The Hero's Quest
By: Ally Banks, Tatum Jelleberg, and Effy Widdifield
Introduction:
In myths and legends across the world, a universal story structure can be seen time and time again. While the characters and details of their journey will be unique to each story, the overarching narrative that a Hero's Quest framing provides is a way for the main character to achieve a daunting goal while building experience and proving their strength along the way. The details of each quest and elements of the myths that endure over time are a product of their cultures, not only of when the myth was created but when variations are made to the myth.
This blog post was created as an assignment for ENGL 211 Ancient Literature with the purpose of identifying different versions of one myth/mythological character in different cultures and times. Our group used the character type of Hercules to find other heroes with lengthy and impressive reputations from ancient Mesopotamia to 20th century America, then focused on the most standard elements of these characters' journeys.
Kintaro
Captain America
Also called Heracles and Herakles in Greek mythology, the hero most commonly known as Hercules is the demigod son of Jupiter. As with other characters in Greco-Roman mythology, there are many retellings of the core, "canon", myths, in addition to alternate perspectives of his actions. He is synonymous with heroism in the ancient Greco-Roman world, is a model of masculine strength, and in his actions he shows a strong sense of devotion to fulfilling his purpose in life.
One of the earliest complete compilations of Hercules is the work Bibliotheke, dated to between 180-120 BCE. Pseudo-Apollodorus ascribes Hercules as a key factor in the battle to retake Troy, known for his strength, and details his 12 labors of repentance for his crimes. These tasks were assigned to him specifically because of their impossible difficulty; the first task, killing the Nemean lion, would be hard enough for any other hero because of its strong gold hide, but the final and hardest labor of stealing Cerberus from the Underworld was an act of desperation to finally be freed from the obligatory labors.
This structure is probably the most common way that Hercules is written about in ancient myths, though some authors have different interpretations or include him as a side character in otherwise unrelated tales.
While Hercules is a great mythological hero, these heroic actions were only possible because of tragedy. In the canonical core myths, Hera causes him to experience a fit a madness due to her grudge against his existence, resulting in the murder of his wife and children. This was of special interest to the playwright Euriphedes in "The Madness of Heracles", where he chooses to have Hercules go mad at the end of his life instead of before his labors. The side of those vanquished in battle by Hercules is considered by a few authors. Some turned their attention to those who were harmed for getting in the way of his path of justice, portraying Hercules not as a valiant hero of the gods, but as a scoundrel causing trouble with no regard for others. In Book 12 of The Metamorphoses, Ovid chooses to have the in-story narrator omit Hercules in a retelling of a battle with centaurs as his brothers had been killed due to Hercules's actions.
Perseus, the only son to Zeus and Danae, and half-god by birth, was known to be one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology. He is known primarily for beheading Medusa and using her head as a weapon in many of his adventures. Some of these quests include the killing of a giant whale by the name of Cetus that lead to the rescuing of Andromeda. One of his six sons, Electryon, was the father of Alcmene who helped produce Hercules and made Perseus his great-grandparent. This symbolizes both a wise predecessor and a worthy peer.
Perseus’ most famous tale is about his quest against the Gorgons and how he was able to manage slaying the only mortal of the three, Medusa. He was assisted during his adventure by Athena and Hermes who told him to find the Graeae, the Graeae who informed him to find nymphs of the north, and the nymphs who knew the location of the Gorgons and also had winged sandals, a kibisis, and Hades’ Cap of Invisibility. With all of the necessary tools needed, he flew to the ocean and caught the Gorgons asleep. He used his shield to look at Medusa and approach her slowly, then used Hermes’ sickle to behead her. He realized that her head still holds the power to turn anything that looks at it to stone, so he quickly threw it in his bag and used his sandals to escape the Gorgons. Perseus went on to complete many more quests, such as turning the Titan Atlas into a stone mountain, and killing the sea monster Cetus.
Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and main protagonist of Homer’s Odyssey, was another famous hero in Greek mythology. The offspring of Laertes and Anticlea was famous for being a fluent speaker and a cunning trickster. Odysseus was obliged to join the Trojan expedition and did not want to, since he felt at peace with Penelope and his newborn Telemachus, but was exposed and forced to leave. He had a crucial role in the Trojan War, being not only a warrior, but a strategist. He was the man to eventually come up with the deciding factor to win the war, the creation of the Trojan Horse.
The horse allowed the Greek army to hide inside of its framing, and was used as a way to try and ambush the Trojans. In order for the plan to work, they needed to leave the Horse near the Gates of Troy and pretend that the entire Greek army set sail back home. This left the Trojans thinking that they had just won the war and that the Horse was meant to be a peace offering for them, so they hauled the massive structure into the city and celebrated. When night came, and Trojan citizens and soldiers were drunk, the warriors jumped out of the Horse and opened the gates to the rest of the Greek soldiers who hid nearby, starting the purge of Troy. Nearly the entire city of Troy was slaughtered, being left defenseless or forced to flee, and allowed the Greeks to finally win the Trojan War in its most famous victory known in history. Without Odysseus’ mastermind idea of building the Trojan Horse, Troy would have had a chance at beating the Greeks and changing the course of history.
King Arthur
King Arthur, or Arthur Pendragon, is a medieval mythological figure who was the King of Camelot and the leader of the Knights of the Round Table. He appears in a lot of literature, but most famously in the novel Le Morte d’Arthur written in 1469. Arthur was born to King Uther Pendragon, but was raised by a different family. Merlin the magician had advised Uther that because there were troubling times going on, Arthur should be raised elsewhere. After Uther dies there is great conflict over who the next king would be, because no one knew of Arthur's existence. Merlin uses his magic to put a sword in a stone, and whoever is destined to be king will be able to pull it out. Arthur or course is able to pull the sword from the stone since he is of Pendragon lineage. After this, he became king and he immediately started planning to remove the Saxons who had been taking over major parts of Britain since the Romans left. When he marries Gwenevere, he is gifted the Knights of the Round Table. After many great battles against the Saxons, he finally drives them out in the great battle at Mount Badon. King Arthur completed many chivalrous acts during his time as king. Many of these included saving damsels in distress, but aside from those, he and the Knights of the Round Table were searching for the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail was said to be the cup at the Last Supper that received blood flowing from Christ’s side, so in order to find the Holy Grail one has to be pure. Along their journey each of the Knights had to look inside themselves and see if they’re pure. None of the Knights except Sir Galahad were found to be pure. When they found the Holy Grail, Sir Galahad having preserved his purity is taken up to heaven along with the Holy Grail.
The Round Table and the Holy Grail
In England in 1469, when Le Morte D’Arthur was written, the king was Edward IV. During Edward IV’s rule, there was a lot of conflict in England and he ended up losing his seat in 1470. Thomas Malory, the author of Le Morte D’Arthur, created a story surrounding a strong kingdom and an equally strong leader. Arthur and the kingdom of Camelot is the opposite of what England looked like at the time. Arthur was chivalrous, brave, and strong and lead an undivided kingdom that stood behind him. Malory created a picture of what England could be, but was failing to accomplish. The story of King Arthur during its time was a way to show people what a king and Kingdom should look like, along with continuing the tradition of medieval knight stories.
In the Anglo-Saxon epic written circa 700-1000 A.D., Beowulf is shown off as the main protagonist and hero. Much of Beowulf is used to illustrate the Germanic heroic code, which involved the use of traits such as strength, courage and loyalty for warriors; hospitality, generosity, and political skill for kings. Throughout the story, Beowulf shows off both stances of the heroic code throughout three different scenes.
The story starts off in Denmark, where King Hrothgar’s mead hall is ravaged by an evil monster named Grendel for many years. Beowulf hears of what is going on, and accepts the challenge of defeating this beast, accompanied by a few soldiers prepared to fight. Upon arriving, and having a great feast in honor of Beowulf, Grendel arrives. Beowulf wants to prove that he is stronger than the monster, and fights unarmed. He eventually rips Grendel’s arm off, leaving him mortally wounded and escapes to a nearby swamp to die, with the arm being hung as a trophy. This primarily goes with the warrior’s heroic code in which he shows off his strength and courage to defeat Grendel.
