Standing on the walls of TroyAn ancient city in modern-day Turkey. It is the subject of Homer's epic poem The Iliad. After a ten-year siege, the hero Odysseus finally took the city by hiding a group of Greek soldiers in a vast wooden horse, which the Trojans wheeled into their city. This is the origin of the expression "Trojan horse"., Andromache begs her husband to stay and defend the citadel rather than joining the battle outside. "What are you doing, Hector?" she asks in Emily Wilson's translation of the Iliad. "You strange man! Your will to fight will kill you!" Hector knows that if he dies, she probably will end up as a slave - but such is his longing for glory he goes out anyway.

The great poem tells of a war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Hector is Troy's greatest hero, while Achilles is the Greeks'.

The siege of Troy lasts for 10 years. The Greeks come close to defeat when Achilles refuses to fight after a quarrel with their commander, Agammemnon, over a beautiful female captive.

But when his closest friend, Patroclus, is killed by Hector, Achilles returns to the battlefield. He kills Hector and drags his body around the city behind his chariot. Later he is killed himself.

Troy is finally captured not through bravery but trickery. The Greeks pretend they are sailing away and leaving a giant horse as a tribute to the gods. But the horse contains soldiers who steal out once it is inside the city. UlyssesA legendary Greek king of Ithaca. Also known as Odysseus. , who comes up with the idea, is a brave warrior but also a con man.

Writing in The New Yorker, Judith Thurman argues that modern humans are driven by the same things as in Homer's day: "the greed for stuff, the drive for sex, the fear of death, the bonds of love, the pull of home, the glamour of fame, plus all the insecurities - especially about virilityManliness. Also used to refer to fertility in men. - that generate violence."

The poem's first word, "menin", sets the tone, referring to Achilles' "cataclysmic wrath". The story is summed up by Rowan Williams¹ as a "naked contest of male honour" involving a "manic concern with status and not losing face". The result for all the women involved is "utterly desolate fate" - the loss of loved ones, slavery or death.

There have been many translations of the Iliad, but few of them have been by women. According to Wilson, "Any woman who has lived with male rage at close range has a better chance of understanding the vulnerability that fuels it than your average bro. She learns first-hand how the ways in which men are damaged determine their need to wreak damage on others."

There are plenty of examples. It has been argued that Kaiser WilhelmWilhelm II was the last German Emperor. His abdication in November 1918 marked the end of the German Empire. 's insecurity about his withered arm was partly responsible for World War One. In Shakespeare's Coriolanus, the brilliant Roman general is so enraged by being exiled that he joins the city's enemies in attacking it.

But in an article for The Atlantic, Caitlin Flanagan defends heroism "in the sense of defending and protecting the weak". Men are often most obviously placed to do that because they are larger, faster and stronger than women - and they should be proud to take on the role.

She gives as an example the 343 firefighters who died at Ground ZeroThe exact place at which an explosion occurs. Often used to refer to The World Trade Center site in New York, which was destroyed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. on 9/11Influential figures in Saudi Arabia are believed to have encouraged the terrorists who carried out the attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.: "There wasn't one of them who didn't know, or at least suspect, that he was climbing to his death."

Yes: The characters in the Iliad may not be perfect, but that does not mean that their heroic qualities should not be imitated. We all need ideals to aspire to if we are to realise our potential.

No: The popular idea of a hero as a strong, fearless man is a dangerous one. Such dominant characters are often flawed and can use their power to ill-treat weaker people instead of helping them.

Or... There are many different types of heroes, including physically weak people who show bravery in standing up for their beliefs or pursuing their goals. Boys and girls alike should try to be like them.