Epic Heroes of the World

8 heroes from across civilizations — each a doorway to an entire mythology

Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Akkadian)

Gilgamesh

Initially, Gilgamesh terrorizes Uruk with his restless energy and oppressive rule. The gods create Enkidu, a wild man of the steppe, as his equal and counterbalance. After their fa...

Weapon: An axe and various weapons forged by the smiths of
Hindu (Indian)

Rama (Ramachandra)

Rama is exiled from Ayodhya for fourteen years due to a court intrigue by his stepmother Kaikeyi. He retreats to the forest with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. The demon king...

Weapon: The divine bow of Vishnu (Sharanga/Kodanda); also
Hindu (Indian)

Arjuna

The Mahabharata narrates the dynastic struggle between the five Pandava brothers and their hundred Kaurava cousins for the throne of Hastinapura. After years of exile, failed diplo...

Weapon: Gandiva -- the divine bow created by Brahma, given
Ancient Greek

Odysseus (Ulysses)

After the fall of Troy (following ten years of siege), Odysseus attempts to sail home to Ithaca, but his journey is prolonged to ten additional years by divine hostility (Poseidon'...

Weapon: His great bow (which only he can string); but his
Norse / Germanic

Sigurd (Siegfried)

Raised by the dwarf-smith Regin, who forges the sword Gram from the shards of Sigmund's broken blade. Regin sends Sigurd to slay the dragon Fafnir (Regin's own brother, transformed...

Weapon: Gram (also called Balmung or Nothung) -- the sword
Mande (West African, primarily Mali, Guinea, Gambia)

Sundiata Keita

Sundiata is born a cripple who cannot walk until the age of seven (or, in some versions, much later). Mocked and persecuted, he is exiled with his mother from the Mande kingdom aft...

Weapon: The sacred arrow (or spear) tipped with the spur o
Finnish / Finno-Ugric

Vainamoinen

Vainamoinen's primary quest is for the Sampo, a mysterious magical artifact (variously interpreted as a world-pillar, a mill of abundance, or a cosmic axis) forged by the smith Ilm...

Weapon: Not a physical weapon but word-magic (loitsu): the
Irish / Celtic

Cu Chulainn (Setanta)

Cu Chulainn's central adventure is the defense of Ulster during the Tain Bo Cuailnge. Queen Medb of Connacht invades Ulster to seize the great bull Donn Cuailnge. The warriors of U...

Weapon: The Gae Bolga -- a barbed spear (or harpoon-like w