The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines “hero” as: “1. man of superhuman qualities, favoured by the gods; demigod. 2. illustrious warrior. 3. man admired for achievements and noble qualities. 4. chief male character in poem, play, or story”.
“Everybody loves a hero”, as the saying goes. We admire and adore those men and women of the past who did exploits; people of courage who overcame all obstacles and were fearless in the face of the enemy. I grew up reading Greek mythology, having discovered it while still a very young boy. My favourite characters were Achilles and Heracles (Hercules); but as I got older and learned history, my favourites became real people, headed by Alexander the Great, and my favourite nation of history was Greece; and of the Greek city states, I loved Athens above all.
But with my new-found Saviour and Christian faith, boyhood adulation matured and gave way to an appreciation and love of people who demonstrated faith, mercy, kindness, purity, and especially courage under persecution. I saw the flaws in petulant and vengeful Achilles, womanising Heracles, and the murderous Alexander who killed hundreds of thousands in battle and other means; and they became distinctly less heroic to me. At the same time I developed a love for and admiration of biblical characters such as Jesus’ apostles, Joseph, King Josiah, the prophet Daniel, Rachel the harlot, and godly Hannah; and later historical figures such as the Emperor Constantine, John Calvin, The English Reformers and Puritans, and Oliver Cromwell, some of whom have displayed heroism in various ways. As for Constantine, I accept that he had serious flaws, but I love him for setting all the poor benighted women of Phoenicia free from being confined in the temple areas until their virginity was taken by a stranger; and for banning gladiatorial combat throughout the empire. And, of course, for putting an end to the persecution of Christians, legalising Christianity and giving it equal rights with paganism.
Sadly, even the best of human beings are flawed because we’re fallen creatures, children of Adam and Eve, all sinners; every one of us is born at enmity with God and hostile to him and our hearts are “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us. Sir Galahad and Sir Percival are purity personified but fictional heroes; and however much we aspire to be like them, the best we can attain is to be like their contemporary, Sir Lancelot, a brave and noble knight, yet with flaws which precluded him from being able to find the Holy Grail.
Samson compared to heroes of mythology
Samson’s life and character fills the dictionary definition of ‘hero’ at the top of this post admirably. Samson was a real man in real history. He was a living hero of early Israel whose exploits have become legendary because of his amazing feats of strength. Even his birth had a supernatural element about it in that it was prophesied like some kind of mythical hero by an angelic visitor whom, we discover as we read the narrative, was a theophany – the second Person of the Trinity.
The story of Samson is told in the book of Judges, chapters 13 to 16. He was born in the time of the judges of early Israel and when the Philistines dominated Israel, approximately 30-40 years before Saul was made king of Israel; and Samson himself was a judge and therefore a leader in Israel. He was the first to strike a blow against Israel’s Philistine overlords. He is a central character in the book of Judges and noted for his faith in the book of Hebrews. He was/is a national hero to Israel and also to Christians, and he had characteristics in common with Achilles and Heracles, two of the greatest heroes of classical mythology.
Samson’s shared characteristics with the mythical Achilles
Samson was to Israel what Achilles was to the Greeks – invincible in battle; and as Heracles was to the Greeks, able to perform impossible feats of strength; and, like these two mythical Greek heroes, Samson was favoured by God who gave him superhuman abilities.
Achilles was a soldier, a warrior, born and trained for war, and a king with his own army. More importantly for him, though, was that his mother was a minor goddess and his father a human man. When Achilles was born, his mother took him to the River Styx, which separated earth from the underworld realm of Hades, and dipped him almost completely into its water; the only part of him which made no contact with the water was his heel, by which his mother had held onto him as she did so. Thus, the only vulnerable part of his body was his heel – hence the name ‘Achilles Heel’ for a weakness. Achilles was killed by Hector’s brother, Paris, who shot Achilles in the heel with an arrow during the Trojan War.
Samson’s background was more humble as he worked on his father’s land. He, too, was a leader, who led Israel through very dangerous times, but had no army; and in the end he gave his life for his God and his people. Nevertheless he most likely killed more of his country’s enemies in personal combat than did Achilles. And although he single-handedly fought and killed many Philistines (a thousand of them on one occasion), he never defeated them as a nation to deliver Israel from them – that glory was reserved for another flawed hero – King David.
But despite his heroic achievements he was very human. Like Achilles, Samson sought vengeance; but unlike Achilles he was not cruel with it. Achilles’ treatment of the body of Hector, crown prince and much loved hero of Troy, after killing him to avenge the death of his companion and lover, Patroclus, does not leave Achilles covered in glory. Samson, on the other hand, sought just retribution for the murder of his wife and her father. And he defended Israel even when they didn’t support him when the Philistines came looking for him, by surrendering to the Philistines so that no Israelite present would be harmed.
