I've been reading and watching a lot lately that centers around great men and their illusions. Some of these heroes are genuinely inspiring, others just meat-headed, megalomaniacal mirages, but the idea of the great man with its many manifestations is intriguing to me. Here are some examples.
Ancient epics
Achilles is the greatest hero of the greatest western epic. However, from the first sentence to the climax, he is expressly motivated by rage: against Agamemnon, then against Hector. The rage of Achilles is how Homer invokes his muse first and foremost. Beyond this, Achilles is mostly characterized as a runner and fighter. He's the perfect fighter; he's a demigod; he is not necessarily noble in character; in fact he may just be pretty petty. Now, it seems just about everyone in Homer's world including the gods was petty, but you can pick out dignified qualities in other characters I'm about to mention, so I'm calling Achilles a blessed fighter with a divine advantage, who is not characterized by character.
Hector is his counterpart: the greatest warrior of Troy, who stands up to Achilles. Hector is a family man, defending his city and his people; a tremendous fighter, without divine advantage, other than the golden favor of Apollo. I like Hector quite a bit, but I can't elevate him to the upper pantheon of heroes when he's ultimately humiliated. He turns and runs from Achilles, and only stays ahead by Apollo's favor, until Athena evens the field and Achilles catches him, dragging his body behind his chariot for days.
Aeneas is a great character. Very strong, in will and physique; smart; leaderly. I'm borrowing from both The Iliad and The Aeneid, though I realize they're separated by centuries and motives. Aeneas is the perfect commander to turn Troy into Rome. But he's defining quality is piety, which just doesn't interest me as much as other heroic qualities. Actually, I should remember Aeneas when I get around to Lancelot. Those are two world-class warriors with some tragic history and some queenly affairs who ultimately turn to piety above all else. Lancelot's son achieves the Grail, Aeneas' founds Alba Longa which is the basis for Rome.
Ajax is too much of a basic hothead mega-warrior.
Nestor I can't quite remember well from The Odyssey, but in general he's superb: wise, strong, a total stud when he was younger, now a leader and elder. I admire Nestor. He always knows what's right. He's just less relatable at my age.
Zeus is the mightiest being extant, and he knows it, and he shows it. He's too godly to really admire; you have to just respect him instead.
That brings me to the last contender for my favorite hero of the old epics, and I may have saved the best for last. Odysseus is referred to as a great soldier and mariner, always cunning and resourceful, of many stratagems. In The Odyssey he shows himself as a formidable fighter in his advanced age, and as a natural leader. I don't think "resourceful" is how I'd describe my ideal hero, but if you consider that he's brainy beside brawny, a true leader, with family values as well as classic heroic virtues, pious yet grounded, adventurous, kingly without actually being the king of all Greeks... and you wrap all of that up in Sean Bean... Odysseus is top tier for me. Sean Bean gives it a huge bias, though I haven't even seen that movie in a while... but he's hovering tentatively near the top. I don't think he'll win this whole competition, but he wins the ancient epics category.
Achilles v Odysseus: would you rather be a 100 on fighting and 50 on everything else, or a 98 on everything including fighting... Achilles is the GOAT warrior but Odysseus is an all-around stallion
Matter of Britain
Gawain is easiest to start with; he's strong and fierce, but a bit of a brute, at least in the renditions I read. He's from such an unlikable family in TH White. He's too clan-centric. Lancelot easily outfights him (except when he has the benefit of that spell).
Lancelot is wonderful: so elegant and noble, effortlessly outfighting everyone on Earth. Unfortunately, he's constantly cuckholding his king, and he gets too guilt-ridden and religious. I love how he fights for England, quests for the Grail, delivers the queen so many times, decimates every opposing force, works miracles, has the magic touch. I don't love his affair and his piety.
Arthur doesn't have much personality in my skimming of Malory, but he's lovable in White. Lancelot is a more interesting character, but Arthur is endlessly lovable. Lancelot sins continuously with Guenever, but Arthur basically never sins. He's selfless, he's the height of nobility without losing his true heart. Arthur is a top-tier hero in White.
Rome
Julius Caesar commanded respect; he was brilliant and ferocious; but he was too self-aggrandizing, acting more and more like a god.
