Heroes and Heroines Practice

In ancient Greek religion, there were many Heroes and Heroines, some very well known, others not so much. I have a few questions regarding them for modern Greek religious practice.

1: What constitutes a Hero and a Heroine in accordance with ancient Greek standards? I ask this for the less known Heroes and Heroines of ancient Greece.

2: Is it legitimate for a modern practitioner of Hellenism to recognize influential people from ancient Greek religion and myth as Heroes and Heroines, even if they may not have been necessarily perceived as such in ancient times?

3: How would Greek practitioners today legitimately have their own class of local Heroes?

AgathonZante wrote:In ancient Greek religion, there were many Heroes and Heroines, some very well known, others not so much. I have a few questions regarding them for modern Greek religious practice.

1: What constitutes a Hero and a Heroine in accordance with ancient Greek standards? I ask this for the less known Heroes and Heroines of ancient Greece.

2: Is it legitimate for a modern practitioner of Hellenism to recognize influential people from ancient Greek religion and myth as Heroes and Heroines, even if they may not have been necessarily perceived as such in ancient times?

3: How would Greek practitioners today legitimately have their own class of local Heroes?

1. There are two things which usually mark a person, in myth (though it may be difficult to perceive beneath the heavy layers of symbolism) or in life, as a Hero: a person who demonstrates great deeds and possesses a virtuous character.

2.) What defined a Hero in the popular religion of Classical/Hellenistic times was, in essence, cultus by a large number of people. In modern times the religion has, at least in countries outside of Greece and whether for the better or not, shifted from a familial and communal focus to a more individualized focus. The ancient standards in terms of the popular religion do not really exist in force anymore, and so, continuing in...

3.) Whom you idealize as a Hero is up to you and others' opinions do not necessarily hold weight depending on reasoning behind why you consider them a Hero.

Martin Luther King Jr. Joan of Arc. William Wallace. Rosa Parks. These examples of humanity can rightfully be called Heroes and Heroines.

So if, for example, I considered Penelope to be the Heroine of Fidelity and Loyalty, even though such was not her title in ancient Greece, that would be legitimate?

AgathonZante wrote:So if, for example, I considered Penelope to be the Heroine of Fidelity and Loyalty, even though such was not her title in ancient Greece, that would be legitimate?

If you want to attach those attributes to her, then do it. However, the way I have always viewed the Heroes, they exemplify all the qualities of an ideal human by definition, not just one or two, so I, personally, don't see the need to call Herakles the Hero of Valor, etc.

What it comes down to is a Hero or Heroine is a person who pursued their ideals, what they thought was right, with such valor and commitment and courage in the face of what seemed like overwhelming adversity, the story of who they are transcends life and inspires hope, optimism and courage in people and sets up an exemplar of how a person should act.