1. The Monomyth – The Hero’s Journey
Homer’s Odyssey
The Monomyth – The Hero’s Journey

2. I. Why Do We Need Heroes?
Role Models. We want to strive to be like someone who is better than we are.
We want someone to pave the way for all of us – someone to “break the mold”
We want someone to make the world safe at an unsafe or uncertain time.

3. II. Joseph Campbell
A theorist who closely studied comparative mythology and comparative religion.
Focused largely on the role of the hero in his studies, and discovered a pattern (an archetype) that spanned time and culture…

4. III. Archetypal Heroes The Self-doubting Hero The Lost Soul The Chief
The Bad Boy
The Best Friend
The Charmer
The Professor
The Swashbuckler
The Warrior

6. IV. The Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey)
STAGE 1: SEPARATION
Call to Adventure
Supernatural Aid (Helpers): A guide or magical helper appears to assist with the journey.
Crossing the Threshold: The move from the known and comfortable world into the unknown world (The Shadow Realm).

7. IV. The Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey)
STAGE 2: INITIATION
The Road of Trials (Tests): Series of tasks that the hero must undergo to begin the transformation.

8. IV. The Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey)
STAGE 2: INITIATION (Continued) B. Atonement with the Father (Supreme Test): Center point of the journey; this is when the hero must confront whatever holds ultimate power in his life. To understand himself, the hero must reckon with this ultimate authority figure. This will typically result in some transformation and revelation that the hero must understand in order to achieve his goal.

9. IV. The Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey)
STAGE 2: INITIATION (Continued) C. Ultimate Boon: The achievement of the goal of the journey.

10. IV. The Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey)
STAGE 3: THE RETURN
The Crossing of the Return Threshold
The Master of the Two Worlds/The Freedom to Live (Reward): The hero is now comfortable and confident in both the known world and the shadow realm and is free to live in the moment.

11. The Odyssey
Epic Characteristics

12. Epics
Long narrative poems that tell of the adventures of heroes who embody the values of their civilization.

13. Epic Conventions
The work begins in medias res (in the middle of things)
Odysseus’s story begins in the middle of his journey

14. Epic Conventions The poem will open with an invocation of the muse.
“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns / driven time and again off course, once he had / plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.”

15. Epic Conventions
Main character is a physically impressive hero of national or historical importance.
Odysseus fought for ten years in the Trojan War and devised the idea of the Trojan horse.

16. Epic Conventions
Setting is vast in scope, including much of the physical world and, at times, the land of the dead.
Odysseus’ travels take him throughout the Mediterranean World.

17. Epic Conventions
The action consists of deeds of great valor or requiring superhuman courage.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus must overcome many challenges.

18. Epic Conventions There is evidence of supernatural forces at work.
In the Odyssey, the hero encounters gods, goddesses, sorceresses, monsters, giants, and the list goes on.

19. Epic Conventions The author uses a style of sustained elevation.
When the sun had left the splendid sea and risen up into an all-bronze heaven, giving light to gods and mortal men and grain to farmers’ fields, the ship and crew reached Pylos, a well-built city ruled by Nestor.

20. Epic Conventions
Epics will be rooted in a specific culture and society.
The Odyssey, for example, is heavily rooted in Greek society and culture.

21. Epic Heroes
embody the important morals, values, and virtues of the society of which they are a product.

22. Epic Hero Characteristics
The epic hero is a larger than life person who embodies the highest ideals of his culture.

23. Epic Hero Characteristics
The epic hero is superior in degree to other men and his environment.
The epic hero is especially skilled both with and without weapons.
The epic hero is clever and wise, but capable of error.

24. Epic Hero Characteristics
Epic hero experiences typical human emotions, yet is able to master and control these human traits to a greater degree than a typical person

25. Epic Hero Characteristics
Not a superman with magical powers but a regular human whose aspirations and accomplishments set him/her apart

26. Epic Hero Characteristics
The epic hero usually undertakes a quest/journey to achieve something of great value to themselves or society

27. Epic Hero Characteristics
Epic heroes live on after death meaning they are forever remembered by those who live after them…achieving a type of immortality. As such, the epic hero strives for honor and fame.

28. Literary Terms

29. Epithet
a descriptive label/phrase applied to a person or thing that emphasizes a particular quality or attribute of what is being described; often repeated throughout the text
ex. Odysseus is frequently referred to as “the man of twists and turns.”

30. Epic Simile
a long, elaborate simile that goes on for a number of lines; often compares heroic or epic events to understandable and everyday things
Ex. She brushed [the arrow] away from his skin as lightly as when a mother / Brushes a fly away from her child who is lying in sweet sleep.