Heroes

I’ve been listening in the car to a cd course entitled “The Empires Before Alexander.” This covers the twelve empires before Alexander the Great in the area referred to as “The Cradle of Civilization” by most history books and can be expanded from Iraq to include Iran, Turkey, the east coast of the Mediterranean, known as The Levant, Egypt, Greece and the islands of the Aegean.

In the Aegean there were at least three ancient empires: the people of Crete known as the Minoans who were followed the Mycenaes who were followed by an ancient Greek culture. The last was based on a hero culture.

I had never thought about this before but hero cultures are based on conflict, on war, on one person vanquishing another. They aren’t good for relations with your neighbors. They require domination, tribute, booty, and submission. They are based on immature behavior. Minor slights, be they real or imagined, must be dealt with in the most vicious manner. The idea of an immature brand of masculinity is the ultimate goal, great for singing songs and telling tales about the heroes deeds; not too good if you have to live next them and be subject to their “adventures.”

Humm…