Dante's Inferno: The Role Of Epic Heroes In Literature

      Since the beginning of time epic tales have been passed on from generation to generation as a form of entertainment.  Even though each epic is different in its plot, every epic has certain features in common.  The prime example of their similarities is their main character, the hero of the epic.   The hero's behavior changes from the beginning to the end of the tale.  Since the plot revolves around the epic hero, in most cases, they are made to seem God-like, or larger then life, in their capabilities and strengths.  The hero constantly has to conquer major obstacles to achieve their initial and final goal.  Usually the hero is tremendously suspicious of other characters intensions.

Since long ago, people carried an image of what it means to be a hero. It is evident in some great books one might even say. As in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Antigone, and The Iliad, heroism is displayed and exalted, but what does being a hero mean? Overarchingly, in regards to these works, the heroes earn their titles as heroes by notably doing what is right when the time is right, with humane purpose, and an everlasting message. However, Gilgamesh, Antigone, and Akhilleus, being different in their purposes, everlasting messages, type of heroism as whole, can not compare in regards to heroic status.

Epic heroes are commemorated as being someone who commits improbable feats. They aren’t superior, but they oblige to deeds they feel are right. Non-oblivious to the horrid racism going on around him growing up, Martin Luther King Jr. alleviated and dedicated most of his life to what he could change as an adult: segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. embodies the characteristics of an epic hero because he was competent of great deeds, he signified humility, and possessed supernatural help.

Throughout history the traditional heroic elements have changed because of our society. Although elements of a hero have changed there are also certain characteristics of a hero that stays the same, such as a hero’s character and courage. This can be seen through Beowulf , “ The Epic and the Epic Hero,”and the movie “The 13th Warrior.”

What is an epic hero? Although we would like to believe that a hero would always be there to save us as needed, that is not always the case. All heroes are different, but what makes them epic? Many would answer that question by saying because they are in an epic poem or story; however, that answer isn’t true. An epic hero, of course is in an epic narrative, but it is what they accomplish in that specific text. First, an epic hero has to make a grand journey and be in the Gods favor or shall we say the chosen one. Also, he has to be seen as superior than any other man. For clarification, the epic hero needs to be bigger, faster, stronger, and wiser than anyone else in the story, except for the Gods of course. Also, and epic hero is also

    In the Odyssey by Homer, the main character, Odysseus, demonstrates hero like characteristics. An article called The Hero’s Journey states that a hero is someone having the courage of judgement to act on feats benefitting the general populace(Ch.1, Sec.1). Throughout the epic poem he shows such traits to the reader, and characters in the poem.  Someone in another person’s life may feel this way due to similar actions. Selections from

“The whole earth is the tomb of heroic men and their story is not given only on stone over their clay but abides everywhere without visible symbol woven into the stuff of other men’s lives,” said Perculus (PR). You’re born, you live a little, and then you die. There is no simpler way to sum up life. Often times this is done through oral tales, paintings, and various other ways. For those whose lives were truly something great, something memorable, their stories are transcripted into writings. Whether these are simple biographies or symbolic fictional works, stories are often based on someone greater than the writer. These “epic heros” are protagonists that fulfill their potential of greatness through using their bravery, strength and

A hero is often thought as someone who saves lives and does admirable acts. This is not always the case as we see in The Count of Monte Cristo, where Edmond Dantes is wrongly accused of a crime and sent to imprisonment for life. He is stripped of his freedom and all he owns and rises to the top with only a goal in mind that he keeps dear to his heart. In The Alchemist, Santiago seeks to find treasure and on his journey, he finds his true love. This is very similar to The Odyssey when Odysseus is on the desperate search for treasure and finds that what he really wants is his wife and his home life. As the reader travels with these heroes through their personal journeys, the reader can start to notice

Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the journey of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus disproves his title of a hero through his pride, his disloyalty, and his bloodthirstiness.

Heroes are the people who demonstrate qualities of courage or outstanding achievements and are recognized for their influence in the society. Heroic characters are defined similarly in literatures as well. In the two literatures, Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali and The Odyssey, the main characters shape the plot the stories by their heroic abilities. The literatures also tend to illustrate how heroic qualities were perceived and portrayed in societies. Both characters come from different part of the world yet their plots are similar to each other. The protagonist from two literatures is on a quest to go home and to claim their ancestors’ throne, which is righteously theirs.

Dante’s descent into Hell in Inferno, the first part of his Divine Comedy, tells of the author’s experiences in Hades as he is guided through the abyss by the Roman author, Virgil. The text is broken into cantos that coincide with the different circles and sub-circles of Hell that Dante and Virgil witness and experience. Inferno is heavily influenced by classic Greek and Roman texts and Dante makes references to a myriad of characters, myths, and legends that take place in Virgil’s Aeneid, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Some of the most important references, however, are the most obvious ones that are easily overlooked simply because of the fact that they are so blatant. Dante is being escorted through Hell by the

In every epic journey there are a series of events which the hero must go through if he is to become the ultimate hero. One of the most important parts in the epic journey is the descent into darkness or hell. Hell is a place where the hero travels to a dark place to learn about himself or to find very key information about his quest. However there is one common theme. The theme is the hero learns some valuable lessons. He or she learns how the underworld helps him to achieve the symbolic death and rebirth. The epic hero must go through his journey alone to hell because he/she must learn to suffer. The hero emerges from this experience and becomes the ultimate hero. In this discussion the reader will learn about how does the hero suffer, how he becomes a good hero through symbolic death and rebirth and why must the hero travel to the underworld alone. There are epic heroes who experience a descent into darkness in all of our books; Watership Down, The Dark is Rising Series, Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. However there will be a few characters being discussed. They are Gilgamesh (Epic of Gilgamesh), Odysseus (The Odyssey) and Bigwig (Watership Down).

Heroes are prevalent in everyone’s life. Whether someone’s hero is a living person or a fabled character from a movie, everybody has come into contact with some sort of hero. In fact, the concept of heroes has existed for hundreds of years, dating all the way back to Ancient Greece. Over time, heroes have drastically changed. As society has evolved, our heroes have evolved with it. Their goals and motivations have changed to coincide with the views of modern society. Modern day heroes have less selfish motives, better qualities, and are portrayed differently than ancient heroes.

These people closely resemble the classic heroes, and they are the main characters in the epic poems. Heroes in this group also exhibit superhuman strength and courage, but they do so because they have a mix of divine and mortal heritage. Their mortal halves also foreshadow that they will display a weakness. These heroes often succumb to a moment of despair where they almost give up when they embark on a noble quest that will test their courage over and over (the obstacles are usually made by gods). Finally, these heroes work into their strength once more to

Throughout this class we have studied multiple types of heroes starting with Gilgamesh, then Odysseus, and then Aeneas. All of whom were individuals that exemplified strength, loyalty, and courage no matter the obstacles in their way. Additionally, they shared common skills such as being exemplarily military leaders, as well as being the leaders of their own houses. These characters, with the exception of Gilgamesh, were so heroic that they even traveled to the depths of hell in order to face death and show demonstrate their immense heroism. However, none of these heroes have influenced me as much as the philosophers that tackled the questions of morality and what it means to live the good life. “The difficult thing is not to escape death, I think, but to escape wickedness” (Apology, 528).