1. Ancients and Archetypes

2. Epic Poetry!! What is an epic poem?
Usually long, made up of several chapters, books, or episodes.
Narrative – it tells a story
About the deeds and adventures of a hero
Told in formal, elevated language

3. Homer
Who was Homer?
Thought of as the greatest of the ancient Greek poets
Thought to have lived between the 7th and 8th centuries (BC)
“Wrote” The Iliad and The Odyssey

4. The Iliad

5. The Odyssey
Tells the story of Odysseus’s (referred to as Ulysses in Roman myth) journey home from the Trojan War.
Begins 10 years after the 10-year Trojan War.

7. Joseph Campbell’s Hero Journey
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
a theory for all the ages
Joseph Campbell’s Hero Journey

8. (Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949.)
The Monomyth
“It will always be the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find, together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experienced than will ever be known or told.”
(Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949.)

15. DEPARTURE (also known as Separation)
The Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Supernatural Aid
The Crossing of the First Threshold
The Belly of the Whale

16. INITIATION The Road of Trials The Meeting with the Goddess
Woman as Temptress
Atonement with the Father
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon

17. RETURN Refusal of the Return The Magic Flight Rescue from Without
The Crossing of the Return Threshold
Master of the Two Worlds
Freedom to Live

18. The Call = an invitation to adventure
willingly or unwillingly
“transformative crisis” or gradual
something has been taken – the quest is to find it; something is “missing” in life – the quest is to find what is lacking; honor has been sullied – it must be restored; something is not permitted – rights must be restored
Interesting note: the “herald” is often an animal or stranger

19. "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”
-- Princess Leia, A New Hope

20. Refusal of the Call = a polite “no thanks”
a vehement denial or a last moment of hesitancy
based on fears of the unknown or societal/familial/cultural constraints
may be manifested through a regret or desire for normalcy
can only result in stagnation, disintegration, and death

21. "We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures
"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures.  Nasty uncomfortable things!  Make
you late for dinner! I can't see what anybody sees
in them...Good morning!...we don't want any adventures here, thank you!  You might try over
The Hill or across The Water.“
- Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

22. Supernatural Aid = helpers and mentors
a protective figure offers advice
mentors are often little old men or old crones
helpers often become sidekicks on the quest
Aid is often presented in the form of a talisman or divine gift (ring, sword, magical helmet, map, etc.)

23. "I can guide you but you must
do exactly as I say.”
-- Morpheus, The Matrix

24. The Crossing of the Threshold = “jumping off point” of the adventure
passage must be earned
threshold is often blocked by an adversarial guardian who requires the hero to rethink the plan
threshold = the territory between the known and the unknown

25. “You mean you'll put down your rock, and I'll put down my sword and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?”
-- Wesley, The Princess Bride

26. The Belly of the Whale = transit into a sphere of rebirth
a symbol of the womb
a form of self-annihilation
a near-death (or death of the old ways/the old self) and a resurrection
sometimes called “Into the Abyss”

28. The Road of Trials (aka The Challenges, The Tests)
tests may be physical or spiritual
the trials become progressively more difficult
the hero “discovers and assimilates his opposite either by swallowing it or by being swallowed” (Cambell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces).
trials often include: brother battle, dragon battle, abduction/sea/night journey, ritual death or dismemberment

29. The Meeting with the Goddess (a sacred or mystical marriage)
a woman of mystical power who offers gifts/ aid/healing/nurturing
woman represents “the totality of what can be known” (Cambell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces).
sometimes a hero finds the person he can love most deeply
Sometimes a hero discovers feminine intuition; a heroine finds male reason
the union of opposites can take place entirely within a person

30. The Temptress = temptation as obstacle
the meeting with a woman may be another obstacle to overcome
woman = a symbol of life, so recognizing the woman as temptress = a revulsion of the flesh or earthly self

31. Atonement with the Father (at-one-ment)
often involves an encounter with the father figure or recognition from a person of power
the hero has taken the father’s place
the “ogre” father is seen in a more realistic light and therefore the world view shifts
for the transformation to take place, a death and rebirth must occur

32. Apotheosis = becoming godlike
a god-like state free of strife and obstacles
a period of rest before the hero returns to the “real world”
the hero has moved beyond the pairs of opposites: male/female, time/eternity, enemy/friend, birth/death, yang/yin, etc.

33. The Ultimate Boon the quest realized
the hero meets the original goal; finds what he was seeking all along
sometimes leads to transcendence (especially since the quest is often for an elixir of immortality)

34. Refusal of the Return You mean I have to go back?!?
when the battles are won and the “elixir” is in hand, sometimes the hero balks at having to leave all the adventure behind and return to the real world
the refusal may be adamant or brief, obvious or implied
sometimes it is impossible to return to the real world because it has been destroyed

35. The Magic Flight = help/hindrance for the return
sometimes the hero wins the elixir and receives favor/power from the gods – in this situation, the return trip is magically shortened or made easier with gifts
if the elixir is stolen rather than won, powers may conspire against the hero to prevent a successful return – in this case, the return trip can be as arduous as the original road of trials

36. Rescue from Without A little help, please?
if the hero refuses the return or if powers conspire against a successful return, an outside source may step in to assist
resurrection is often linked to this step – a literal visitation or a metaphorical “voice from the past” may coincide with the return

37. Crossing the Return Threshold Back to the grindstone…
the hero must find a way to retain the wisdom gained from the adventure and apply it to everyday existence
it’s often difficult to deliver the boon, especially if it involves wisdom rather than a physical gift – the hero must translate “otherworld” experiences so that ordinary people understand them
synonymous to “reverse culture shock”

38. Master of Two Worlds transcendental heroes
the hero releases the “ordinary” self and gives himself/herself over to destiny
usually represented through transcendence from human to god-form (Jesus/Buddah)
for human heroes, it means that a balance has been struck between the material and spiritual worlds.

39. The Freedom to Live “denouement”
open plot points in the story resolve themselves
a reconciliation between consciousness and universal will
mastery of the quest removes a fear of death which allows the hero “freedom to live”
involves a realization that the journey is never really over