Augustus was cunning, and well-rounded enough in his savviness to, unlike Julius, survive and reign for a long time. But he was too devious.
Antony I liked a lot in my readings and viewings of the material, but I don't know his true character. I'm sure he was egotistic, nowhere near the Caesars in this list but egotistic nonetheless. I liked him because he was charismatic and somewhat loyal (the standard for loyalty in Roman politics was on the floor). But ultimately he was embarrassed by Augustus.
Middle-earth
Boromir is high and mighty, but suffers too much from the pride and greed of Men. He redeems himself in the end, and gives a great boost to the Quest, but only after a terrible trial.
Faramir transcends his brother's flaws, but his city and his line are dwindling, so he's only ever a secondary character. I would not mind a Boromir/Faramir spinoff, as I love them both.
Theoden is a good king, but he's too simple. Rohan itself is simple: horses and huts. The roots don't go very deep, the tree doesn't grow very high. Just picture Edoras vs Minas Tirith, and understand the cultures in the same way. Theoden is a bit proud and simple.
Aragorn is one of the best on this whole list. He's an expert warrior, an expert tracker and traveler, pure-hearted, beautiful, a born leader. I like that he's indecisive at the breaking of the fellowship; it annoys me when manly characters are too decisive, as though they don't actually have brains. Aragorn is a full human, though his lineage is blessed almost to the point of demi-divinity. He serves the Quest with all he has, becoming an invaluable friend to Gandalf and Frodo (two of the worthiest characters I can think of, in any medium -- worthier than Aragorn himself, though they don't fit the "great man" mold so well).
Gandalf is sort of a great male hero, though he's hardly male. He's probably my favorite character in Tolkien, and therefore one of my favorite characters period. He isn't a classic hero though... he's somewhere between Merlin, who assists Arthur, and Arthur or Lancelot. He does great deeds, his purpose isn't just to set up another... but he really is a servant at the end of the day.
Westeros
Ned
Jon
Jaime
Robb
Barristan
Robert
Stannis
There's gotta be a Targaryen somewhere down the line, before GoT, who's a dead ringer for this list. Also an older Stark.
Jorah
Hound
Wizarding world
Dumbledore. I need more backstory though. He's critical in Harry Potter but he's coming off the bench. It's not his story; he is to Harry as Merlin is to Arthur. I have a feeling, if I got more of his story, he'd rise pretty high.
James Bond
Other ideas
Garibaldi: I don't know enough about him, but he was a cool figure: a revolutionary, a good soldier and a great leader, who was so awesome that they had to call him back from retirement to do it all over again in his old age
Napoleon: too short, too egomaniacal, too humiliated, but a legendary commander
Christ
Moses
King David
Bourne: classic ubermensch from my childhood, but wouldn't make it far on the list
Charlemagne
Constantine
Alexander: I've heard talk that he was gay. I wonder what his personality and presence were like? On paper, he's a god: student of Aristotle, conquerer of the west
Fairfax Rochester: nowhere near most of these in heroism, but he's a guy you can model yourself after
Superman
Batman
Insert superhero here, though the two above would be my choices
Paul Atreides: great idea
Maximus
Saint Paul
Leonardo
Something from the Matter of France
Beowulf
Some other emperor or king I don't know much about? Genghis?
Buddha
Che
Jean Valjean
Bilbo
Frodo
Samwise
Reconsider Hector - I didn't give him enough credit. He's the biggest loser of antiquity, but arguably its noblest hero as well
Socrates
Modern heroes I wouldn't personally elevate in the same way as the rest: Rocky Balboa, Jason Statham-types, Jack Ryan, Jack Bauer, John McClane, Michael Jordan, Muhammed Ali, Malcolm X, Abe Lincoln, Tom Brady, George Washington, Churchill, Ulysses Grant (actually if I had the time I'd read that biography and maybe he'd be a candidate)
Jack Shephard
Steve Jobs haha. Just trying to keep an open mind.
Daddy lol
Galileo, Newton
William Wallace: okay, this was a great addition by Lovable as a prefill for the bracket front end. I didn't even ask for prefills!
Here's one way to depict it. One from each camp: antiquity (Odysseus), modern(ish) history(ish) (Arthur), and my two pillars of idealized life that I just can't exclude (GoT and LotR). It hurts not to see Jon up there though.
