Epic hero?

Even though we've finished reading all of Paradise Lost book one and are moving into The Faerie Queene, I feel like I need to write at least one post about Paradise Lost. There are so many things I could say about this work. Most of it has already been stated and discussed in class, (the idea of Satan vs. God, the complexity of Milton's language, the oxymoron that is a "Christian epic", etc.) but I want to further comment on the idea of Satan, or the Adversary, as an epic hero. An epic hero is usually defined as one who causes the audience to root for him/her and support his/her hopeful claims at victory. So, is the Adversary an epic hero? Or is he simply fooling readers (through a display of false hope) that he can defeat God? Dr. Staub proposed a similar question, as she reminded us that a Christian epic, you would think, would deal with the hero displaying Christian values of "turning the other cheek", forgiveness, presenting a Christ-like model, etc., so does Paradise Lost fall into that category? With Satan as the epic hero, it seems like the answer is a resounding "no". While I agree that Satan is the underdog in this story, I think it is almost a foolish argument in saying that he is an epic hero. I feel like to root for him and actually believe he can take on the forces of God would be fooling oneself, as God is an Almighty, All Powerful, undefeated being. Now, for story sake, it is an appropriate argument to consider Satan’s attempts to rally the fallen angels as somewhat admirable, for Satan does not give up hope, even when the odds are greatly against him. In that sense, he may be considered a hero, but even then, I think it’s a stretch. An epic hero has to at least have a chance at victory—that’s what makes readers support him, they think “hey, this guy could actually succeed in overcoming his victor”. To me, as I read Satan’s speeches, I can’t help but doubt because I feel as though he has no chance at victory at all.