Collage of hook illustrations in the public domain – Cu Chulainn in Battle, illustration by J.C. Leyendecker in T.W. Rolleston’s Myths & Legends of the Celts 1911 (left) and Fionn Fighting Aillen, illustration by Beatrice Elvery in Violet Russell’s Heroes of the Dawn 1914 (right)

(14) CU CHULAINN & FINN MCCOOL

Cu Chulainn had me at warp spasm – and Finn McCool had me at the best name for a heroic protagonist outside of, well, Hiro Protagonist.

Mind you, Cu Chulainn also scores bonus points with me for being literally named for a dog – the hound of Culann (after “killing a fierce guard dog” as a child and “offering to take its place until a replacement could be reared”).

Cu Chulainn “is an Irish warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore…believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh”. Like Achilles, whom he resembles to a substantial extent, “it was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be short”.

By warp spasm, I’m referring to the “terrifying battle frenzy” for which he is known – “in which he becomes an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe”. Like all true warrior heroes, he died in battle – and on his feet, binding himself to a standing stone so that he would remain on his feet until the end.

I can’t help but think of Cu Chulainn as the Conan of Irish mythology – both figuratively and literally, the latter as inspiration for Robert E. Howard’s Conan. That’s my speculation, based on my understanding that Robert E. Howard based Conan’s Cimmerian ethnicity on Celtic models.

Pat Mills’ barbarian Irish hero Slaine was definitely based in part on Cu Chulainn, but also from other sources of Irish mythology.

Speaking of which, Finn McCool is an anglicization of the less distinctive Fionn mac Cumhaill or Finn mac Cumhaill, the latter surname also a potential target for contemporary adolescent humor. He was the central figure of the Fianna Cycle or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology – “the leader of the Fianna bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet”.

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Lao Tzu as depicted in Judge Dredd (prog 577, “The Sage”). Spoiler alert – the Tao doesn’t do too well against the Law

(13) LAO TZU / LAOZI

The legendary founder of Taoism and the author of its foundational text, the Tao Te Ching.

What I particularly like is that he just jotted down as a literal afterthought or postscript, at the request of a city sentry to record his wisdom for the good of the kingdom before being permitted to pass – before literally riding off into the sunset on a mystical water buffalo because he was that awesome.

Of course, that is probably pure legend in every respect, including the historicity of Laozi himself, but who cares when it’s that cool? And it’s apt enough for the source of Taoism, with its emphases on living in balance, naturalness, spontaneity, simplicity and detachment from desire – particularly living in the moment and wu wei, or the art of doing nothing effectively.

If only there had been some law requiring any foundational religious text be written by its founder like a university exam – within a prescribed time limit of an hour, or two at most.

Surely that would eliminate much of the source of religious conflict, which at heart often seems to be wars of literary interpretation. My book is better than your book. All those long rambling religious texts – really, less is more. Of course, that would also eliminate most, if not almost all religious books.

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The most famous image of Roman mythology or legendary history – Lupa Capitolina suckling the twins Romulus and Remus, here depicted in a bronze sculpture in the Capitoline Museum debated as to its age and origin as either 5th century BC Etruscan sculpture or medieval (with the twins added later)

(12) AENEAS & ROMULUS

All roads lead to Rome – Rome leads back to Romulus and Aeneas.

My previous special mention for Hector leads naturally to special mention for Aeneas, similarly a Trojan hero – less prominent in Greek mythology or the Iliad but one that rose to prominence as the ancestral hero of Rome in Roman mythology and the subject of the Aeneid, epic poem by Virgil intended as a sequel to the Iliad and Odyssey as well as foundational legend for Rome (and the imperial cult of Augustus).

I particularly like that Aeneas is the son of the goddess Aphrodite, which effectively makes her Roman equivalent Venus the founding mother and patron goddess of Rome.

Aeneas may well have been the founding father of Rome but he didn’t found the city itself – hence he shares special mention with Romulus. Famously, Romulus was one of two twin brothers – and as famously, he and his twin Remus were suckled by a she-wolf, known as Lupa Capitolina or the Capitoline wolf, in their infancy. Also as famously (or infamously), Romulus had a falling out of fratricidal degree with his brother as he went on to found the city (and kingdom) of Rome – just as well because the city of Reme just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

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Illustration of Hector, albeit in his duel with Ajax rather than Achilles, from The Story of the Iliad published in 1892

(11) HECTOR

Troy’s greatest warrior and the classical archetype of heroic antagonist, worthy adversary to Achilles in the Iliad.

