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Maximus: A Modern Tragic Hero

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Maximus: A Modern Tragic Hero
Aristotle is one of the most famous Greek philosophers to have ever lived. You name it, he studied it. A few of the subjects he studied included Biology, Psychology, Physics, Politics, and Poetry. He was also very known for his idea of “the perfect tragic hero”. There were five characteristics the main protagonist in a plot MUST have in order to be considered a real tragic hero, at least according to him. The first trait an individual must have is being of noble/royal birth or having wisdom. Next is having a hamartia, also known as a tragic/fatal flaw. The third is a reversal of fortune, also known as a peripatetia. Next is an anagnorisis, this is when the “hero” realizes that their reversal of fortune was caused by their own actions. …show more content…
I personally do not believe Maximus carries every single one of those five traits Aristotle claimed a tragic hero MUST have. Since he does not have every one of those traits he can not be seen as a tragic hero, at least not in the Aristotelian sense. Maximus does however have a better fit to the definition of a modern tragic hero. A modern tragic hero may die without an epiphany. They also might not even have a catharsis and may suffer without the capability of changing their …show more content…
He is, according to Marcus Aurelius the emperor of Rome at the time, the greatest general of Rome. This is huge considering the fact that Marcus Aurelius himself was also once a general. However, I do not believe he has a fatal flaw. Maximus is stubborn, but that one flaw is not the reason for his death. Commodus, Marcus Aurelius’ son and heir to the throne, simply just hated him because his father loved Maximus more than him. Commodus’ hatred and jealousy for Maximus was the real reason for his and his family’s death, not Maximus’ flaw of being stubborn. This is also where the definition of a modern tragic hero comes in. There was nothing that Maximus could have done to change Commodus’ feelings toward him. Therefore leading to the suffering without the ability to change the events that ended up happening to
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