Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
Finding eternal glory in Brad Pitt.
The year was 2005, the biceps were glistening and the film was Brad Pitt’s Troy. I eagerly awaited action and adventure as my Limewire client (totally legally, I swear) downloaded the film overnight, but an paradigm shifting metaphysical realization? Not quite what I expected.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of over the top Hollywood blockbuster badassery to go around but, more memorably in my eyes, Troy opened a window to the inner workings of one of mythology’s transcendent figures, The Immortal Achilles. And it’s incredible just how immortal he truly is.
If a man named Achilles truly existed is a debate embraced within many historian circles. However, there’s no denying that his character is a fascinating representation of the ideals and emotions that dominated the Classic world. The theme that drove Achilles, both in Pitt’s rendition and in more traditional tellings of the Iliad, that of kleos aphthiton. Of eternal glory.
Kleos, is a concept reflecting the importance of honor and heroes in ancient Greek culture. To achieve kleos is to live forever.
Without today’s many marvels of entertainment time was passed and legends were born from orally shared epic stories. Forget dreams of Oscar wins and Super Bowl MVPs, ancient Greek children dreamt of preforming feats worthy of being told and retold for eons — and they weren’t wrong. We’re still telling their stories.
Kleos as a word has all but faded away, forgotten on dusty scrolls, but the sentiment persists. The same values that fueled the Greeks of old — the desire to be remembered, to transcend death or absence, to leave your legacy — still fuels our modern world.
The emergence of Mylestoned, The History Project and others embracing innovations in memory preservation has made kleos more achievable than any time before. You don’t need to enlist a sculptor or scribe to ensure there’s a part of you that lives on, and it’s thrilling to imagine what doors that will open.
We still reach toward our eternal glory as passionately as ever, but we don’t need to wage war touch it. Everyone has the power to leave an echo of kindness, compassion and wist-inducing experiences. Now that’s glorious.