Beowulf preparing to cut off the head of the monster Grendel
Grendel’s mother wants revenge, killing one of the king’s advisors, and the group travel to the swamp to avenge him. Beowulf dives into the water and fights her in the underwater lair. She nearly kills Beowulf during combat, but he notices a sword forged by the giants and uses it to slay the monstrosity. Once again, the warriors' side of the heroic code is portrayed since Beowulf had the courage to fight Grendel’s mother and showed loyalty to the king’s advisor in the act of avenging him.
Over time, Beowulf ascends to the throne of the Geats and rules for fifty years. He is interrupted by a thief who stumbles upon a great dragon who is guarding treasure and disturbs it. The dragon, now enraged, tries to destroy everything it passes by, and Beowulf goes to fight it. He brings many men to help him in battle, but they all flee in terror except for one, Wiglaf. With his help, they successfully defeat the dragon, but at the cost of Beowulf’s life. He was bitten by the dragon and its venom puts him to rest moments after combat. After defeating the dragon and dying knowing he would save his people, he decided to give the treasures the dragon was hiding to his citizens and wished for him to be sent off on a huge funeral pyre. Beowulf in this scene showed off both heroic codes by not only being courageous and strong throughout the battle against the dragon, but was also loyal to his people and was generous enough to give them the treasures he fought for.
Cù Chulainn
Cu Chulainn, also called Cuchulain, Cuchulinn, or Cuchullin, was a demigod in Irish medieval literature. He was the central character in the Ulster (Uliad) cycle, a group of legends and tales of the age of the Uliads, a people of northeast Ireland. His father is the god Lug of the Long arm and Dechtire, the sister of Conor. Cù Chulainn was the greatest of the Knights of the Red Branch, the knights loyal to the king of the Uliads, Conor Conchobar mac Nessa. What made Cù Chulainn so extraordinary was his seven fingers, seven toes, and seven pupils. Not afflicted by the sickness that plagued the people of the Uliads because he was favored by the gods, he was able to complete many superhuman and treacherous tasks.
From a very young age, Cù Chulainn demonstrates his strength when one day he stumbles upon a training camp. The boys see his accidental presence as a challenge and attack him, but Cù Chulainn single-handedly defeats them all. Also at a young age he kills an extremely strong guard dog on his own. As he got older he completed even more impossible feats. One of these was his single-handed defense of Uliad against the kingdom of Connaught at the young age of 17. Part of his strength was the fact that Cù Chulainn was capable of an insurmountable amount of rage when provoked just right. In these times of rage he would take on characteristics similar to those of the Scandinavian berserkers and would become monstrously deformed and uncontrollable. One time this reage was enacted was when he was denied Emer’s, the woman he was in love with hand in marriage. He stormed her residence and killed 24 men, abducted Emer, and stole a lot of treasure. Cù Chulainn meets his end at the young age of 27. He was killed by the sons of the men he had killed in the past. They tricked him by feeding him dog meat, which is one of his weaknesses. Since he was weakened their men were able to kill Cù Chulainn.
The Ulster Cycle and the stories of Cù Chulainn have been very influential in modern Irish culture. This collective of stories is one of, if not the most, famous in Irish literature. Many composers, artists, and authors have used these stories for inspiration in their work. Cù Chulainn is seen as an important Irish nationalist figure, because he was such a prominent Northern Irish hero. Northern Ireland was a British colony for a long time and the Irish were treated poorly under them. To have any aspect of their own culture is extremely important, and for there to be such a strong Irish figure like Cù Chulainn is even more important to them. They have built statues, painted murals, and written songs about or named after Cù Chulainn, because he represents the Irish having their own separate culture from Britain.
As a fictional character, Gilgamesh has a reputation similar to King Arthur of medieval legends. While Gilgamesh was the real-life 5th king of Uruk in ancient Mesopotamia, the heroic version that lives on through myths is nearly entirely fictional. It can be assumed that his living reputation was larger than life as well, as there are records showing that other kings of Mesopotamia would claim some familial relation to him to improve their image. Although The Epic of Gilgamesh was discovered only a few hundred years ago, it is dated to 2150 - 1400 BCE which makes his journey the oldest epic ever discovered, anywhere, in any time period.
