Nemesis: Keeper of Balance and Justice

1. Nemesis The Purveyor of Justice and Balance

2. Definition • From nemein- to "distribute, allot, apportion one's due (Greek goddess of vengence) • The hero’s nemesis (not in every myth) • When it is not present, the role of the nemesis is typically the hero him/herself. • When present, the nemesis represents all of the hero’s flaws and weaknesses and will require that things learned throughout the journey be used to defeat it.

3. Who is Nemesis? • The one who brings balance. • The role of the nemesis is to ensure that one person does not have too much – too much good fortune, too much acclaim, too much pride. • The nemesis takes action to deprive the hero of some of his/her happiness, to discredit him/her, to bring him/her down a peg or two, to humble him/her. http://www.hellenicgods.org/_/rsrc/1320361837899/n/%CE%9D%CE%88%CE%9C%CE%95%CE%A3%CE%99%CE%A3_Gheorghe_Tattarescu.jpg?height=320&width=215

4. What might have been… • In more contemporary stories, the hero’s nemesis is a foil for the hero, often the polar opposite of the hero • Sometimes the nemesis is who the hero might have become; the two characters faced the same situation but made different choices • Often, it is a personal conflict between the hero and nemesis http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WZ41UJFZyNM/TwYlIEPmYSI/AAAAAAAACso/AAMVQLtLlng/s1600/moriarty+and+holmes+in+lecture+hall+classroom+sherlock-holmes2-still02.jpg

5. Your task • Grading scale: • A 12+ heroes and nemeses • B 10-11 • C 8-9 • You must have the written explanation to receive credit for each slide. • When you are finished with your heroes and nemeses, please delete the slides you did not use. • Save your presentation as (your name) Nemesis and drop your presentation into my Drop folder on the HS shared drive. • You will look at the heroes on the slides. Pick the ones for which you can identify the nemeses. • Go forth on to the Internet and find pictures of each nemesis and save the pictures. • Paste the picture of the nemesis on the slide next to his/her hero. • Then write a short (1-2 sentences) explanation of why the hero is heroic and why the nemesis is their nemesis. • Your slide should look like the next slide on Holmes & Moriarty.

6. And the nemesis is… Your task is to describe the hero, identify the hero’s nemesis, insert a picture of the nemesis, and explain which of the roles the nemesis plays, which of the actions the nemesis takes to oppose the hero. Holmes is the ultimate intellectual hero, using his logic and reasoning skills to solve difficult cases. Moriarty is Holmes’ intellectual equal, which makes him even more dangerous, since he devotes his intellectual abilities to pursue crime. He is Holmes’ foil.

7. Hercules

8. Odysseus

9. Percy Jackson

10. Po

11. Dr. Horrible

12. Sheriff Brody

13. David Dunn

14. And the nemesis is… Batman

15. And the nemesis is… Spiderman

16. And the nemesis is… Green Lantern

17. And the nemesis is… Professor Xavier

18. And the nemesis is… Thor

19. And the nemesis is… Captain Kirk (the original)

20. And the nemesis is… Captain Jean Luc Picard (SNG)

21. And the nemesis is… Optimus Prime

22. And the nemesis is… Jor El

23. And the nemesis is… Harry Potter

24. And the nemesis is… Hercules (from Greek mythology or the Legendary Journeys of Hercules - not the Disney cartoon)

25. And the nemesis is… Xena Warrior Princess

26. And the nemesis is… Merlin

27. And the nemesis is… Splinter

28. And the nemesis is… Ra, the Egyptian Sun God

29. And the nemesis is… Osiris, the Egyptian God of the Afterlife

30. And the nemesis is… If you don’t know who this is, I’m not speaking to you!