Calvin Coolidge once said, “Heroism is not in the man alone, but in the occasion” (brainyquote.com). Heroes are among the most popular literary figures of all time. A Greek philosopher, Aristotle, wrote his notion of classical heroism called tragic heroism in his work titled Poetics. In the Poetics, Aristotle explains that there are certain qualities of a tragic hero that can qualify him as tragically heroic. Two Greek literary legends, Achilles from Homer's Iliad and Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, fit the description of an Aristotelian tragic hero. Achilles, from Homer's Iliad, is a tragic hero. Achilles' quick anger coincides with a key characteristic of a tragic hero. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae takes Briseis, the prize of Achilles, or woman. This act is an insult to him, as it betrays Agamemnon as a more powerful figure, which makes Achilles seem less of a man. Achilles is enraged by this act of hypocrisy; Homer writes, “Should he draw the sharp sword at his side, advance through the ranks, and slay Agamemnon now? - or curb his anger and repress his own fury?" (371) Achilles' anger, or hamartia, is very evident in his thoughts. Just knowing that his prize had been taken brought out an anger in him monstrous, an anger that contemplated killing Agamemnon because it made Achilles seem helpless. His arrogant character, his tragic flaw, according to Aristotle's Poetics, can classify him as a tragic hero. Another factor of tragic heroism present in Achilles is his noble stature. His mother, the sea goddess Thetis, went to Olympia on behalf of Achilles to persuade Zeus, the king of the gods, to help the Trojans defeat the Achaeans. Achilles' position as a demigod is revealed when Homer writes, ...... in the center of the paper ...... state. Sophocles' titular character, Oedipus, is also a tragic hero because of his hamartia which causes his undeserved downfall Greeks can be defined as Aristotelian heroes. Although Aristotle's ideas about tragic heroism have been challenged and expanded, his notion of tragic heroism has left its mark on some of the world's most famous literature. Works Cited Aristotle. Poetics. He tans. SH Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive. Atomic Web and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, September 13, 2007. November 4, 2008 http://classics.mit.edu/. Calvin Coolidge. 2001-2013 brainyquote.com. November 7, 2012 Homer. The Iliad. Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.