In a story that might be the first legend of Gilgamesh, the Sumerian goddess of love and war, Inanna, plants a wood tree but finds that it is plagued by a host of spiritual pests. Inanna's own brother will not help her, but Gilgamesh comes to her rescue. This work is a compilation of numerous deeds that prove Gilgamesh's might, such as by having him be the only one who can assist the gods, but the overarching narrative is deeper. Gilgamesh faces tragedy when his best friend and former adversary Enkidu angers heaven and is killed; this is the start of the path he travels to discover the meaning of human life and death. At the end of his quest to appeal to Utnapishtim for his place amongst the immortals, he fails not once but twice to obtain immortality and must return to regular life. Through his failure, the fictional version of Gilgamesh is grounded in human flaws even though his quest didn't produce his desired result. Historically, scholars can best postulate that the epic was inspired by lofty claims about the real Gilgamesh during his lifetime. Gilgamesh is assumed to be a real king due to his entry in the Sumerian List of Kings, but little is known for sure. The outlandish heroic version was popular enough, though, that incomplete and damaged areas of the poem were able to be supplemented with separate manuscripts and fragments.
Karna and Arjuna: Sibling Demigods
Karna and Arjuna are respectively the hero and villain of The Mahabharata, a Hindu epic written in Sanskrit circa 400BC. The two are each sons of Kunti, the goddess of fertility and wisdom, but their different fathers give them very different places in life (Anindita).
Karna, born supernaturally and with a set of armor on his infant body (along with earrings which gave him his name) was regardless treated as a bastard child by his mother and was given up to be found by a great charioteer and his wife. After training as a renowned martial artist, Karna is mistakenly cursed by one of his gurus and loses his talent; as a consolation, the same guru blesses him with eventual greatness and bestows the Bhargavastra upon him (Anindita).
Arjuna, an unbeatable warrior, is nurtured by his parents and becomes known as the best archer to ever live with a good character to match his power. He is very close to Kunti and his four brothers, known collectively as the Pandavas. Arjuna's journey begins after a misunderstanding causes Arjuna's bride to be wed to all of the Pandavas and the brothers make a rule saying that if anyone is disturbed while they are with her, the intervening brother must be exiled for 12 years. He is put in a life and death situation without his weapons and must grab them from a room where his brother and his wife are currently alone, and thus enters a long exile of his own accord (Anindita).
The step-brothers become separately involved with Krishna, one incarnation of the head god Vishnu, which is the catalyst for their involvement in the great war. Through many battles and trials, some fought on their own and others against each other, a clear distinction is made between the two. Karna is honest and fair throughout his tasks, while Arjuna takes advantage of his brother's moment of weakness to kill him in the end.
The Mahabharata has been subject to much scrutiny from scholars, as it can only be deduced when the written version was produced and the poem itself says it was written under the dictation of a god. There are a substantial number of people who believe that the Kurukshetra War which is described in it not only happened but involved ancient nuclear weapons (see video below) due to the level of godly warfare described in the text. Avishek Ray contends that this literal interpretation tells less about the events that went into shaping the epic and more about the mindsets of those reading it as a religious text (2-3). As it was an oral narrative that was likely revised many times, there is no clear way for scholars to make any strong claims related to specific historical events (7). War and Hindu religion are the major themes, so assuming that an ancient nuclear war didn’t happen, the national attitude was the biggest influence.
The story of Kintaro (meaning "Golden Boy") is a popular folktale in Japan that originated during the Heian period (JREF). According to legend, he may be based on the great samurai Sakata Kintoki as the character Kintaro usually changes his name to Sakata no Kintoki as an adult. There are different variations of the folktale, some in which Kintaro is raised by his mother, Princess Yaegiri, and others where he is raised in the woods by his non-royal mother or a witch. In all variations, Kintaro is exceptionally strong and commandeering as a young child, and befriends many animals and nature spirits.
