What are the qualities of an epic hero?

There are two very important components to the epic hero.

The first component is the obvious thing about the accomplishments he or she makes in the external world. Because we're talking "epic hero" the accomplishments are on a grand and large scale and can include slaying of fearsome beasts like dragons or the exploration and conquering of whole worlds or countries. The important thing is that the accomplishments be very big.

The second component is that of internal development. The epic hero has to go through many trials and not only accomplish things in the external world but he or she must also go through a substantial growth of self along the way. These growth steps often include things like overcoming internal fear, (gaining courage) understanding of self and self limitations, and overcoming self by committing to helping others.

An epic hero has to do very large things both in the external world and in the internal world and the two are very strongly tied together. The external accomplishments are never reached unless the hero achieves the internal growth first.

An epic hero represents an ideal for what a culture thinks people should be like.