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ScotlandClassical Studies

Heroes and Heroism

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How does ancient literature count the cost of heroism and question the heroic ideal?

The cost and questioning of heroism: how the texts count the human price of the heroic ideal and question it, through the suffering of victims, the doubts of heroes, and alternative kinds of heroism.
How ancient literature counts the cost of heroism and questions the heroic ideal in SQA Advanced Higher Classical Studies: the suffering of its victims, the doubts of the heroes themselves, and the alternative kinds of heroism the texts hold up.
12 min answer →

How does epic present the warrior hero, and how is the ideal complicated?

The hero in epic: the warrior ideal of strength, courage and prowess, the central place of the duel and the battlefield, and how epic both celebrates and complicates the ideal.
How epic presents the warrior hero in SQA Advanced Higher Classical Studies: the ideal of strength, courage and prowess, the central place of the duel and the battlefield, and how epic both celebrates the ideal and complicates it through the cost of war.
12 min answer →

What was the heroic code in the ancient world, and what did it demand?

The heroic code: the values of honour, glory and reputation that defined the hero, the demand to excel and be seen to excel, and the shame of falling short.
What the heroic code demanded in the ancient world: the pursuit of honour, glory and lasting reputation, the imperative to excel and be seen to excel, and the shame of falling short that drove the heroes of epic.
12 min answer →

How does tragedy present the hero, and what role do flaw, error and hubris play?

The tragic hero: the great figure brought low by error, flaw or hubris, the reversal of fortune, and how tragedy makes the audience pity and fear for the hero.
How tragedy presents the hero in SQA Advanced Higher Classical Studies: the great figure brought low by error, flaw or hubris, the reversal of fortune, and the way tragedy steers the audience to pity and fear for the hero.
12 min answer →