The Heroic Legislator in State Theory Lykurgus/ Oliver Cromwell/ James Harrington
Monarchy was the predominant form of government in the Early Modern Age. A system change was considered by many an unthinkable transgression. There were, however, political thinkers who considered a republic to be a better form of government, because it combined security and stability with citizen liberty.
However, according to one influential idea, such a change was unthinkable without a hero who, as a bold and determined legislator, would initially seize power in an overthrow.
Hero of the dissolution of boundaries – Orpheus
Heroic transgressions do not only refer to visible bounda- ries or borders that are understood as limits of what is feasible or permitted. The mythical singer Orpheus succeeds in crossing the boundaries of what is conceivable through his singing: it is the boundary between life and death, between living and dead. With him, everything becomes life, time does not count any more. The heroic story of Orpheus serves the human longing for the ultimate transgression of time as a factor of human life.
Being the First (Female) - Melli Beese, Pilot
Members of social groups that experience discrimination have to go a long way before they can get celebrated and heroised for their achievements. Be it gender, class, or ethnic boundaries, before the heroic transgression comes the transgression into a space in which heroisation becomes possible in the first place.
Sometimes women are heroised because they have crossed the confines of gender and have made it into the heroic realm reserved for men. One such example is Melli Beese, the first female German pilot.
Alexander the Great
For nearly two and half thousand years, Alexander the Great has been regarded as the hero per se. He swept away boundaries, defining new ones: personal, geographical, military boundaries as well as boundaries of knowledge. He even exceeded the boundaries of being human, since he was worshipped as a god.
To this day, the mere mention of his name evokes the association "hero". Alexander's enduring heroisation makes him an eternal role model for individual human achievement in both political and personal challenges, for which there seems to be no time limit.
Heroic Death as a Mass Phenomenon in World War II
Dying a heroic death is considered to be the ultimate crossing of boundaries and the culmination of heroism. A heroic death is nurtured by what survivors attribute to it. In times of war, heroising the death of soldiers serves to make their death ideologically plausible and politically legitimate, and to continue the war.
In National Socialist Germany, every combatant was already an admired hero. But to die for the fatherland was rated the highest form of heroism. As World War II progressed, the narrative of dying a hero became less and less convincing and was increasingly seen as a symptom of crisis.