I watched a piece of news today. Allegedly, in one of the sadly every time more abundant leaked political scandals, the prime minister of a theoretically exemplarish First World Country has been caught in an excessively sensual pleasure-enjoying way during what should be a solemn occasion. Reacting to this, I got a contradictory mixture of feelings. “Why them and not me?”; “This is not good”; “The world is a sad place”, and so on.
This triggered a feeling I have had ever since some months ago. Today’s situation reminds me powefully to the time of Hellenism. We live in a connected, cosmopolite world, with possibilities unseen until now, but it is also a world where society has lost its beacon, and the supposed societal structures that should ensure our safety and well-being -religion, politics, powers- have failed their purpose. The individual has risen again, and we wander aimlessly in a thick obscurity, where only we we think about ourselves. People gather alongside thoughts and luminaries that promise an individual salvation or happiness, or at least for the close group of related individuals -like old Hedonism and Stoicism-. Man’s soul isn’t a societal being anymore.
But, like responding to a stimulus, twitter linked me to the image above. The hero of the Ilyad, Ajax, carries the corpse of his friend Achilles. Ajax is not one of the biggest characters of the poem, but here he is shown in the center, performing a deed worthy of a non inferior soul. Carrying the body of a dear lost person implies a vast ability of sympathy, respect and resilience.
It is certainly an act of a hero, an act of good will, dignity, of light in this world.
A hero is, no more and lo less, a figure that casts darkness away and shows the world that life still has light, dignity, and a glorious, virtuous, radiant aspect. A beacon.
An inspirer. Or an inspired inspirer.
Today I understand why the humankind since its dawn has the need of heroes: legends, physical prowesses, scholars or tacticians, leaders, fighters, charismatic figures or examples. They don’t even need to fully exist: take as example the most mainstream heroic figures of today -sport stars, musicians or actors-. People admire them not because of who they are, but the image they cast on their fans. The image they perceive of them. That is why people grieve when they show they are humans with their not so pretty parts, too.
The world needs somebody that can look like they can say you can always count on me.
And if we don’t have heroes, not a single figure worthy to cast out the darkness around exists, we can become one too. An apparently small deed, like Ajax’s, even for a second, is inspiring and shows the light that still exists in this world.
I understand why the Ancients divinized heroes. That inspiring ability is only something that can come from God, or people touched by them.