The Hero's Journey

'The Path'

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been re-reading a book that all writers and lovers of history and mythology should have on their shelf: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

Every time I pick up this book, I’m struck by the truth of what Campbell says. I think of all of the stories that have struck a chord with me over the years, and the things they have in common. Campbell says:

“The archetypes to be discovered and assimilated are precisely those that have inspired, throughout the annals of human culture, the basic images of ritual, mythology, and vision… The hero... has died as a modern man – he has been reborn. His second solemn task and deed therefore… is to return then to us, transfigured, and teach the lessons he has learned of life renewed.”

(The Hero with a Thousand Faces; Third Edition, 1973)

Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
in the Enchanted Forest

If you stop to look at storytelling, past and present, you can indeed see the recurring themes and archetypes of myth. They are everywhere. And this applies not only to western literature but to storytelling across time, across cultures.

In studying Greek, Roman and Celtic literature and mythology, medieval and Arthurian romance, I have noticed that I am drawn to certain elements. It’s not just because of the way these stories are told, or the language the writers or poets used. Let’s remember that the beauty of language is often lost in translation.

No. What draws me in to these stories are common elements that appeal to something deep within my psyche, the blood in my veins, the fibre of my muscles, the dreams at the back of my mind. My inner youth, adventurer, lover, warrior and wise man all yearn for the stories that are food for the soul.

Without that food I begin to starve.

Such is the power of storytelling.

Sir Galahad upon his Quest

The Hero with a Thousand Faces takes you into a world of great depth, of ideas and examples. There is too much to be able to do it justice in one blog post. However, in the book there is a chart of the Hero’s Journey that I believe can be infinitely useful to a writer.

Oftentimes, writers can get stuck, feel as though they have written themselves into a corner and are not sure how to get out of it. Perhaps they are not sure where to turn next, which path their protagonist should take. Other times, a writer will wonder whether a certain path in the story will appeal to the reader, or else put them off so much that they go off in search of another adventure.

Campbell’s chart of the Hero’s Journey is an excellent point of reference, a tool or weapon to help a writer to get out of the traps that can halt the creative process.

I think it prudent here to quote Campbell on what the journey entails:

“The mythological hero, setting forth from his commonday hut or castle, is lured, carried away, or else voluntarily proceeds, to the threshold of adventure. There he encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage. The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle; offering, charm), or be slain by the opponent and descend in death (dismemberment, crucifixion). Beyond the threshold, then, the hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him (tests), some of which give magical aid (helpers). When he arrives at the nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward. The triumph may be represented as the hero’s sexual union with the goddess-mother of the world (sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father atonement), his own divinization (apotheosis), or again – if the powers have remained unfriendly to him – his theft of the boon he came to gain (bride-theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of consciousness and therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom). The final work is that of the return. If the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight). At the return threshold the transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread (return, resurrection). The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir).”

(The Hero with a Thousand Faces; p.245-246, Third Edition, 1973)

Luke Skywalker
with his father's sword

As I read this, all the stories that I ever loved flash through my mind. I see heroes such as Arthur, Frodo and even Luke Skywalker, taken from their quiet worlds and cast into the unknown with the aid of such legendary characters as Merlin, Gandalf, Obi-Wan Kenobi and others.

Often, a hero experiences an event that thrusts him into the adventure. I think of Odysseus being ordered to go to war at Troy and leave his wife and baby behind, or in the Mabinogi when Pwyll Prince of Dyfed goes into the otherworld of Annwn. Jason confronts Pelias and ends up on an expedition to find the Golden Fleece, the proposed price for getting back his father’s throne. There are so many examples. And often times, there is a sword: Arthur’s Excalibur, Luke’s father’s lightsaber or Bilbo’s sword, Sting, which goes to Frodo.

The tests are often what make up the bulk of the story which takes place in

Odysseus and Calypso

unknown realms. There are helpers in the form of other people, gods or animals along the way. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo has the help of Aragorn (a hero on his own journey – a journey within a journey) and the rest of the Fellowship, elves, dwarves and others. Arthur has his knights who each have their own adventures. Theseus has Ariadne whose aid provides him with the key to the labyrinth. Jason gets aid from the blind prophet Phineas who tells him how to reach the Golden Fleece.

When the hero reaches what Campbell calls the ‘nadir of the mythological round’ there is an ordeal and reward. Odysseus passes through death in the form of Scylla and Charybdis to be washed up on the shore of the goddess Calypso’s island. He spends time there, loved by the goddess, and regains his strength before embarking on the final stages of his journey.

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Other themes at the nadir are the attainment, by theft of gift, of the elixir that is sought by the hero. This could be the Golden Fleece, the Holy Grail, or the promise of a return home in the case of Odysseus. The promise of a healing of the land, of body, of spirit is in the hero’s sights. But the journey is not yet over.

More challenges emerge before the hero can cross that threshold once more to get back into the known realms. Arthur must face Mordred, Odysseus must still reach Ithaca before destroying the suitors and taking back his home. Luke must escape the Death Star to destroy it in a final battle.

