In Search of a Hero

Beowulf, the Old English epic hero, comes alive again in the activities found in a teacher's guide designed to accompany a reading of the classic poem.

The first thirty-seven questions on this assessment check for knowledge of the events in Beowulf. The short answer prompt asks readers to identify five characteristics of an epic and to give examples from Beowulf in support. Finally,...

Students recognize that "heroes" and "role models" are not synonymous terms. By analyzing heroes of other cultures and periods, they determine that many heroic figures, mythic or historical, rather than providing a model of a societal...

How did the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades get the nickname The Seven Sisters? The 25th video in the Crash Course World Mythology series has the answer! Viewers explore mythological heroes and learn about Joseph Campbell's theory...

The demi-god Ma'ui in Disney's Moana is more than a charming character—he's actually based on an ancient mythical character. With the 31st installment in the Crash Course World Mythology series, viewers meet the hero from Oceania....

Hercules must complete 10 tasks to gain immortality—what a Herculean feat! The 30th video of 41 in the Crash Course World Mythology series is all about Hercules' heroic journey. Scholars follow along as the god captures a boar, collects...

A wendigo is a man-eating, yellow-eyed ogre from Canadian folklore that puts all other monsters to shame. Viewers discover the terrifying creature, and many others, in the 36th video of the 41-part Crash Course World Mythology series....

The antihero, the flawed protagonist of so much of contemporary literature such as Fahrenheit 451, is the subject of a short video that traces the fall from grace of the divine heroes of classical literature to the flawed, far more human...

What is a hero? Used as both an introduction and conclusion to the play Into the Line of Duty (author not provided), this presentation details the definitions of a hero before posing discussion questions. Students discuss their...

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson focuses on allusions to mythological, classical, and traditional texts and understanding what allusion is, its importance and use as a literary device, and how to...