Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction
Thousands of years before Superman or Marvel's Thor, the Greeks and Romans were already telling stories of characters with superhuman powers. Heracles, better known by his Roman name, Hercules, was a son of Zeus famed for his strength and his seemingly impossible labors. Achilles, the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, fought like no one else, and the Amazons, led by their queen Hippolyta, embodied the woman warrior.
Twentieth-century comic-book creators drew on these tales to shape Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam. These heroes are modern, but some of the ideas behind them go back to stories several millennia old. So where do superheroes really come from?
The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.
- 2Shazam, a magic word from antiquity
- 3Wonder Woman, daughter of the Amazons
- 4From Samson to Superman
- 5Thor, a Norse god at Marvel
Open-book quiz8 questions whose answers are in the text.
Glossary6 terms explained in a tap.
30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.
