THE HERO'S JOURNEY: A MYTHOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE MARTYRDOM OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS

This study is qualitative research that used content analysis on the New Testament characters, namely James Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate. It utilized the Formalistic Approach in finding how the characters become martyrs and Mythological Approach using the theory of Christopher Vogler for the stages of the character's journey to heroism. This study concluded that each character is considered a martyr in his way and has passed the stages of a hero's journey from martyrdom to heroism. James was considered a martyr for fighting for his belief and encountering such persecutions. On the other hand, Judas Iscariot was a traitor who turned out as a martyr. Lastly, Pontius Pilate was a persecutor who sacrificed his power, making him a martyr. These three characters had also passed the stages of a Hero's Journey that considered them heroes yet depicted different types of their kind. James was a type of a willing hero, Judas was an anti-hero, and Pilate was considered a willing type of hero. Thus, all of these characters had successfully journeyed from martyrdom to heroism representing different types of heroes in their adventures.