Arthur receives Excalibur

Once the final confrontations are achieved, the hero achieves peace for himself and his realm, an overall healing of wounds and righting of wrongs that gives way to a golden time. If the hero dies in the attempt, he goes on to a better place and his example will be one that inspires future generations (e.g. Arthur going to Avalon).

You can take almost any story from any culture and apply the elements Campbell mentions.

The elements of the hero’s journey are universal.

Because these archetypes, these themes, are a part of our storytelling tradition, we often include them automatically in our writing without thinking about it.

Frodo and Gandalf

But a writer often is the hero on a journey and does not always know where the road will lead. We need helpers, a sword (or pen!) and certainly divine help and inspiration should not be shunned. 

Sometimes writers need a guide like Joseph Campbell to put one back on track. And that’s ok!

Odysseus and Arthur, Luke and Frodo, all had help. So did Pwyll and Yvain, Herakles and Jason. It’s not cowardly to receive aid. The true test comes when one decides what to do with the aid provided.

Whether I’m writing the first words, or flipping the first pages, of a new story I relish the adventure to come, the trials and tribulations, learning from the unknown and gathering the courage to slay my own dragons.

I like to think that that is what being human is all about. If you look at it a certain way, you’ll see that our stories are more a part of us than most people think. They are not whimsical flights of fancy that have no real relation to us as human beings, they are a deep part of us and if we ignore or forget those stories, we lose a bit of ourselves. 

The 'Elixir' of Life
Sir Percival at the Chapel of the Grail

Thanks for reading! 

If you would like to find out more, here are a few places to start:

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

ThePower of Myth – A conversation between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers (filmed at Skywalker Ranch). This is also available as an audio book. 

StarWars: The Magic of Myth - This is a fantastic book, not only for Star Wars fans but everyone with an interest in mythology. George Lucas was friends with Joseph Campbell and adhered closely to the ideas of the hero's journey in the creation of his brilliant story 'A long time ago... In a galaxy far, far away...' 

The Makings of a Hero

Jason

Once having traversed the threshold, the hero moves in a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials. This is a favourite phase of the myth-adventure. It has produced a world literature of miraculous tests and ordeals. The hero is covertly aided by the advice, amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper whom he met before his entrance into this region. (Joseph Campbell)

In Joseph Campbell’s seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the author looks at the various traditions and archetypes that make up heroes in cultures from around the world and the common journeys those heroes must make.

Heroes are prominent in history, legend and literature. The hero is essential to storytelling. We have myriad examples of heroes and heroines from Greek, Roman and Celtic mythologies, Arthurian Romance and countless other traditions. Heroes might be flawless or, they might be of the dregs of society. Whether fighting beneath the walls of Troy or in the world of Tolkien, heroes dominate and drive story. As do their adversaries; the bigger the foe, the greater the hero.

Herakles

But what makes a hero? What is it that sets the hero apart from the rest? The answer to this is not necessarily a simple one. The answer is also subjective, depending on a person’s perspective. A hero to one may be a villain to another. Take Achilles as an example. To the Greeks fighting at Troy, he was the ultimate hero; fearless, skilled, destructive to their enemies. However, to the people of Troy, he was their worst nightmare, spoiled, selfish, arrogant, the slayer of their city’s favoured son. We each have our own idea of what a hero is. Mine is shaped by the stories on which I was raised. I grew up on Arthurian romance, Tolkien and Star Wars. Arthur, Aragorn and Luke Skywalker were ever in my mind, firing my imagination and now influencing my own stories.

Heroes all have a journey to make. That is compulsory. Whether it is Herakles and his twelve labours or Joan of Arc from the time she heard the voice to the time of her death. The hero’s journey has particular steps along the way. At first there is a level of naïveté followed by an event that sets things in motion. There are challenges and adversity. There are choices the hero must make and ultimately, it is those choices that determine how others will view the hero, how the hero will view himself. For me, it might end with the hero putting others, or some greater cause, above himself. Gods (and stories!) often require sacrifice and the hero is the one who will step to the fore despite hardship, despite pain, despite fear.

Perseus

When I started writing Children of Apollo, the first book in my Eagles and Dragons series, I wanted to create a protagonist who could stand out in ancient Rome while at the same time maintain a measure of honour. Making it big in ancient Rome certainly did not mean you were good. However, as with all heroes, I soon realized that it was going to be the journey that Lucius Metellus Anguis would make that was important. People grow with experience and the learning never stops. I have not completed the series and, being a writer who likes things to develop in an organic way, I do not yet know what sort of hero Lucius will turn out to be. He has a lot more to experience, fears to face, and not until his death perhaps, will I know if he has the makings of a true hero.

Lancelot

I have but scratched the surface of this topic, sketched a brief image of what are, I think, some of the main qualities of a hero. All people have the potential for good or evil. To me, the hero ultimately chooses the side of good. He may have made mistakes along the way, but that makes him human and someone we can relate to all the more.

Whether a peasant or a demigod, a warrior or a mother, a king who loves and defends his subjects or a father who loves and defends is family, we all have our own heroes, real or imagined. At the end of the day, heroes across the ages are those who inspire us to goodness. They are the ones who, even in the darkest of times, are that one spark of light and hope that will kindle the fire in which good can overcome evil. They are present now, in history and in fiction and their deeds will continue to resonate through the ages.