Heroes: Conventions

     Conventions are established identifiers common to hero myths. Heroes follow some, but rarely all, of the conventions.

Birth
     Heroes generally have a story associated with their birth or early childhood. Many heroes have some form of divine parentage, with either the mother or the father a deity.  Though common, it is not a requirement.  The divine parentage, though, does fulfill the requirement for a birth story.
     Examples: Moses in a basket, Hercules (Zeus is his father), Superman escaping Krypton.

Name
     Beyond a given name, heroes possess an attributive name, which is reflective of some part of their character or their deeds. The name can be one which the hero attributes to himself, but is always reflective in some way.
     Examples: Clever Odysseus, Diomedes of the War Cry, Barrel-rider (Bilbo Baggins), Batman (Bruce Wayne), Dark Knight, Man of Steel.

Call
     The call part of the quest conventions, and is that which urges the hero off on a quest (usually what it is that changes a hero's society for the better).
     Examples: The abduction of Helen which sent Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Achilles off to war with Troy; Arthur pulling the sword from the stone; Moses and the burning bush; the murder of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben.

Quest
     The quest is where the hero leaves to accomplish a goal, which ultimately changes society for the better.
     Examples: The Trojan War to reclaim Helen for Menelaos, Perseus freeing Andromeda, Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, Frodo and Sam to destroy the One Ring.
Return
     The return is the heroes returning back to their home (not always a physical place, and not always the same place they started from) to a state of rest after the quest is accomplished.
     Examples: Perseus becoming king, Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt, Sam and Frodo return to the Shire.

Deeds
     The deeds are acts that the heroes accomplish. Many deeds are frequently carried out while on a quest, but aren't necessarily directly part of the quest (the deeds may happen while he is on the quest, but they are not essential to the quest). They may just be incidental to the heroes' stories, and occur even before the quest.
     Examples: Hercules killing snakes in his crib, Moses killing the Egyptian, Odysseus and the Cyclops.

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