Abstract Archetype is a universal concept in the sense of the prototype and original form of something. Archetypes, which preserve their existence in the collective memory of societies and in all cultures with primitive image figures, are schemas of common consciousness that are inherent in human beings and embodied by experiences. The hero archetype is the supracultural common manifestation of a chosen personality that reflects the ideals of a society. Images created with cultural characteristics around the protagonist with the heroic theme point to an archetypal first model that has become universal in all societies. In the narratives, the protagonist's noble identity, extraordinary birth, heroism, and his initiation journey for the society and/or lover is a common fiction. While the hero is surrounded by the cultural values of the society he belongs to, a common hero pattern emerges from the same ideology and tradition in other societies with similar experiences. Intertextual sign is the transfer of a discourse from a main text to other narratives in the form of theme, hero, symbol, message. This is an archetypal expression in the context of remembering and preserving the first discourse. The most comprehensive assessment that features the hero archetype is the work of Lord Raglan. The study was based on Raglan’s hero classification and the common features of the hero archetype were determined with the example of the Mikdad Story. The story of Mikdad is a folk tale about both heroism and love. Mikdad in particular represents the idealized alp type of Turkish people; in general, it carries the main themes of the hero archetype which is a universal theme. Mikdad’s adventure exemplifies the archetypal and intertextual motifs in folk tales with the characteristics of the ideal hero. In the study, based on Lord Raglan’s “Traditional Hero Pattern”, it is emphasized that the hero archetype is a universal image in epics and heroic folk tales.
Keywords: Hero archetype, Intertextual signs, universal, story, Mikdad story.