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It is important to trace the roots of heroic epic. Almost everyone, at some point of their lives, became acquainted with the Greek or Roman mythologies, which are often interwoven into the works of Western literature. And, "it is from Classical (Greek and Roman) mythology that the Western literal tradition evolved (Biral 2002). And, it is there that we find the earliest traces of heroic epic as well as the concept of a "hero", which "came to mean a superhuman or semi-divine being whose special powers were put forth to save or help all mankind or a favored part of it" (Bloomfield in Jokinen 1996). .
It is in the early Greek literature that we find the earliest heroic epic. One of the examples is Iliad, which is extremely important from the European literary standpoint because it constitutes the beginning stages of the development of European literature (Hanczakowski 2001:23).
The Iliad, followed by Odyssey are the examples of epic poetry in the early Greek literature, they "emphasized the ideals of honor and bravery and had an enormous influence on Greek culture- (Myrsiades 1997). Greek epic poetry "had an enormous influence not only on "the Greek culture" but Western culture as well. The hero's goal, as Betcher points out in her article The Heroic code in The Iliad, "is to achieve honor", which "is gained through engagement in life-threatening activities [where] heroes value honor above life" and "honor is determined by the courage he [the hero] displays, the difficulty of the test he faces, the physical abilities he possesses, his social status, and the possessions that he acquires (2002). There seems to be emphasis on physical strength and raw courage, tested in life-threatening activities. Yet another important aspect of heroic tradition existed in Greek society and it found its way into the literary tradition. The moral code in Greek society was very clear, ""philia", "friendship" was an inherent moral code by which they lived and were expected to live" (UM 2002).
