An epic hero is, in short, the hero of an epic. An epic is a story, usually a poem, where a character goes on a quest. Characteristics that an epic hero often possess: a Strong Leader, Amazing Physical Powers, His Exploits are Sung of and Heralded ( the use of the male pronoun is not to imply that an epic hero cannot be a female), the Epic Hero "dies" and is Resurrected. Note that the epic hero is more than the sum of his/her parts. He/She is an inspiration to others. i can go on, but I'll stop here, but the next logical question is whether Beowulf is an Epic and the short answer is yes. There is a more extensive answer to this however-if you are interested in why.