Major Myths

Questing or Journeying Heroes The hero on a quest or journey appears in dozens of myths, epics, legends, and fairy tales. Greek mythology has many questing heroes, including Odysseus (pronounced oh-DIS-ee-uhs), Orpheus (pronounced OR-fee-uhs), Jason, and Heracles (pronounced HAIR-uh-kleez; known as Hercules by the Romans). Odysseus just wants to return home after the Trojan War, but his adventure-filled voyage takes ten years. The musician Orpheus descends into the underworld in his quest to bring his beloved Eurydice (pronounced yoo-RID-uh-see) back from death. Jason sails to distant lands in search of the Golden Fleece. The trials of the mighty Heracles are organized into Twelve Labors or quests.

Questing heroes appear in the mythology of many other cultures. Gilgamesh (pronounced GIL-guh-mesh), the hero of an epic from ancient Mesopotamia, travels in search of immortality. The Polynesian hero Rupe changes into a bird to search for his lost sister and bring her home. In Britain’s Arthurian legends the knight Lancelot and his son Galahad (pronounced GAL-uh-had) seek the Holy Grail, and in a myth of the Tewa of North America, Water Jar Boy searches for his father—a symbol of the search for identity.

Warriors and Kings A number of individuals rise to the level of heroes with their outstanding skills in combat. In myths about the Trojan War, the warriors Ajax (pronounced AY-jaks) and Achilles (pronounced uh-KILL-eez) fight valiantly, and the Amazon (AM-uh-zon) queen Penthesilea (pronounced pen-thess-uh-LEE-uh) leads a troop of her soldiers against the Greek forces. Beowulf (pronounced BAY-uh-woolf) is the monster-slaying hero of an early English epic. Chinese myths tell of Yi (pronounced YEE), an archer so skilled that he was able to shoot down extra suns in the sky. Rama (pronounced RAH-muh), hero of the Hindu epic the Ramayana, defeats fearsome demons called Rakshasas (pronounced RAHK-shah-sahs) in a series of duels. The Celtic hero Finn leads a band of warriors against animal, human, and supernatural foes. Various Native American legends feature pairs of warriors—such as the Navajo warrior twins and the Zuni Ahayuuta (pronounced ah-hah-YOO-tuh) brothers—who perform heroic tasks to help their people.

Some figures in mythology earned their hero status as legendary rulers. Britain’s King Arthur, for example, may have begun as a historical figure but was transformed into a hero of great stature. Africa has a strong tradition of kingly heroes. Shaka, a leader of the Zulu people of southern Africa, gathered a huge army and established a great empire in the early 1800s. Osai Tutu (pronounced oh-SYE TOO-too), a ruler of the Ashanti people in the 1700s, succeeded in freeing the Ashanti from domination by a neighboring people with the help of a magical golden stool. Tibetans and Mongolians tell tales about the warrior-king Gesar (pronounced GAY-sahr), a god who reluctantly agreed to be born as a human in order to fight demons on earth.

National and Culture Heroes A national hero is a mythological—or even historical—hero who is considered to be the founder of a city or nation or the source of identity for a people. In ancient Greece, heroes became the object of religious worship, and local cults developed to show devotion to particular local heroes. The Romans made Aeneas (pronounced i-NEE-uhs) their national hero. In North America, Iroquois legends say that the hero Hiawatha (pronounced hye-uh-WOTH-uh) persuaded five tribes to come together as one group, thus giving the Iroquois greater power and a stronger identity.

Another type of ancestral hero is the culture hero who brings the gifts of civilization to a people. The Kayapo (pronounced KAH-yuh-poh) Indians of Brazil have a myth about a boy named Botoque, who stole fire from a jaguar and brought it to his people so they could cook food for the first time. In Greek mythology it is the Titan Prometheus (pronounced pruh-MEE-thee-uhs) who steals fire for the benefit of humankind. The Daribi people of Papua New Guinea, a large island in the eastern Pacific, have myths about Souw, a wandering culture hero. Souw brought death, warfare, and black magic, but he also gave humans the first livestock and crops, allowing them to shift from hunting to agriculture.