It just goes to show you can have heroes on both sides. Indeed, there’s been a consistent tendency to see Hector as more heroic, or at least more sympathetic, than Achilles – a tendency that dates back potentially to the Iliad itself and certainly through to the modern reader.

“Hector is still the hero who forever captures the affection of the modern reader, far more strongly than his conqueror has ever done”.

It’s not a universal tendency. Some drily point out that the Iliad more tells than shows Hector’s prowess as a warrior – “Many, but not all, scholars of the Iliad see an incongruence between Hector’s in-story reputation and his actual achievements”. On the other hand, others argue Hector should have played it safe, “following his wife’s practical advice to defend Troy from the city wall” rather than “fighting on the frontlines for the sake of glory” – he was Troy’s crown prince after all.

However, Hector was fated to fall in an epic for which the declared subject in its opening line is the wrath of Achilles – which was, after all, targeted on Hector, at least after Achilles’ companion Patroclus is killed by Hector. This time, it’s personal for Achilles – and so he killed Hector, leaving the Trojan king Priam to beg Achilles if the latter could please stop dragging Hector’s dead body behind him while doing victory laps in his chariot.

Still, it’s hard not to see Hector as more heroic or sympathetic to Achilles, particularly as Hector is fighting foremost to defend his city and family.

“Hector throughout the Trojan War brings glory to the Trojans as their best fighter. He is loved by all his people and known for never turning down a fight. He is gracious to all and thus thought of favorably by all but the Achaeans…He turns the tide of battle”.

That consistent tendency to see Hector as more heroic, or at least more sympathetic, than Achilles – has also carried over to the Trojans against the Greeks in general. The Romans traditionally traced their lineage to Troy and hence accordingly took a positive view of Hector, followed by medieval writers who hailed Hector as one of the “Nine Worthies” or nine heroes from Biblical, classical and medieval sources, as well as others since who have favored Hector as the true hero of the Iliad.

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Statue of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, photographed by Richard Croft and published as image in Wikipedia “Robin Hood” licensed for use under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

(10) ROBIN HOOD

“The legendary outlaw archer Robin Hood is an incredibly famous character of medieval folklore, so much so that he has been adapted into countless different media” – and so incredibly famous that for English historical legend he is perhaps exceeded by only one other figure, King Arthur.

“Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw from England. The character was first alluded to in William Langland’s poem Piers Plowman written in the year 1377, although the reference in this poem indicates Robin Hood existed much earlier than that in oral tradition.”

I’d say he needs little introduction, except elements of his legend originally varied from his subsequent adaptations. He is traditionally associated with Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire – hence the Sheriff of Nottingham as his antagonist – but an early ballad places him in Yorkshire, while later ones place him even further away in Scotland and London. “He is identified as a yeoman — a non-noble, free, small landholder — in his original incarnations. The Elizabethans would attribute a title of nobility to Robin as Earl of Huntingdon; several modern incarnations make him a knight (or at least a soldier) and treat The Crusades as some sort of medieval Vietnam.”

More religious elements, such as his devotion to the Virgin Mary, have been replaced by his iconic charity to the poor.

He is the archetypal archer hero – an archetype that has proved surprisingly enduring in the modern age of firearms or squires – combined with “association with nature” and “rebellious personality”.

“The possible inspirations for the myth are equally varied and unclear. While there is limited evidence that he may have been a historical figure, or at least named after one, the modern consensus is that he is a distillation of multiple figures — historical and mythical — from the early 2nd millennium.”

Although there are also theories identifying him as a “a remnant of pre-Christian pagan belief in some form of nature spirit” such as “Robin Wood”, the “Spirit of the Forest”. I’ve read one such version which also conflated him with the folklore figure Robin Goodfellow.

Robin Hood is accompanied by a cast of other characters in legend, perhaps most famously Maid Marian, and his Merry Men – including Little John, Will Scarlett, and Friar Tuck.

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