Hero
A hero (heroine is always used for females) (Ancient Greek: ἥρως, hḗrōs), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. A demigod is the son or daughter from one immortal and one mortal parent, an example would be Heracles, son of the mortal queen Alkema and the god Zeus. Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. This definition originally referred to martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.
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Some articles on hero:
... Echtrai) is one of a category of Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld (see Tír na nÓg and Mag Mell) the otherworldly setting is the ... Earlier on, however, an echtra's emphasis was on the hero's time in the Otherworld, the journey to which served merely as a frame story ... This distinguishes the echtrai from the Immrama, or "Voyages", which focus on the hero's journey rather than the otherworldly destination ...
... Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, writes that the Universal Hero from monomyth must pass through a stage of Apotheosis ... to Campbell, apotheosis is the expansion of consciousness that the hero experiences after defeating his foe ...
... Everyone's Hero is a 2006 computer animated comedy film, directed by Colin Brady, Christopher Reeve (who was working on this film at the time of his death), and Daniel St ... Everyone's Hero had a moderate performance at the box office, earning only $16 million worldwide during its theatrical run, but the film was not released in several ...
... explanation for heroic risk-taking is that it is a costly signal demonstrating the ability of the hero ...
... Serial fictional narratives of heroes often present the hero contending against an archenemy whose capabilities match or exceed those of the hero, thereby ...
More definitions of "hero":
- (noun): (classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god.
- (noun): (Greek mythology) priestess of Aphrodite who killed herself when her lover Leander drowned while trying to swim the Hellespont to see her.
- (noun): Greek mathematician and inventor who devised a way to determine the area of a triangle and who described various mechanical devices (first century).
Synonyms: Heron, Hero of Alexandria
- (noun): A man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength.
Example: "RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain"
- (noun): The principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem.
Famous quotes containing the word hero:
“The ordinary man is as courageous and invulnerable as a hero when he does not recognize any danger, when he has no eyes to see it. Conversely, the hero’s only vulnerable spot is on his back, and so exactly where he has no eyes.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“... what a strange time it was! Who knew his neighbor? Who was a traitor and who a patriot? The hero of to-day was the suspected of to-morrow.... There were traitors in the most secret council-chambers. Generals, senators, and secretaries looked at each other with suspicious eyes.... It is a great wonder that the city of Washington was not betrayed, burned, destroyed a half-dozen times.”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)
“While the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy “Man”,
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)