epic hero, n.All

An Epic hero (n.) must ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠stand at the head of the event, conduct it and end it, just as one poet devises the whole epic.

The Epic hero (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a whole man — son, hero, lover, spouse, father — whereas the dramatic character is the conflict of one one-sided pathos.

An Epic hero (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a nation concentrated into one living person: when Achilles withdraws the Achaeans cannot win; Odysseus' journey home is the homecoming of all the Greeks.

An Epic hero (n.) may ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠yield to circumstances without loss to his poetic individuality, since in epic character and external necessity stand side by side with equal strength.