Jerkass/Oral Tradition

Almost every single Greek Hero is one. Also every Greek God, varying between "Jerkass to some extent" and "Jerkass on steroids." (Athena is an example of the former, while Zeus is definitely the latter.) Considering the jobs of the Greek Heroes in Myth is to pretty much get completely screwed in the end (and they know it too) it is sort of understandable for them. Then you notice that the Greek Gods are doing most of the screwing on the Heroes and that most of the Heroes are children or grandchildren of the Gods, which only makes the Gods even worse Jerkasses.
- Among the noteworthy Greek Gods, the exceptions are arguably Hestia, Demeter, and Hades - and there are stipulations even there. Hestia hardly did anything in any myths, so her personality's a little flat, and Demeter did go into a sob-fest over not having her daughter Persephone by her side every waking hour of every day (case in point - it's when Persephone is with Hades that Autumn and Winter occur, never mind the mortals that suffer for her "grief"). Hades is generally considered a whole lot nicer that his siblings, but he can also be a Jerkass depending on which story featuring him you read. (Did he take Persephone callously? Did she seduce him? Did Aphrodite have him struck by Cupid's arrow?) Hades was at least a lot more lawful that the rest, and despite a capacity for cruelty he was more sympathetic towards others (particularly compared to his brother Zeus).
  - Hell, compared to Zeus and the others, Hades was downright saintly. He was willing to compromise and give fair deals, whereas the others would make a bet with you and then change the rules so they win, and punish those who dare to go against them.
- There is an exception to the Greek heroes: Perseus. Possibly the only decent person in all of their mythology.
- To be fair to the heroes, some of them like Hector, Cadmus or Hercules tended to be all-around nice guys. Some of their jerkiness is from Values Dissonance between ancient times and now or doing what they had to to survive in a harsh world. Many of their victims had it coming both then and now. Others like Jason and Achilles suffer from that, but are such big jerks that even back then they were regarded as complete assholes.
- With regards to gods, though, Ares takes the cake. Granted, he was also relatively stupid and was the closest thing the Greek gods had to The Brute, but the fact that he was the god of unrestricted war...well. Athena, his equal and opposite, hated him. But then, so did everyone else.
- In nearly any incarnation of the Greek gods in media whether it be comics, books, or television they will come across as this. Sometimes it will be toned down so they are more balanced or even likable, but they will somehow or another come across as jerks.
- Interestingly, perhaps the noblest hero of Classical Mythology is Hector, greatest of the warriors of the Trojans. He actually opposed the Trojan War, only fought to protect his family and his people, treated his foes with honor, and actually treated his wife like a human being instead of a trophy (which was unheard of). He was even considered one of the Nine Worthies by medieval scholars, and it was said he was the first to wield Roland's legendary sword Durandal. Why is this interesting? Because he was neither a Greek nor the descendent of a god.
The parents in Korean legends are usually that type, but those in the Korean legend "The Child General" take the cake. In the story, the couple who wished for a son for a long time (as they need one to carry on the family cult) finally gets one. He is predestined to be a lead general and as a child can already fly and do wonders. So, with this gift, the parents come to the conclusion that because of the danger that the child could become a rebel against the king (although the prophecy said he will be a general...) they kill the kid via asphyxiation with a pillow. Epic.

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