Achilles And Spiderman

Derivative Images

It is not every day that we find Achilles and Hercules mentioned in the same breath as Spider-Man and Batman. To my mind, what divides them are what different understandings of ‘heroism’ entail and what different societies value. What unites them is far less their heroism than their conflicts and struggles despite their superhero abilities and feats.

What does it mean to be a hero? Taken together, gold, gifts (whether material or god-given), self-control, and fists form an intriguing combination of heroic references. Being a comic-book hero usually means saving the world. When we imagine Spider-Man and Batman, we may think of fighting crime and cosmic threats, or the famous clichés “with great power comes great responsibility” and “it’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.” In the Homeric world, hērōs (ἥρως) “signifies a warrior who lives and dies in pursuit of honour (τιμή) and glory (κλέος)”.^[1] Being a hero seems to mean more using one’s powers for oneself.

Let’s dive into some specifics, taking “Achilles and his gold” as our cue. Gold in Homer is often associated with the gods and immortality. It is surely associated with wealth, but sometimes it is not as highly “ranked” as we might think.^[2] In setting out the chariot race prizes in Patroclus’ funeral games, Achilles offers a brand-new cauldron for third place, but two talents of gold for fourth (Iliad 23.267–9).^[3] This opens up a whole conversation about symbolic and commercial value: what would we do if presented with choosing between a one-of-a-kind handcrafted kitchen appliance by a famed craftsman and a cash prize? The answer may be obvious, or not – the Iliad makes us think twice.

In any case, Achilles is not usually noted for his gold, even though he was rich in prizes and spoils. He tells us so in his great speech on honour and glory, when he rejects Agamemnon’s copious material compensation, which included seven whole cities (9.356–409). Others might say that the song lyrics refer to Homer’s famous ecphrasis, the shield and armour made by the god Hephaestus at the request of the hero’s mother Thetis (18.468–617).

To me, “Achilles and his gold” recalls the meeting between the hero and godlike Priam, who brings “countless ransom” (ἀπερείσι’ ἄποινα) for the body of his son Hector. This ransom included ten talents of gold (24.232; Agamemnon also offered this as part of his recompense in 9.122). It is a powerful and emotional scene (24.477–571).^[4] Evoking Achilles’ aged father Peleus at the start and end of his supplication, Priam

roused in Achilles the desire to weep for his father. He took the old man by the hand and gently pushed him away. And the two of them began to weep in remembrance. Priam cried loud for murderous Hector, huddled at the feet of Achilles, and Achilles cried for his own father, and then again for Patroclus: and the house was filled with the sound of their weeping.^[5]

Scholars raise many interesting points about the whole scene: there are themes of father-son relationships, memory, pity and anger, mortality and immortality, separation, and reconciliation with society.^[6] But what strikes us first is a sense of tender vulnerability amidst overflowing emotion. For all the heroic associations we make, we find fragility. Achilles tells Priam, “this is the fate the gods have spun for poor mortal men, that we should live in misery” (24.525–6). We see and feel little fairy-tale bliss.

In a different way, the premise of the Spider-Man character elicits the same feeling.^[7] Stan Lee explained how he created a superhero who “would lose out as often as he’d win – in fact, more often.” Peter Parker is a relatable teenager, self-absorbed, awkward, and misunderstood. As Brandon Wright explains, this could not have been farther from male DC superheroes, who were all the same: rational and in control, predictable, and wholly altruistic. Soon superheroes with “awesome powers and human shortcomings became the defining feature of Marvel Comics”, though in fairness I should mention that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy does well to draw out the conflicts and complexity of Bruce Wayne. Despite their gifted abilities, theirs are not the lives we unquestioningly yearn for.

Finally, the song’s reference to “Hercules and his gifts” opens up a whole new world of comparisons, the surface of which I can only scratch here. If we have in mind his literally god-given gifts of strength and bravery, then we have the whole epic content of the Twelve Labours to chew over – from hydra-slaying and Cerberus-petting to golden-apple-picking and industrial-scale stable-cleaning. But if we are to think instead of gifts given by Hercules, we may need to transition briefly into Roman epic. In Book 8 of Virgil’s Aeneid, we find a detailed account of the history of Pallanteum – or Rome-before-the-Romans – in which we’re told how Hercules gifted peace to the forebears of King Evander by defeating the monster Cacus (8.184–272). However, the graphic violence with which he vanquishes his foe, depicted so vividly by Virgil, and the evocation of good versus evil on an epic scale (Cacus’ very name evokes the Greek word for “wicked”, κακός), hint at the tremendous brutality and cost incurred during battles for peace and security.^[8] This suggests a clear tension in the character of Hercules: his legendary heroism struggles to manifest itself without violence.

In summary, I first suggested that the word “hero” has slightly different meanings in the comic book and epic poetry worlds. In the former, saving the world foregrounds the story, while in the latter, eternal honour and glory take centre stage. But when we dived deeper into the stories of Achilles and Peter Parker, we found some common ground that unites these seemingly incomparable characters: vulnerability and ambiguity lie at the heart of their characterizations. This means that they capture our imaginations less because we aspire to live like them, but because we find a little of ourselves in those moments where fragile humanity is amplified to suit the super-scale of heroes’ lives.

Brian Theng

https://antigonejournal.com/2021/07/coldplay-achilles-spiderman/