The World of the Hero - Theme Bank
Core themes across Homer and Virgil:
What makes a hero: courage, leadership, honour, reputation and
self-control
Heroic values: kleos, timē, pietas, duty and sacrifice
Fate versus free will
Gods and mortals
War, violence, death and glory
Family, friendship, loyalty and leadership
Women and their position within heroic society
Suffering, loss and personal responsibility
Civilisation versus disorder
Virgil’s imitation and transformation of Homer
Roman identity, Augustus and the cost of empire
For each theme, revise:
5-8 precise episodes or quotations
Different characters for comparison
Both supporting and challenging evidence
Relevant social, religious and political context
A clear judgement on what the poet ultimately suggests
One Useful Essay structure (we can practice this in-lesson)
1. Introduction: define the key term and give a qualified judgement.
2. Paragraph 1: strongest evidence supporting the statement.
3. Paragraph 2: further support, preferably through another
character/episode.
4. Paragraph 3: complication or counterargument.
5. Paragraph 4: alternative interpretation and wider authorial purpose.
6. Conclusion: weigh the evidence and answer “to what extent?”
Each paragraph could follow:
Argument -precise textual evidence - analysis of technique -
context - alternative interpretation - judgement
For comparative essays, compare continuously:
Shared idea - Homer - Virgil - significant similarity/difference - why
Virgil adapts Homer -judgement
Below is a compact thematic revision bank. Quotations vary between
translations, so you should check the exact wording in your prescribed
editions!
, 1. What makes a hero?
Iliad
Book 6: Hector returns to battle despite Andromache’s
pleas; public duty conflicts with family.
Book 9: Achilles rejects Agamemnon’s gifts, questioning
whether honour is worth death.
Book 22: Hector initially flees but finally faces Achilles:
“Let me not die without struggle or glory.”
Book 24: Achilles returns Hector’s body; compassion and
self-control become heroic qualities.
Context: Homeric heroes pursue kleos (lasting glory) and timē
(public honour), but Homer exposes the human cost of this
system.
Aeneid
Book 2: Aeneas carries Anchises and leads Ascanius from
Troy; hero as protector.
Book 4: He leaves Dido because Italy and Rome are his
destiny.
Book 6: Anchises reveals Rome’s future mission.
Book 12: Aeneas nearly spares Turnus but kills him after
seeing Pallas’ belt.
Useful quote: “I sail for Italy not of my own free will”; Aeneas
is repeatedly described as pius.
Judgement: Aeneas replaces Achilles’ individual glory with
Roman duty, although his killing of Turnus complicates his
heroism.
2. Kleos, timē, pietas, duty and sacrifice
Core themes across Homer and Virgil:
What makes a hero: courage, leadership, honour, reputation and
self-control
Heroic values: kleos, timē, pietas, duty and sacrifice
Fate versus free will
Gods and mortals
War, violence, death and glory
Family, friendship, loyalty and leadership
Women and their position within heroic society
Suffering, loss and personal responsibility
Civilisation versus disorder
Virgil’s imitation and transformation of Homer
Roman identity, Augustus and the cost of empire
For each theme, revise:
5-8 precise episodes or quotations
Different characters for comparison
Both supporting and challenging evidence
Relevant social, religious and political context
A clear judgement on what the poet ultimately suggests
One Useful Essay structure (we can practice this in-lesson)
1. Introduction: define the key term and give a qualified judgement.
2. Paragraph 1: strongest evidence supporting the statement.
3. Paragraph 2: further support, preferably through another
character/episode.
4. Paragraph 3: complication or counterargument.
5. Paragraph 4: alternative interpretation and wider authorial purpose.
6. Conclusion: weigh the evidence and answer “to what extent?”
Each paragraph could follow:
Argument -precise textual evidence - analysis of technique -
context - alternative interpretation - judgement
For comparative essays, compare continuously:
Shared idea - Homer - Virgil - significant similarity/difference - why
Virgil adapts Homer -judgement
Below is a compact thematic revision bank. Quotations vary between
translations, so you should check the exact wording in your prescribed
editions!
, 1. What makes a hero?
Iliad
Book 6: Hector returns to battle despite Andromache’s
pleas; public duty conflicts with family.
Book 9: Achilles rejects Agamemnon’s gifts, questioning
whether honour is worth death.
Book 22: Hector initially flees but finally faces Achilles:
“Let me not die without struggle or glory.”
Book 24: Achilles returns Hector’s body; compassion and
self-control become heroic qualities.
Context: Homeric heroes pursue kleos (lasting glory) and timē
(public honour), but Homer exposes the human cost of this
system.
Aeneid
Book 2: Aeneas carries Anchises and leads Ascanius from
Troy; hero as protector.
Book 4: He leaves Dido because Italy and Rome are his
destiny.
Book 6: Anchises reveals Rome’s future mission.
Book 12: Aeneas nearly spares Turnus but kills him after
seeing Pallas’ belt.
Useful quote: “I sail for Italy not of my own free will”; Aeneas
is repeatedly described as pius.
Judgement: Aeneas replaces Achilles’ individual glory with
Roman duty, although his killing of Turnus complicates his
heroism.
2. Kleos, timē, pietas, duty and sacrifice