Samson’s shared characteristics with the mythical Heracles
It is natural for us to compare Samson with Heracles, more so than with Achilles, because of their superhuman strength. Chronologically, only a century separates them; the myth of Heracles can be traced as far back as the 13th century B.C. and Samson’s life can be dated to the 12th century B.C. Heracles’ exploits were known across the ancient world, and one of his famous Twelve Labours was to kill the Nemean lion, a creature with an impenetrable hide who had been laying waste the countryside. Heracles located him in a cave, strangled him, and wore the hide as armour ever afterwards. Thus, both Heracles with his leonine cape, and Achilles with his impenetrable skin, had physical invulnerability. Samson possessed no physical invulnerability but was protected by God himself, God being repeatedly called the shield of Israel and of individual Israelites. But Samson likewise killed a lion, which he met by the wayside, literally tearing it to pieces with his bare hands; and there the similarity ends.
Heracles was a demigod, having been born from a union between Zeus and a human woman, hence his inherent immense strength; whereas Samson was only ever a human being, but one who was given extraordinary physical strength directly by the Holy Spirit. Thus we see that deities were closely involved in the lives of each of these men.
Samson had prodigious physical strength and he used it to perform great acts for God and his people, Israel. He even made it into the bible’s “Hall of Fame”, being commended as a man of extraordinary faith (Hebrews 11:32); this is quite an honour, considering that the bible is full of people of extraordinary faith. Indeed, only fifteen people, including Samson, are actually named in this list.
Today’s unheroic heroes
Sadly, our modern society has lost sight of what constitutes heroism and heroes. So many people nowadays are proclaimed heroes but haven’t done anything to warrant that illustrious title. Consequently the concept of ‘hero’ has been watered down and cheapened to the point of being meaningless. A person merely has to do something a little above average and is feted as a hero. Much of what provokes society to lionise a person as a hero is really just everyday bravery at best, or mere neighbourliness, or common decency.
We use superlative terms for nearly everything now and there’s nowhere to go when a truly heroic act or heroic lifestyle is demonstrated. We call our favourite sportsmen ‘heroes’, as we do our favourite politicians, our favourite church leaders past or present, or any famous leader or general from the past. But most of the time, these people are/were simply good at what they do, which has nothing to do with true heroism.
A glaring case in point is the act of terrorism and murder at the Twin Towers in New York, when three thousand innocent people had their lives taken from them. This was a true tragedy and nothing can justify such a horrendous crime. It was a useless waste of life and achieved nothing good or positive.
But society’s response went into overdrive as the scale of the tragedy unfolded; and those who died were called heroes. But they weren’t heroes, they were victims; some may even think of them as martyrs; ordinary people going about their daily lives when their lives suddenly ended. Many of the firemen who attended the scene might be regarded as heroic in the way they went about trying to rescue as many as they could, without regard for their personal safety; but to put the victims in the same category detracts from the bravery of the firemen and cheapens the whole concept.
Likewise we often refer to our military as heroes – but they’re not; the bulk of them are just soldiers or sailors or airmen. Our sentiment, or national pride, or tribalism, provoke us to give them the highest accolades, but this is wrong. However, from the ranks of the military come true heroes, and their heroism is honoured by the bestowing of highly coveted medals, awarded to a very select few.
So the concept and quality of heroism as defined by the dictionary at the top of this article has become meaningless today; and now we have nowhere to go when we come across a true hero. What can we call a person who has done something truly heroic? How do we describe them and their heroism? The term ‘hero’ has been hijacked and we have nothing with which to replace it. The term ‘hero’ should be used sparingly and with care, as in the military, in order to highlight the true heroism of the hero, that superhuman nascent quality within. We need to distinguish between courage and heroism, between a brave person and a hero; heroism is a superhuman quality or characteristic which is far above ‘normal’ or even ‘outstanding’; that’s why it’s called ‘superhuman’.
Today’s heroes
On the other hand, however, a potential hero today ought not to be compared to Samson or Heracles or Achilles, as I’ve done. Today’s true heroes aren’t supernaturally born nor do they possess godlike powers; but they have something greater than Samson and the mythical heroes. Their strength, their courage, that intangible quality within them which, when activated, causes them to rise above the ordinary and make them superhuman, comes from within themselves. It is this quality which makes them heroic.
But a disaster or great danger is required to reveal the heroic within them and, until then, it lies dormant and unrecognised. Indeed, a hero would deny they were heroic – they see their heroic deed(s) as something that anybody would do under similar circumstances. But it isn’t true that anybody else would have done the same under the circumstances. Not everybody would rush into a burning building, for example, to rescue a mother and child or an old alcoholic man who is too drunk to even know the building is burning around him, while outside the area is surrounded by onlookers. So far are most people from being heroic, unwilling to put their own life or safety on the line under such a circumstance, that they would instead stand back and film the event on their phone so they can post it on their social media platform and get lots of ‘likes’.
