependence, with the gods as much humanity’s creation as vice versa.
Free Will and The Limitations of Human Agency
Green’s book examines the trials and hardships faced by Greek mythological heroes, whose stories often call into question their free will and ability to shape their own destinies. This idea of fate is fundamental to ancient Greek myth, where it often coincides with a deterministic view of humanity that highlights mortal limitations and the inevitability of death.
This is particularly clear in Meleager’s story, where the Three Fates, independent even of the gods, “presided over the fate of man” by spinning (229), measuring, and cutting the threads of human life. Their authority is confirmed when their initial prediction about Meleager’s life proves accurate in the end, despite his mother’s interference; Meleager has a predetermined destiny. The presence of prophesies throughout the book further underscores the idea that the future is set in stone.
Nevertheless, Greek myths also emphasize the power and significance of human choice and moral responsibility. This creates a complex interplay between destiny and free will, suggesting that they are not mutually exclusive. For instance, Meleager’s tragic end is a result of indiscriminate rage and unjustified violence. That is his mother, who first defied the Fates’ prophecy, who ultimately kills him further emphasizes the role of choice, as she is in effect revoking her earlier interference in her son’s destiny. The importance of human action is also central in Jason’s story, which Green uses as a cautionary tale about moral dilemmas. While Jason enjoys divine favor and guidance toward an epic goal, his desire for power precipitates his demise. Heracles’s “choice” is also a vivid example of the idea that people can exercise their agency to shape their life paths and to choose between virtue and vice.
Ultimately, the concept of fate is a means of questioning the forces that bind human existence and the limitations imposed upon their free will. Death is foremost among those forces, to the extent that determining the length of human lives is the chief task of the Fates. Similarly, Green describes Dionysus as “shar[ing] the fate of all mankind” by journeying to the Underworld (83), framing death as humanity’s universal destiny. However, humans have the freedom to choose their path in the face of this destiny, and some are rewarded for their choices with an eternity in the Elysian Fields or even with immortality.
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