Now that I’ve crossed out those heroes who do not fit our definition, let’s look at what most, if not all of these have in common!

Mysterious, magical origins or noble birth Exemplifies/embodies the qualities his people idealize, such as tall and better-looking, strength in (perhaps) both physical and emotional realms, valiant/brave, intelligent, awesome fighter, magnanimous (!), loyal, “heroic glow,” etc.

Noble in that they are willing to sacrifice for the greater cause Mad skills: Beowulf’s grip, Odysseus’ wit, Achilles’ abilities on the battlefield, Buffy’s general awesomeness/superpowers…this entire bullet point is about having superpowers, really

Vulnerability! They have to have some kind of weakness (hubris? Kryptonite? The I-have-to- do-it-by-myself-Harry-Potter-Syndrome) Undertakes a journey or quest (cue important music…because if you haven’t got this one, you haven’t got a hero!) This quest is dangerous, lonely, & beset with temptations

In this quest, what the hero seeks is usually no more than a symbol of what is actually found. So, he may be looking for a Holy Grail, but what he finds (learns along the way!!) is the most important quest

The quest has to involve a “descent into darkness,” which may be literal or figurative. It is often a visit to the Underworld/Land of the Dead but… The hero has to return, and after this journey he is never quite the same. This is also HUGE: HE MUST BE CHANGED.

You get what’s called The Heroic Archetype Archetype – a character type that occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore, and is therefore believed to evoke profound emotions and “the collective unconscious,” or a universal sort of memory. This concept of the archetype was explored by Carl Jung, a psychologist who studied lots of things, but the unconscious mind was a biggie

Because Gilgamesh is the beginning of it all. He is the first epic hero, and therefore, he begins to set the standard. Everyone, from Beowulf to Achilles to Frodo to Luke Skywalker, borrows from this idea of the Heroic Archeype, and it sets the framework for a heck of a lot of the literature we are reading this year, including the Greeks and Victor Frankenstein and Winston Smith.

The Code of Hammurabi. This historical document is contemporary with Gilgamesh and the Babylonian world. The assignment: 1) Read and annotate the bracketed section. Be prepared for a short reading check tomorrow. 2) Scan the rules (the code), pick 2 or 3 that speak to you, and write a response.