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Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero
Series:
This volume explores two fundamental questions. The first concerns the essence of the hero and the nature of heroic action. The second question has to do with the cultural role of the hero. This is an issue worth discussing, inasmuch as heroes often represent the worldview of a culture. The authors of this anthology contribute from their area of expertise to the analysis of these questions. The volume is divided into four thematic sections—classical studies, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of religion, and myth-criticism—each representing different philosophical approaches from which the figure of the hero can be explored.
Nassim Bravo is Associate Professor at the Institute of Humanities, Universidad Panamericana. He has published many articles and translations on the culture of Golden Age Denmark. His most recent book is Poul Martin Møller: Poet, Philosopher and Philologist (Brill, 2025).
Eduardo Charpenel is full-time Research Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, Universidad Panamericana. He specializes in ancient philosophy and German idealism. He is the author of the monograph Ethos und Praxis: Der Charakterbegriff bei Aristoteles (Karl Alber, 2017).
Gustavo Esparza is full-time Research Professor at the Institute of Humanities, Universidad Panamericana. He has published articles and anthologies on the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer. His most recent book is The Universal Form of the Singular: The Early Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer (1898–1917) (Brill, 2025).
Eduardo Charpenel is full-time Research Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, Universidad Panamericana. He specializes in ancient philosophy and German idealism. He is the author of the monograph Ethos und Praxis: Der Charakterbegriff bei Aristoteles (Karl Alber, 2017).
Gustavo Esparza is full-time Research Professor at the Institute of Humanities, Universidad Panamericana. He has published articles and anthologies on the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer. His most recent book is The Universal Form of the Singular: The Early Philosophy of Ernst Cassirer (1898–1917) (Brill, 2025).
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Nassim Bravo, Eduardo Charpenel and Gustavo Esparza
1 The Importance of Spirit
Heroes and Anti-heroes in Plato’s Republic
Abida Malik
2 Permanent and Absolute Kingship of a Godlike Man in Aristotle’s Politics III
Simon Weber
3 Aristotle, Heroic Virtue and Perfect Happiness
Maria Liatsi
4 Aeneas
The Hero between Myth and History
Claudio Calabrese and Ethel Junco
5 The Echoes of Heroes in Hegel’s Philosophy
Eduardo Charpenel
6 The Nietzschean Hero
From Dionysian Tragedy to the Übermensch
Jorge Uriel Gutiérrez Rojas
7 The Author as Hero
Kierkegaard’s Account of Himself as a Heroic Poet
Elisabete M. de Sousa
8 We Are Legion
An Explanation of Evangelical Demonology
Fernanda Rojas
9 The Christianization of the Greek Hero
The Proof of Immortality
Jesús M. Nieto Ibáñez
10 From the Forgotten God to the Superhero
Euhemerism and “Heroification” of the Ancient Gods
Javier Espino Martín
11 Gilgamesh and the Struggle with Nature
A Study in the Spirit of Environmental Philosophy
Jon Stewart
12 Samson’s Fate
The Religious and Pedagogical Function of Strength
Gustavo Esparza
13 American Vulcan
Mythology of War and Xenophobia in American Gods
Luis Alberto Pérez-Amezcua and Jorge Bladimir Ramírez Guerrero
Index
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Nassim Bravo, Eduardo Charpenel and Gustavo Esparza
part 1: Classical Studies
1 The Importance of Spirit
Heroes and Anti-heroes in Plato’s Republic
Abida Malik
2 Permanent and Absolute Kingship of a Godlike Man in Aristotle’s Politics III
Simon Weber
3 Aristotle, Heroic Virtue and Perfect Happiness
Maria Liatsi
4 Aeneas
The Hero between Myth and History
Claudio Calabrese and Ethel Junco
part 2: Philosophical Anthropology
5 The Echoes of Heroes in Hegel’s Philosophy
Eduardo Charpenel
6 The Nietzschean Hero
From Dionysian Tragedy to the Übermensch
Jorge Uriel Gutiérrez Rojas
7 The Author as Hero
Kierkegaard’s Account of Himself as a Heroic Poet
Elisabete M. de Sousa
part 3: Philosophy of Religion
8 We Are Legion
An Explanation of Evangelical Demonology
Fernanda Rojas
9 The Christianization of the Greek Hero
The Proof of Immortality
Jesús M. Nieto Ibáñez
10 From the Forgotten God to the Superhero
Euhemerism and “Heroification” of the Ancient Gods
Javier Espino Martín
part 4: Myth-Criticism
11 Gilgamesh and the Struggle with Nature
A Study in the Spirit of Environmental Philosophy
Jon Stewart
12 Samson’s Fate
The Religious and Pedagogical Function of Strength
Gustavo Esparza
13 American Vulcan
Mythology of War and Xenophobia in American Gods
Luis Alberto Pérez-Amezcua and Jorge Bladimir Ramírez Guerrero
Index
This volume is intended for scholars and graduate students interested in cultural studies and myth criticism focused on the figure of the hero. It can also be a valuable resource in the fields of philosophy, theology, and literary studies.