ABSTRACT
Like “myth,” the modern word “hero” has developed a range of meanings and applications that can be distracting for someone who wants to get at the ancient Greek concept, and thus at the fuller meaning of hero myths. In fact, the hero myths by starting out as “epichoric” narratives provided a constant and contrary tug against the “Panhellenic” tendencies of myths about gods. The pantheon of the divine settled down, throughout Greek lands, to a generally agreed-on number of twelve: Zeus, Hera, and the other Olympians. The myth of Pandora, the fabricated woman who brought countless ills to mortals, seems to encapsulate a bleak, male view of women. The Perseus myth segues by way of genealogical links into the grand cycle of Heracles myths. Although the Athenians claimed to be the first to institute sacrifices to Heracles, his cult was indisputably Panhellenic.
