1. EPICS
AND EPIC HEROES

2. WHAT IS AN EPIC? elements of myths, legends or folk tales
Most every culture has epics it has passed through the generations
An epic has a hero
It is the story of the hero’s travels and his fights with monsters
A trip to heaven, hell or the land of the dead
elements of myths, legends or folk tales
elements of supernatural forces

3. EPIC POETRY ELEMENTS A long story in poem form
A serious tone and grand language
Can you think of a movie or book that has epic qualities?

4. WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

5. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
Has “larger than life” qualities – possibly a supernatural powers but always
What other qualities are “larger than life”?

6. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
Is a natural leader of men

7. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO Defeats evil – monsters, villains, etc
Or fights gods

8. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO Has “good” on his or her side
Example – Ares the God of War rode along side the Trojans to aid them in war

9. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO Often he or she stands alone in battle
Example – Hercules fights a hydra alone

10. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
Is smarter than everyone – a good problem solver
Example – Odysseus ends the Trojan War by hiding his soldiers inside the “gift horse” and surprising them.
Can you think of a common saying that this trick created?

11. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
Has a weakness that often destroys him or leads to death.
Examples - Achilles was shot and killed in his vulnerable heel; the only spot that was not dipped into the River Styx

12. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
Makes long journeys, always on the move, travels to find travels
Example – Indiana Jones travels the globe in search of artifacts and adventures

13. TRAITS OF AN EPIC HERO
A skilled fighter

14. A HERO’S JOURNEY

15. AN EPIC STUDY Homer blind poet said to have told Iliad and Odyssey
The epics are dated around 8th century BC
Other famous epics include Ramayana (India), Aeneid (Greek), the Monkey King (China), and the Epic of Gilgamesh, (Iraq). Some famous epics have been composed in English, including The Faerie Queen by Spenser and Paradise Lost by Milton.

16. HOMER’S SPECIALITY Created a unique type of simile
Compares heroic or epic events to simple everyday events
Example – As a mountain falcon, swiftest of all birds, swoops down upon some cowering dove…resolved to have her…even so did Achilles make straight for Hector with all his might