Mythical Hector: a heroic role model
Prince Hector of Troy is a much better candidate for our modern role model hero. Without supernatural birth, he was the much loved hero and people’s champion. When he fought Achilles’ lover, Patroclus, who was on the battlefield dressed in Achilles’ armour because Achilles was sulking in the camp, Hector fought and slew him in the belief that it was really Achilles. But when he met with the real Achilles, he was no match for a god, and he lost his life in that encounter. In effect, he fought Achilles twice, knowing the very real danger, but faced him anyway for the sake of his home and his family. He was willing to face the impossible head on, despite the odds. A man of valour, he would rather die with honour than cringe behind the safety of the walls of Troy. Sadly, the wrong man died that day. The true hero was killed by he who was revered by every Greek soldier, but who allowed many of them to die in battle because he was sulking, nursing his injured pride sparked by an argument with Agamemnon, by refusing to go into battle until he had his way.
Petulant Achilles, a spoilt brat in the body of a demigod – what a dangerous combination. His prowess in battle wasn’t even his own but was part of the demigod package he inherited by virtue of his mother being a goddess, and was coupled with invulnerability due to the waters of the Styx protecting his worthless hide.
Contrariwise, Hector was on the field of battle day after relentless day defending his city, his home, and his family, while every Greek warrior searched for him to kill him and claim the honour of defeating Troy’s best. He was noble, patriotic, courageous, a caring and loving husband, and his fighting skills were his own – all that made Hector who he was, all those qualities which make a person heroic, were his own and he owed them to no god and to nothing outside himself. He was much more worthy to be called ‘hero’ than Achilles but sadly ‘might’ beat ‘right’, and the greater man was killed by the lesser, and his body humiliated and abused day after day by a childish Greek hero who was anything but noble.
Sadly, today’s true heroes are often vilified because they’re on the wrong side of politics, and the ignoble and worthless are lionised and glorified and the mantle of ‘hero’ is undeservedly ascribed to them.
Biblical heroes
But, as a Christian, I’d rather take my role models from the bible; and from that source is an endless supply of heroes; so many, in fact, that it would be pointless to list them here. For example, one could start with Hebrews chapter 11 because the many people listed therein are there because of their faith and courage demonstrated under great pressure. One of these heroes was a mother in Israel (Heb 11:36) whose seven sons stood firm for God. Faced with hideous torture inflicted upon them, the Greek oppressor-king tried desperately to get them to renounce God by eating swine’s flesh.
The mother was present and urged each son in turn to resist, knowing that a better life awaited them if they persevered. She defied the king by saying, “I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again” (2 Macc 7:11 NRSV-CE). And each of the sons in turn expressed their confidence in a resurrection to life, while the king would suffer for the crime he was committing against them. At the end of the account (2 Maccabees 7:1-42), when the last and youngest son’s turn came to face the torture, his older brothers all now dead, the mother whispered in his ear in Hebrew, “My son, have pity on me, I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you. I beg you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race came into being. Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again along with your brothers” (2 Macc 7:27-29). The narrative ends with: “Last of all, the mother died, after her sons” (2 Macc 7:41). If these faithful believers were not heroic, the word has no meaning.
There is another account, equally stirring and heart-rending, also alluded to in Hebrews 11:35, of an old man, “one of the scribes in high position, a man now in advanced age and of noble presence” (2 Macc 6:18), named Eleazar who was being forced to renounce God by eating the flesh of a pig. He refused, spat out the pork, and went to the rack of his own accord, and welcomed dying for the Lord his God.
Those who were in charge pitied him because of his age and tried to help him by suggesting he provide his own clean meat and eat it pretending it was swine’s flesh, and thus save his life. “’Such pretence is not worthy of our time of life’, he said, ‘for many of the young might suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year had gone over to an alien religion, and through my pretense, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they would be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age. Even if for the present I would avoid the punishment of mortals, yet whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by bravely giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws’” (2 Macc 6:24-28).
He then went forward to the rack where he was hideously and barbarically tortured, “leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young, but to the great body of his nation” (2 Macc 6:31).
I’ve chosen to use these two accounts because Protestants would not be aware of them due to their being found only in the apocrypha; however, they are commonly accepted as being the passages alluded to by the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews. And they are excellent examples of heroism exemplified by the young, the aged, men, and women. Heroes and courage come in all forms and bodies, but are all found in the human heart.
“NRSV Catholic Edition Bible, Hillside Scenic Edition Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Catholic Bible Press. Catholic Bible Press. Is an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.”