[UA] Hero archetype

[holycrow at mindspring.com]

I shy away from the idea of "Hero" and "Villain" as archetypes for UA because they're pretty flat.  "Philanthropist" might work better for "Hero" and "Exploiter" might work better for "Villain," because those are people you DO meet every day.

I recently read John Keegan's "The Masks of Command" and it discussed Alexander the Great as a prototypical "Greek Hero."  And you have to admit, he fits the bill admirably, what with the horse taming and the personal valor and conquering most of the known world when he was younger than I am right now.

HOWEVER... Keegan points out that Alexander really built NOTHING.  His empire disintegrated soon after he died -- certainly it had nothing like the influence and stability of the Persian empire he destroyed.  You can make a convincing case that Alexander the Great left the world nastier than he found it.

Hero?  To the Macedonians, hell yes.  To the Persians, the guy was the devil made flesh.

So the "hero" perhaps is fellow who's willing to risk everything, kill and/or die, for his cause.  The nature of the cause?  Well, you know how causes are.  They look good on paper, but it's very hard to be completely pure...

-G.

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