What is an epic hero? Although we would like to believe that a hero would always be there to save us as needed, that is not always the case. All heroes are different, but what makes them epic? Many would answer that question by saying because they are in an epic poem or story; however, that answer isn’t true. An epic hero, of course is in an epic narrative, but it is what they accomplish in that specific text. First, an epic hero has to make a grand journey and be in the Gods favor or shall we say the chosen one. Also, he has to be seen as superior than any other man. For clarification, the epic hero needs to be bigger, faster, stronger, and wiser than anyone else in the story, except for the Gods of course. Also, and epic hero is also usually selfless, a leader, and honorable. These are just a few of the specific qualities that an epic hero must possess in order to be epic. Another characteristic that any epic hero has is their very own tragic flaw. Anyone can be a hero, but it takes much more to be considered an epic hero. Some epic heroes from several different texts that will be analyzed will be Achilles from The Iliad, Odysseus from The Odyssey, Aeneas from The Aeneid, Socrates from The Republic, Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf from Beowulf, and King Arthur from Morte D’Arthur.
The first epic hero is the honorable Achilles from the epic poem, The Iliad by Homer. Achilles is described as a proud and brave man in this epic with a great tragic flaw. Of course, any epic hero had this great flaw that eventually brings them down in the end. For Achilles, his tragic flaw would be the fact that he is proud and gets enraged easily; and he lets it consume him. Homer states in The Iliad, “But any men he saw retreating fro...
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...oesn’t go on an epic journey, he is a great king and he endures an epic battle; he is also the face of unity and peace. All of these heroes are epic for their own reasons, yet some are more epic than others.
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Homer. The Odyssey: Fitzgerald Translation. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. Print.
An epic hero is character who is brave and noble, and that person is someone who carries good leadership traits and goes through an epic journey. Usually an epic hero is from an epic, and an example is Odysseus. Odysseus goes through a journey to return back to Ithaca, his homeland. In the modern era, there are epic heroes all around us. They can be in books, movies, or plays. One great example of a modern epic hero is Woody from Toy Story 3. He is confident, courageous,selfless, and humane. Woody is a toy cowboy and his owner, Andy is going off to college. Woody and his buddies get misplaced and get donated to a child day care center. There, they have to try to escape and return home, after realizing how bad the place
Jones, Peter V. Introduction. The Odyssey. By Homer. Trans. E. V. Rieu. London: Penguin, 1991. xi-l.
Homer. The Odyssey. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Vol. 1. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.
Homer. “The Odyssey”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puncher. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 475. Print.
For a character to be an epic hero, he must possess four characteristics. These four characteristics include the following: (1) he must be high born, (2) the hero must have human weaknesses, (3) he must be brave,and 4) he must be clever. In The Odyssey, Homer’s character Odysseus was an epic hero because he possessed all four of the characteristics.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. R. Fitzgerald. Bedford Anthology of World Literature Book. Ed. Davis, Paul et al. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2004. 487-579. Print.
People are heroes in different ways for different reasons. American soldiers are heroes because they fight boldly for their country. Corrie Ten Boom is also a hero because she took risks and saved hundreds of Jews. Abraham Lincoln is another example of a hero because he fought for what he thought was right and helped free all slaves. Similarly, Odysseus, the main character in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, possesses all of these characteristics and many more, making him a true epic hero.
The dictionary defines hero in mythology and legend as, "a man who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and born of divine or royal blood. He is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life." In addition, I believe a hero is one to be looked up to and emulated. What is interesting about epic heroes is that their great deeds and exploits all have to do with defeating themselves, so with help from the gods they can truly become heroic. They can only defeat themselves with the help of the gods.
Clarke, Howard. Homer's Readers: A Historical Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Newark, Del.: University of Delaware Press, 1981.
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Clarke, Howard. Homer's Readers: A Historical Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Newark, Del.: University of Delaware Press, 1981.
In literature, there are two types of heroes, epic and tragic. An epic hero reflects their society’s values, immortalized in the eyes of their people, and shows courage in the face of adverse situations. Achilles is an epic hero because he embodied the honor that was so highly regarded in Greek society, chose to die early in battle and be remembered gloriously rather than living a long anonymous life in his homeland of Pthia, and avenged Patroclus’s death.