#ik i said not poetry but wanna tag it for r e a c h

[not a poem! but i really just want to talk about how stark the difference is between modern heroes and ancient heroes.]

see, modern heroes would sacrifice their lovers for the world—that was what made them heroes after all. they would abandon the very person they treasure the most just to save the people who shouldn’t matter to them from the villains.

but ancient heroes? so much of their stories are about vengeance for their dead lovers. i.e.: achilles killed hector and dishonoured his body because hector killed patroclus. achilles, in the same breath, refused to fight the war even if his brothers in arms were being killed by the trojans because agamemnon took briseis from him. twist his story, publish it in this modern context, and watch how achilles would be the villain.

so much of selfishness is associated to villainy these days, but back then? selfishness was what differed the heroes from the gods. so who’s to say which of the two versions is “better”?