HERO QUEST

The Hero Journey:

*Hero: The founder of something new; age, religion, life.
Ex: ‘He had so many adventures and took part in so many great enterprises that there grew up a saying in Athens, “Nothing without Theseus.”’

*Universal/ Unique: Representative of every man with a special characteristic that sets him apart.
Ex: ‘His idea of dealing with justice was simple, but effective: what each had done to others, Theseus did to him.’

*Major Flaw: The hero is special, but not perfect.
Ex: ‘(…) when they drew near Athens, he forgot to hoist the white sail.’

*Call to Adventure: The hero is given a goal or assigned a quest.
Ex: ‘She told him then that the time had come for him to seek his father, and a ship was placed at his disposal by his grandfather.’

*Initiation: Entering a strange world and leaving behind the unfamiliar.
Ex: ‘(…) and he set forth to go to Athens by land. The journey was long and very hazardous because of the bandits that beset the road.’

*Journey: The road of trials, battles and obstacles that the hero takes.
Ex: ‘Sciron, for instance, (…) Theseus hurled over a precipice.’

*Companions and Friends: Sidekicks, partners, and support for the hero.
Ex: ‘Ariadne was among the spectators and she fell in love with Theseus at first sight (…) She gave him the clue she had got from Daedalus, a ball of thread which he was to fasten at one end to the inside of the door.’

*Supernatural Guide: Provides information, magic, or charms for the hero.
Ex: ‘The calm sweet voice of the goddess broke in on their anguish. (…) “Know this, that he will never be forgotten. In song and story men will remember him.”’

*Ultimate Battle: The final test of the hero.
Ex: ‘He came upon him fast asleep and fell upon him, pinning him to the ground; and with his fists- he battered the monster to death.’

*Transformation: Hero is altered in some way in the final battle.
Ex: ‘So Theseus became the King of Athens, a most wise and distinguished king.’

*Death/Rebirth: Out with the old, in with the new.
Ex: ‘It was to him the sign of his son’s death and he threw himself from a rocky height into the sea, and was killed.’

*Boon: A gift of renewal, or a reward that is shared by the hero.
Ex: ‘Thus Athens became, of all earth’s cities, the happiest and most prosperous, the only true home of liberty, the one place in the world where the people governed themselves.’