The Iliad, you’ve read The Iliad, right? Trojan vs Greek, soldier vs soldier, man vs man.
But, from time to time, it’s not man vs. man. Sometimes the gods, being overly interested in mortal combat, disguise themselves as men and join the battle.
And they have no qualms about killing regular people, cutting them down easily and brutally. Ares, for example, the god of war, the “war glutton” and the “man-killer”, jumps down from Olympus and starts destroying soldiers like some grown man who’s decided to go beat up a whole Sunday school class.
And who can stop him, right? I mean, he’s literally a god among men.
…except that there’s a guy named Diomedes…
…and Diomedes catches Ares lacking…
…puts a spear in his guts…
…and sends him screaming back up to Mount Olympus.
That’s the thing about being a god; when you go up against mortal men, you lose even if you win. If you win, of course you won, you’re a god. But if you lose, what happened? Aren’t you a god?
That’s why The Iliad makes me think of Lebron James.
I mean he’s the perfect basketball player. If you were in a lab building a basketball player, you’d build Lebron James.
And when you’re the perfect basketball player, you’re expected to win every basketball game, just like the god of war is expected to win every fight. But, like Ares, Lebron has encountered his own Diomedes.
And what kind of god is bested by Diomedes? What kind of god is bested by several Diomedeses? Over…
…and over…
…and over…
…and over…
…again?
What do we do with a god who fails to be godlike? What do we do with a god who reaches the top only to be repeatedly toppled by mortals who pay him no deference and have no fear?
Where he is great, we yawn and regard it as expected. Where he is weak, we offer derision and scorn. Never awe, not really.
What great deed could Ares perform to make us forget about Diomedes’ spear? What heights would he have to reach in order for us to forget about the time Ephialtes & Otus kept him stuffed in a bronze jar?
How many championships will Lebron have to win before we forget about the Revenge of the Spurs in 2014 or the Exaltation of Dirk in 2011? How many points will he have to accumulate to make us overlook the Cavs Vs The Celtics in 2010? How many trophies? How many records?
What if he was a perfect father? A faithful husband? An upright engaged citizen, fully mindful of the oppressed and downtrodden?
Lebron’s burden is that of perfection, an impossible burden he was compelled to embrace perhaps before he was old enough to understand just what that embrace would demand.
We Are Witnesses. The Chosen One.
But what happens when we’re witnesses to the mortality of an immortal? Do we offer grace? Should someone seeking the crown of “Greatest Of All Time” require grace? Or is it required that the crown be taken forcefully, ruthlessly, by one who overcomes again and again, un-marked by the shame of failure?
…how can a frustratable god ever hope to outshine “The Best Of The Achaeans”?
Maybe it’s enough to kill scores of lesser Greeks, to build a numerical case. Maybe it’s no detriment to enlist the aid of other greats in the quest for the crown. One must use the tools available in one’s own time.
The greatest accomplishment in the career of Lebron James is that he’s managed to muddy the waters at all, that he’s managed to turn some away from a truth thought to be, at one time, unimpeachable.
Man or god, setting aside the many disappointments, Lebron is beyond impressive.
Me? I prefer Achilles.
Cheers.
This is wonderful. An exploration of the sociocultural underpinnings of mythology through ancient and modern myth-making. Well stinking done.
I didn’t expect to like The Iliad but I did. I wonder if high school me would’ve liked it, if I’d read it as assigned instead of just skimming through it.
Oh how I wish that you spoke of Prince Hector of Troy. Of the Cumming from Milwaukee. Of Achilles twice being swept away by Celtic Birds. Of his loses to the Boys of Detroit (they were bad no doubt.) Of Achilles Airness’ loss at the hand of Penny the Magician (what is often dubbed as “Grant’s Revenge.) Oh that you would tell of his latter years when Achilles, believing himself to be a Wizard, was denied entry into the battle of mere men.
…some crackpot has slipped through the spam filters…
Well said. This was chronicled many, many times. Jordan’s redemption arc.
We want to see the perfect basketball player deliver on his declaration of being the GOAT, purely by opinion and not achievement, yet, he chooses to flop, whine and complain. That’s the true juxtaposition of LeBron James. He’s playing the wrong sport, he’s much better suited for international soccer.