ABSTRACT
Satan is a perversion of classical epic values and the Father and the Son are a Christianization of those values, Adam and Eve must choose between the two. They begin in the purer state and fall into the sinful classicism of Satan and later partially regain their former purity. Milton’s hero fails in his task does matter of course, for it changes the epic into tragedy. Adam’s failure is quite different; however, from what might have occurred in the other epics had their heroes failed, for Adam’s task is different. Milton’s poem is about the destruction of paradise and about the death of all men, as Homer’s is about the destruction that resulted from the wrath of Achilles. As a model of Christian behavior, Odysseus, as Milton noticed, is very adaptable to the ethics of Christianity since he has the patience and the endurance, the passive side of the classical hero, which comes closest to Christ Himself.
