英语话题之英雄精选.ppt

When we think of the word hero, what comes to mind? Masked men in spandex, tights, and capes? Tortured loners with no one to love? Cool cars, hot women, and high-tech gadgets? Superman? Batman? Spiderman? Fireman? Policeman? Everyman? What makes a hero in Greek Mythology? Having one immortal parent Being born into royalty Having an unusual conception or birth Being favored by the gods Being the subject of a prophesy Being abandoned at birth or while very young Performing an amazing feat at a young age Going on a quest Traveling to the underworld Marrying a princess Dying an ignoble death Unusual Conception / Birth Heroes are often called “Demi-gods” because one parent is immortal and the other is mortal Most famous heroes were the offspring of Zeus or Poseidon, but sometimes the parent was a goddess such as Aphrodite or Thetis To further complicate things, often the heroes’ actual births involved strange complications Born into Royalty Heroes were almost always the offspring of a princess or queen Typically the god responsible for the hero either came disguised as the husband of the queen, or the princess slept with a god and a mortal on the same night Invariably the hero was claimed by his earthly father as well as his Olympian one Prophesy / Abandoned at Birth The fates or the oracle often had something to say about the birth of a hero Often the prediction so frightened the parents that they abandoned the child in the wilderness, but since the heroic child was favored by the gods, he was saved and raised by someone other than his parents Sometimes, through no fault of the parents, the child needed to be raised away from home Performing an amazing feat at a young age Young heroes invariable found a way to “strut their stuff” when they were wee tykes. Heracles killed two snakes as a youngster, Theseus moved a huge rock and fought what he thought was a lion These events were a heads up that great things were in store for our heroes Since heroes were the offsprin