Greek Heroes Represented in Cinema

Films about antiquity have been around since the cinema began, from early films such as Cabiria to Hollywood blockbusters such as Gladiator. The ancient world was inhabited by people such as us, and cinema gives film makers to bring the past to life.[1] Greece has nearly always been misrepresented in cinema, being overshadowed by films about Romans. Nearly all films that attempt to depict Ancient Greece are unable to do justice to the magnificence of the time now gone (see below). This work is going to look at the representation of heroes within films depicting ancient Greece, and seeing how the role of the hero has changed from the past to modern day. By using cinema and literature I shall look at the differences between modern interpretations, and the Greeks view of heroes. The films that depict Greece that I shall be using are, 300, Alexander, and Troy.[2] I believe these films are the best examples for me to view Greek heroes, as I have been living in the world whilst they were released. This gives me first hand knowledge of views of modern societies on these films, and allows me to interpret the films with my own experience. My interpretation of how heroes are depicted in this essay will be due to pressures within my society, and the views I have will be much different to those of earlier generations, and later generations also. The reason behind this is that the views of society cause our society to view heroes from a certain point of view. Through this essay I am attempting to see how the views regarding heroes changes, from the Greeks to our own. First I believe it is vital that the problems of depicting Greece are brought forward, before discussing the role of the hero. Issues surrounding the Greek world and cinema are numerous and have caused film makers to veer away from the Greek option, instead creating Romanic worlds.

When people think of the Greek world, many jump to the idea of white toga wearing, sandal footed philosophers, with a leaning towards homosexuality. This stereotypical view is still around today, and it is a mould the Greek world is finding hard to break out of. Cinema has not helped to disparage this view, and some films only add fuel to the fire (see below for Alexander). Homosexuality has been a problematic subject in society for centuries, and it is only recently that people’s narrow-minded views are finally broadening. Homosexuality has been met with mild disapprobation or ridicule, to imprisonment and execution.[3] The Greek world by coming across with elements of homosexuality was being categorised within a taboo area of society. This homosexual element creates a problem when viewing, and creating Greek heroes on screen. Some people (mainly heterosexual males), would find it hard to connect with a hero who they believed to be homosexual. It is not until groundbreaking films such as Brokeback Mountain have pushed boundaries regarding homosexuality in film, that homosexuality is given a fairer representation to audiences. There are also films which bring back homosexual stereotypes such as Alexander (see below), which only exasperate the earlier problems. Views on Greece changed through time, creating this stereotypical image. In the Victorian age they were required to learn Greek so that they could read the New Testament as it was laid down, yet they did not like other aspects e.g. the Greek ‘pagan’ religion and homosexuality.[4] This did not aid the view of the Greek world, a view which has carried on since the age of cinema.