Abstract
The essay looks into how the Greek and Roman culture developed the idea of the hero into the idea of a saint, during the process of conversion and totalization. The paper studies Saul of Tarsus and Augustine of Hippo, their conversions, and how they relate to the stature of hero and saint.
Introduction
We find two metaphors in Professor Ambrosio lectures, the hero, and the saint. These personified ideas carry different approaches to seeking the meaning of life. There are explicit metaphors of hero and saint, and these two figures carry different worldviews and in the human situations. Heroes are seen to live for their ideals and fulfillment, but are not selfish. Saints are seen to be connected to God as well as the fellow humans. They give love, accept love and live for others. According to Ambrosio, the course and notion of conversion and totalization are very interesting and how these concepts got evolved and integrated with Greek and roman cultures.
The concept of the hero has experienced significant changes throughout history, especially in terms of philosophy. In the Greek society, the hero has changed little, and the key elements still remain the same. The tragic hero carries a Noble origin in Greek and is seen as the chosen one destined to be a hero. He has to undergo great sufferings and sacrifices to achieve the status. However, the role of human will cannot be undermined as the person must make individual decisions to express and reach full potential. Now, we find that although the connection with cosmos and nature is still the focus shifts on human will and his responsibility. This hero need not be born, but can become one. Education plays the role of an important tool. When comparing the two notions, it is easy to see their differences and the similarities. Both Hero and Saint lead meaningful lives of self-satisfaction and achievement. They use their special status, either granted to them or achieved by them to fulfill their objectives and mission in their lives.
Paul was born in Tarsus in southern Turkey in a Jewish family and was known as Saul earlier. The Jewish family can be traced back to the Benjamin tribe. There is a strong Christian belief with the conversion of Saul of Taurus. According to them, God has always been there to help His people and knows what is best for His people. There was a crisis of identity among the disciples in the immediate aftermath of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The conversion of Saul Taurus among the Christians is the most celebrated one. He was the solitary follower who did not personally interact with Jesus before his crucifixion. The famous conversion takes place when he is moving to Damascus from Jerusalem. Thereafter, he spent his entire life spreading the news in the gospel of Jesus. God will save from those from death whoever have faith in him. He was successful in touching a widely diverse audience from being a remote and obscure Jewish figure.
Augustine of Hippo was a theologian and Latin philosopher, and looked upon as one of the greatest thinkers of all times. In his Confessions, he speaks about the pattern of conversions through his life and how did he experience the conversion. Personal and cultural lines of development played a dominant influence in his conversion. "Confessions" documents his spiritual journey and from an early age, he was in touch with the classical literature of the Greek and Roman. His conversion points to the conflict between flesh and spirit, and how he struggled with sexuality and maturity, and finally self-masters himself to lead to the tree of knowledge. Augustine attracted people and his writings carries beautiful expressions. There is no denying that he was the greatest thinker of all times.
For the Greeks, a hero was a demigod and achieved a divine status after death. He shows courage to sacrifice himself for mankind and the good of the humanity. In Christianity, we find the idea of the Greek hero applied to Jesus Christ by Paul. He reminds others to be like Christ, who was the image of God, but became a humble servant of the humanity. Christ achieved a divine status after his death, just like a demigod. Paul, after his conversion, is considered a hero because of his acts of self-sacrifice, his imprisonment, and own oppression. Paul's own self-sacrifice would give him an equal status just like a hero or demigod and Augustine could be a hero in his own right.
