The Hero Beyond Himself: Heroic Death in Ancient Greek Poetry and Art

The modern mind likes its heroism served with death. They died heroes begin news reports of death in battles and disasters, man-made or natural. Altruism, self-sacrifice, and disregard for danger define the modern hero, both in life and in death. Sometimes heroes are defined by the fact of their survival: war heroes return home after enduring the trauma of battle, captivity, or torture. Regardless of individual circumstances, to be a modern hero entails joining a community of individuals defined by the same essential qualities of selflessness and courage: to be a hero is to be willing to sacrifice oneself and risk one\u27s life for a greater cause, and to be remembered as much for how one faced death as for what one accomplished in life