Starting from that young age, Kintaro picks fights with animals and forest oni (ogres), proving his strength against a massive carp named Surimono that swallowed his mother. Just like the real Sakata Kintoki, Kintaro wishes to become a great martial artist and succeeds as a great retainer samurai under the leader Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Kintaro's lasting alliance with animals and nature allowed him to be a great figure of the time, and he is still a main figure of Japanese folklore.
Kintaro has been a fixture of Japanese folklore for so long that it's hard to trace or date the first documented occurrence, but the story originated sometime during or after the Heian period, from 794 to 1185. These centuries were generally marked by a surge in literature and art, as well as restructuring of the government that was aided by personal armies of samurai. The Genpei War from 1180 to 1185 ended the Heian period when the Minamoto Clan (the same group that the real Sakata Kintoki fought for) gained control of the government (Cartwright). In traditional art, the young Kintaro is often colored with reddish brown or bright red skin contrary to his namesake as the "Golden Boy". The color red is associated with power and strength in Japanese culture, and also with youth because of newborns' skin (Abe).
Captain America, Steve Rogers, is one of the Avengers in the Marvel cinematic/comic universe. Steve was born very weak, but also very courageous and brave. His parents died very early on in his life. Though he wanted to enlist in the army to fight in World War II, he was so weak they wouldn’t allow him to. It wasn’t until he was chosen to go through trials along with multiple other men to see if he was capable of receiving a drug that would make him super strong, that he was given a chance to prove himself. One day during the recruits training, a hand grenade was thrown in the middle of everyone. Steve, not wasting a second, throws himself on top of the grenade to save everyone’s lives. Seconds later, everyone realizes it was a fake only meant to test them. Steve had been the only one who decided to sacrifice himself, everyone else just running for cover. After this incident, he ends up getting chosen to take the experimental drug. Steve becomes much stronger than he had ever been before. This leads to him becoming the hero Captain America.
After Steve becomes Captain America he goes on many adventures and battles many villains. His first big villain is the Nazi adjacent organization Hydra. He leads many raids on their bases, with his group called the Howling Commandos. All of these raids lead up to his final meeting with Red Skull, the current leader of Hydra. Captain America valiantly defeats him, but in order to stop Red Skull’s plan he had to sacrifice himself. He flew a plane with a bomb in it into ice to stop the explosion from effecting a wide spread area. Though he thought he wouldn’t survive the crash, Captain America’s body is preserved in the ice for decades until someone finds him. He wakes up in a new time without all the people he had known, yet he makes the decision to continue fighting and preserving freedom.
Captain America Comics, first edition
The first Captain America comic came out in March of 1941, right before America joined in World War 2. Though America had not joined the war, the possibility was very likely and people were scared. The creators were disgusted by the actions of the Nazi regime and so they created this hero that is strong in the face of war and single handedly defeated Nazis. People looked at him as a source for strength in a time of war. He was also a source of patriotism for America during the troubling times of World War II. Captain America was used as propaganda for the war and to encourage people to enlist and buy war bonds. People needed something to give them hope, and an American hero like Captain America did that for them.
About the Authors:
Ally Banks is a freshman majoring in Publishing with a minor in political science. She’s originally from Shawnee, Kansas. She’s involved in speech, Circle K, and the Student Association Senate. Outside of school, Ally likes to read, write and has recently taken up rollerblading, though she’s not very good at it.
Effy Widdifield is a sophomore from Grand Island, Nebraska, at Hastings College, studying English Language Arts Education and Secondary Education. She is involved in student journalism and hopes to teach at a high school, but also enjoys art and gaming.
Tatum Jelleberg is a current freshman from Mesa, Arizona, attending Hastings College and pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He is a part of the cross country and track & field team and invests most of his time training with the team or playing video games with his friends and streaming his content on Twitch.
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www.thoughtco.com/japanese-conception-of-red-2028026
"Ancient Aliens: Vishnu's Ancient Guided Missiles (Season 8) | History" YouTube, uploaded by History, 8 Oct. 2018. youtu.be/Z2_f3YXGGuA
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Cellini, Perseus Beheading the Medusa (1545-54) Bronze. Piazza della Signoria, Florence.
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