In this class, ancient texts and recent movies will introduce us to the lives of these ancient heroes and heroines, from Achilles through to Luke Skywalker. By studying them we will come to understand their ideals and ambitions, and compare them to our own ideals and ambitions. This class will raise this and similar questions. Finally, in the last part of the class, we will compare these heroes and heroines with Christian heroes, such as Dante in the Divine Comedy, and other heroes of our time, from Jack Bauer of 24 to some comic-book superheroes. As the Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank once said, ‘everyone is a hero or heroine in birth’. If you desire to discover this vocation of yours, I warmly invite you to join this class.