Poll: Mythological Hero?

[NeutralDrow]

King Arthur. Lancelot. Gilgamesh. Alexander the Great. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Gilles de Rais. al-Hassan ibn al-Sabah. ...okay, maybe not those last two.

Legendary and mythological personages whose exploits are storied, who accomplished impossible tasks, and who gave me the perfect opportunity to rip off the TV Tropes page on Fate/Stay Night.

Simply put, I've been doing things lately that have made me get far into Irish and Sumerian mythology, and the thread question popped into my head. Who is your favorite mythological or legendary hero and why? Beowulf? Herakles? Coyote? Guan Yu? Someone I've never heard of?

As is probably good manners, I'll start off and say I'm starting to become more enamored of <url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuchulainn>this chap as of late. Maybe there's something about a guy who, in addition to the standard "fights off armies by himself", can if the need arises go absolutely nuts, turn into a twisted monstrosity, and wreak havoc. A guy who tied himself to a rock so he could die on his feet...but was so incredibly scary that his enemies refused to believe he was dead until a bird landed on his head.

EDIT: For clarity. Do you have a favorite mythological hero? If so, who and why?

 

[supermaster1337]

i choose GOD.
my option in the poll was options. ^^

 

[Shade Jackrabbit]

...Alexander the Great...

That guy was real, though. D=

EDIT: Ohhh... wait, yeah, there actually were some myths about him.

Okay, I'm gonna go with Achilles, mainly cause I think it's crazy that the dude was invincible then got shot in the ankle with an arrow and died. That sorta stuff doesn't fly nowadays in fiction, though I wish it did.

 

[TaborMallory]

Gilles De Rais, because Cradle of Filth's latest album conceptualizes him.

 

[HateDread]

I am so confused now. That poll threw me off. What's going on? :S :S

 

[Oldmanwillow]

WE THE SONS OF ODIN AWAIT THY COMMAND.

all hail Odin all hail Manowar. hall and kill

 

[NeutralDrow]

I am so confused now. That poll threw me off. What's going on? :S :S

Do you have a favorite mythological hero? If so, who and why?

An actual poll would have been silly. There are far more than eight legendary/mythological heroes, and a poll where 80% of the vote goes to "other" is a bloody useless poll. I was just having fun with that.

...Alexander the Great...

That guy was real, though. D=

EDIT: Ohhh... wait, yeah, there actually were some myths about him.

Reality, pure myth, doesn't matter to me. As you said, good ol' Iskander was definitely real, but he's still legendary (even without the whole "gordian knot" thing and the like).

 

[Inverse Skies]

I guess I'll say Lancelot, because he's the only one I really know much about. The idea of mythological heros is nice, but personally I've never really gotten into the ideas behind them or the stories or anything.

 

[JMeganSnow]

An actual poll would have been silly. There are far more than eight legendary/mythological heroes, and a poll where 80% of the vote goes to "other" is a bloody useless poll. I was just having fun with that.

You could have broken them up by archetype, (Trickster, Brute, Sorcerer, Follows Instructions, etc.) since they're all pretty freakin' similar. Take any legend and remove all the proper names and it could be about ANY hero from ANY mythology.

I like the more benevolent Trickster gods (Anansi, for instance). I am LEAST fond of the Follows Instructions heroes (you know, of the Childe Rowland type whose only virtue is that they stopped to listen to the old hag and then did EXACTLY what she told them to do).

 

[HateDread]

I am so confused now. That poll threw me off. What's going on? :S :S

Do you have a favorite mythological hero? If so, who and why?

An actual poll would have been silly. There are far more than eight legendary/mythological heroes, and a poll where 80% of the vote goes to "other" is a bloody useless poll. I was just having fun with that.

...Alexander the Great...

That guy was real, though. D=

EDIT: Ohhh... wait, yeah, there actually were some myths about him.

Reality, pure myth, doesn't matter to me. As you said, good ol' Iskander was definitely real, but he's still legendary (even without the whole "gordian knot" thing and the like).

Well, uhm, ok. Curse you and your freaky pole.

I'd have to say Achilles, mainly because of the movie. But, honestly, his mother/goddess/whatever that dipped him in the river of immortality, should have done it by his hair, not his heel. Oh well...

 

[NeutralDrow]

An actual poll would have been silly. There are far more than eight legendary/mythological heroes, and a poll where 80% of the vote goes to "other" is a bloody useless poll. I was just having fun with that.

You could have broken them up by archetype, (Trickster, Brute, Sorcerer, Follows Instructions, etc.) since they're all pretty freakin' similar. Take any legend and remove all the proper names and it could be about ANY hero from ANY mythology.

I like the more benevolent Trickster gods (Anansi, for instance). I am LEAST fond of the Follows Instructions heroes (you know, of the Childe Rowland type whose only virtue is that they stopped to listen to the old hag and then did EXACTLY what she told them to do).

That would have been a good idea. Sadly, I think the only archetypes I had running through my head asking the question were Saber, Berserker, Archer, Rider, Lancer, Caster, and Assassin... ^^;

 

[mangus]

Perseus kicks ass.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Beowulf.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Well, uhm, ok. Curse you and your freaky pole.

Leave my pole out of this.

 

[Shade Jackrabbit]

King Arthur. Lancelot. Gilgamesh. Alexander the Great. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Gilles de Rais. al-Hassan ibn al-Sabah. ...okay, maybe not those last two.

Legendary and mythological personages whose exploits are storied, who accomplished impossible tasks, and who gave me the perfect opportunity to rip off the TV Tropes page on Fate/Stay Night.

Simply put, I've been doing things lately that have made me get far into Irish and Sumerian mythology, and the thread question popped into my head. Who is your favorite mythological or legendary hero and why? Beowulf? Herakles? Coyote? Guan Yu? Someone I've never heard of?

As is probably good manners, I'll start off and say I'm starting to become more enamored of <url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuchulainn>this chap as of late. Maybe there's something about a guy who, in addition to the standard "fights off armies by himself", can if the need arises go absolutely nuts, turn into a twisted monstrosity, and wreak havoc. A guy who tied himself to a rock so he could die on his feet...but was so incredibly scary that his enemies refused to believe he was dead until a bird landed on his head.

EDIT: For clarity. Do you have a favorite mythological hero? If so, who and why?

alexander the great was not a myth you jackass

I thought so too, but then wikipedia proved me wrong [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_great#Legend]. Well, partially.

 

[JMeganSnow]

That would have been a good idea. Sadly, I think the only archetypes I had running through my head asking the question were Saber, Berserker, Archer, Rider, Lancer, Caster, and Assassin... ^^;

Hah. Instead of weapons, it'd be better to classify them by how they solve (or get into) their problems. You could probably do an six-fold classification like this:

Solves problems with brute strength = Brute (think The Incredible Hulk or Herakles depending on the myth)
Solves problems with weapons/strategy/tactics = Warrior (Odysseus, Jason, Perseus, Herakles depending on the myth)
Solves problems by doing what they're told/being good/obedient/virtuous = Follows Instructions (Childe Rowland, Cinderella)
Solves problems by being a cleverdick = Trickster (Anansi, Br'er Rabbit)
Solves problems via magic = Sorcerer (Merlin, Circe, Medea)
Solves problems via faith = Priest (Jesus et al)