When you think of heroes many come to mind. In present day one thinks of war heroes or Olympic medal winners. Those of us who attend college think of the many heroes we read in mythology class. There is a common thread, for each hero had to overcome great obstacles or do something no one else has ever done. Joseph Campbell an anthropologist describes the hero journey as a circle. One would have to agree with this theory by simply looking at our choice of a hero and tracing back the life of that individual. The contributions of heroes range from changing the world, or just having everlasting fame. Some heroes have been heighten by myths making them larger than life such as Billy the Kid. In the Odyssey, Odysseus travels to many lands, faces incredible odds, and learns from his experiences about life and his drive to reach a goal (Rosenberg 75). In comparison Albert Einstein, a modern day hero had similar struggles, though he was never faced with a one eye giant. His battle was for recognition was an emerging destructive giant we know of today as the Nazi regime.

Albert Einstein was born in 1879 (White and Gribbin 2). His parents were Hermann and Pauline both loving and caring. Einstein also had a younger sister name Maja. Albert Einstein had a difficult time in school he often would get in trouble because of the structured class routine and the strict discipline the teachers in Germany had with the students. It was in Zurich, Switzerland at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute, that Einstein’s potential of a great mathematician or physicist was discovered (Beckhard 28). Einstein had many challenges because all teaching and high scientific job positions were given only to Swiss nationalist. Albert exceeded in his studies and took on a teaching job at Winterthur, a reformatory style school (Beckhard 41). Einstein around that time married and had two sons. His marriage did not last long as he withdrew more and more into his scientific studies. In desperation to save a friend sentence to death in a German jail, Einstein was forced to return to Germany at the beginning of the Rise of Hitler. Einstein a pacifist never agreed with the philosophy of the German government and in December 1932 left Germany for good (White and Gribbin 203). Einstein is credited for many scientific theories, which today still challenge the world’s scientific community. Many call Einstein the father of the atom. Yet through all of this up to his death on April 18^th, 1955 Einstein the legend was also the mortal man with human weaknesses (Beckhard 125). Einstein was married twice (he thought of himself as a ladies man) had difficulties in school, was a college dropout, and a recluse to many. In all respects a normal man with an appetite for knowledge and a legacy created by his own doing.

Therefore, like Odysseus, Einstein underwent a journey. Using the Campbell hero circle, Odysseus fought a war, and traveled many years to get home travelling great distances and overcoming life and death challenges. Einstein departed on his journey when he understood that he could focus on his studies and was able to use his imagination, and his never-ending ability to ask questions about why things are the way they are. There were many trials and temptations along the way. In Germany he rejected schools. In Switzerland he was rejected as a teacher and a scientist and he was willing to accept at one point a job as a shoemaker (Beckhard 41). To the credit of the German government they gave Einstein the mobility to explore the deepest purpose of his scientific research. Escaping Germany and coming to the United States allowed Einstein to continue his lectures and research (White and Gribbin 203). Universities around the world acknowledge his scientific capability. All Einstein ever wanted was the ability to fulfill his desire to explore beyond the boundaries of science. To best summarize the achievement of Albert Einstein was the quote from President Dwight D. Eisenhower; " No other man contributed so much to the vast expansion of twentieth-century knowledge. Yet no other man was more modest in the possession of the power that is knowledge, more sure that power without wisdom is deadly. To all who live in a nuclear age, Albert Einstein exemplified the mighty creative ability of the individual in a free society" (Beckhard 126).
 

Works Cited

Beckhard, Arthur. Albert Einstein. New York: Avon Books, 1960.

Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology. Illinois: NTC Publishing Group, 1994.

White, Michael, and John Gribbin. Einstein A Life In Science. New York: Penguin

Books, 1993.