A 4-week course on the hero in epic and myth: Tracing the quests, journeys and
the multiple facets of the hero and the heroic in ancient narratives.
Conducted by The Mythology Project
Duration: 4 weeks
Starts: July 22 2023
Ends: August 12 2023
(1-1/2 hours every Saturday)
Venue: Online
About the course: The course will provide a comprehensive understanding of
the idea of the heroic and the role of the hero in ancient narratives. It will look
at the hero’s journey as elaborated by Joseph Campbell and also by other
proponents of the journey template such as Otto Rank and Lord Raglan and
others. It will also look at the idea of heroism in folk myths and ballads and
discuss the way in which tribal/folk heroes carve a distinct identity for
themselves in many cultures. The course will also provide a detailed look at the
quest of the hero and its influence on social norms and ideologies in the ancient
ages. The course will go beyond telling the stories of the heroes to understand
the emergence of the hero in ancient cultures and examine and compare their
characteristics and journeys.
Course plan*
The topics to be covered in the course:
- Who is a hero
- Archetypes
- Hero journeys
- Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth and other theorists (Rank, Raglan and others) on the hero’s journey
- Types of heroes—from the ancient Greek, Indian, Persian and other epics and myths
- Heroism in tribal/folk texts and from lesser known epics
- Quests of a hero and the meaning of diversity of quests in the world of heroes
*This is a tentative plan and could change at the discretion of the course faculty.
