Helen An Epic Hero

Steve Berry used to say, “But heroes, at times, had to be fools.” An “epic hero” is a person who goes through several steps and stages and has certain powers and qualities. These include, but are certainly not limited to having a quest that he or she needs to complete, having superior intelligence and courage, is guided by his/her beliefs, risks his/her life for the greater good of society, and has flaws in his/her character. A hero has to encompass all of these qualities. One day, at the wedding of King Peleus of the Myrmidons, Eris, the goddess of discord appeared because she was the only god who had not been included in the celebration. She was furious, so she threw a golden apple onto the table, breathed upon the guests, and disappeared.

She was considered the most beautiful of all mortal women in the world. On page 6, it reads, “....whom men called Helen of the Fair Cheeks, the most beautiful of all mortal women. Her beauty was famous throughout the kingdoms of Greece, and many kings and princes had wished to marry her…” Instead of having a superpower or a special skill, her special attribute was her beauty. She used her beauty on her quest, even though Aphrodite may have played a small part in making sure that she was going to go with Paris so that he would be happy too. Helen was on a quest to find true love which she wasn’t finding with Menelaus. She hadn’t been able to choose whether she was going to or whether she wasn’t going to marry Menelaus; it had been her father's choice. On page 6, the author writes, “Her father would have none of them, but gave her to Menelaus.” and “And in the end she left her lord, and her babe and her honor; and followed by his companions, with the maidens wailing and pleading behind them, he led her down the mountain paths and through the passes to his ship, waiting on the seashore.” (pg. 10). Generally, when a person doesn’t get to decide who she is going to marry, she isn’t happy in the marriage. This was the same in Helen’s situation. Helen wasn’t terrible unhappy, but Menelaus was most surely not her true love. When Paris arrived, who was young, and whom she loved, she just had to go with him. It didn’t matter to her that she was leaving her child and her marriage-lord. She was doing what she felt she was meant to be doing. Knowing what you want to do is what a hero needs. If a person has something that he/she needs to accomplish (for Helen it was finding true love), then he/she has a quest! A hero is often caught in the middle of things. For Helen it