Gilgamesh, a real Hero
... sand, “our land”, signifies all that Nameless must put over his personal revenge. A Hero seeks revenge against those that have wronged them, or their people. Whether by mistake or by design, the repayment of the offense benefits the group, and not just the hero. Nameless' single-minded drive towards revenge blinded him to the harm he would cause countless others for years to come, were the Qin leader to be killed and the regions war again. Without the wisdom of Broken Sword to set him on the path, and the confession of the King to cement it, Nameless would have become a martyr to no cause, a rallying point only for revenge, rather than a beacon of hope. Unconsciously, Nameless requires Broken Sword and the King’s confession of his plan to become a true hero. Without them, and their actions, he would be only an assassin, responsible for years of war. The arguments between Flying Snow and Broken Sword are symbolic of the internal battle raging inside Nameless, and help to show the progress of his reasoning. Heroes always have a mentor or a teacher, someone who points out an intrinsic piece of wisdom that enables the hero to finally complete his quest. The reasons behind the battles between Broken Sword and Flying Snow evolve during each retelling, bringing greater understanding to Nameless each time it is repeated. Flying Snow represents the desire for revenge in Nameless and Broken Sword calm wisdom. When Broken Sword is defeated in the final retelling of the events leading to Nameless’ audience with the king, the realization is made that the revenge was meaningless, and that the ‘hero’ is nothing more than a killer, bent on their own self-satisfaction. The necessity of a vehicle to carry meaning and realization to the hero is absolute, for no hero can be completely solitary. Gilgamesh could not have made it through the cedar forest without Enkidu to help him, even if only to shout encouragement, just as Nameless would not have spared the king without the wisdom of Broken Sword. The goal of Nameless’ character is not to become the King of Qin and force peace across the land, but rather to serve as an example to the current leader on how to become a wise ruler. The great quest of uniting all the warring lands together is above the abilities of Nameless and the other assassins, but the King of Qin is able to do so. Nameless’ death without defense shows the King what it means to be a Warrior King and ruler. In a sense, Nameless and his sacrifice is the piece of wisdom that enables the King of Qin to fulfill his great quest of uniting the lands and bringing peace to China. However the uniting of the warring lands takes a backseat to the overcoming of senseless revenge with the realization that there is more resting in the decision of one man than he may have thought. A hero cannot truly be a hero unless they face at least the possibility that their actions can lead to their death. An immortal hero with a quest does not exist, for if they are immortal with extraordinary powers, they are simply a god. A hero is a mortal with or without extraordinary powers that completes their assigned or chosen quest. With his death, Nameless sheds his appearance as an immortal swordsman and becomes a hero, a sacrifice to the future peace of China. Much like the demi-god Gilgamesh, Nameless begins his quest by killing and challenging people, and much like Gilgamesh, Nameless begins his quest because he has lost someone he loved. While Gilgamesh lost his friend Enkidu, Nameless lost his people to the armies and arrows of the Qin army. Appearing invincible by fending off wave after wave of countless arrows, and easily defeating 8 men at a time, Nameless appears as a demi-god like Gilgamesh. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh must travel to the netherworld in order to solve his problems and to learn something he would normally not know. In Hero, Nameless dies to give insight and knowledge to the King of Qin on his quest of unity. The Greek expectation of a hero was that they would have honor in how they behaved, and that the host/guest relationship would be maintained. The expectation was that the duties to your people and to your household would elevate you to hero status. Failure to maintain these relationships would result in the loss of a hero’s status as an exceptional individual worthy of that title. Nameless finds and upholds these values at the end of the film by dying for the greater good of his people, rather than avenging the deaths of some of his people. The Greek emphasis on the host/guest relationship is present in the movie Hero as well, and requires two people to maintain it. The hero cannot simply walk into a Kings palace and expect to be treated as an honored guest; a certain level of decorum must be maintained. From the beginning of the ...