Hero

In mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female) is an eminent character who quintessentially embodies key traits valued by its originating culture. The hero commonly possesses superhuman capabilities or idealized character traits which enable him or her to perform extraordinary, beneficial deeds (i.e., a "heroic deed") for which he or she is famous (compare villain).
Contents

Overview

A person normally becomes a hero by performing an extraordinary and praiseworthy deed. Traditional deeds are slaying of monsters and saving people from certain death. A hero normally fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture. However, in literature, particularly in tragedy, the hero may also have serious flaws which lead to a downfall, e.g. Hamlet.

Sometimes a real person might achieve enough status to become a hero in people's minds. This is usually complemented by a rapid growth of myths around the person in question, often attributing to him or her powers beyond those of ordinary mortals.

Some social commentators prescribe the need for heroes in times of social upheaval or national self-doubt, seeing a requirement for virtuous role models, especially for the young. Such myth-making may have worked better in the past: current trends may confuse heroes and their hero-worship with the cult of mere celebrity.

Well-known heroes approach the gods in status in some cultures. The word hero comes from ancient Greek, where it describes a culture hero who figures in mythology. The Greek heroes were often the mythological characters who were the eponymous founders of Greek cities, states, and territories. These mythological heroes were not always role models or possessed of heroic virtue; many were demigods, the offspring of mortals and the gods. The age when heroes of this sort were active, and where the stories of Greek mythology were set, is frequently known as the "heroic age"; the heroic age ends shortly after the Trojan War is over and the legendary combatants have returned to home or exile.

The classic hero often came with what Lord Raglan (a descendant of the FitzRoy Somerset, Lord Raglan) termed a "potted biography" made up of some two dozen common traditions that ignored the line between historical fact and mythology. For example, the circumstances of the hero's conception are unusual; an attempt is made by a powerful male at his birth to kill him; he is spirited away; reared by foster-parents in a far country. Routinely the hero meets with a mysterious death, often at the top of a hill; his body is not buried; he leaves no successors; he has one or more holy sepulchres.

Most European indigenous religions feature heroes in some form. Germanic, Hellene and Roman heroes, along with their attributes and forms of worship have been largely absorbed by the Orthodox and Catholic denominations of Christianity, forming the basis of modern day Saint worship.

In opera and musical theatre, the hero/heroine is often played by a tenor/soprano (more vulnerable characters are played by lyric voices while stronger characters are portrayed by spinto or dramatic voices.)

People and characters traditionally recognized as heroes

It must be noted that different cultures may hold in completely opposite status of hero or villain the same figure. For example, George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden, or Achilles and Hector.

• Achilles, classical Greece
• Aeneas, Ancient Rome
• Aragorn, a major character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
• King Arthur, medieval England
• Batman, A DC superhero.
• Beowulf, Iron Age Scandinavia
• Bilbo Baggins, the title character in Tolkien's The Hobbit
• Brer Rabbit, West African trickster figure
• Charles Upham, only infantryman ever awarded the Victoria Cross twice.
• Cloud Strife, main character of the popular PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII
• Dalai Lama, religious authority of Tibet
• David Broadfoot, radio officer on the Princess Victoria
• Davy Crockett, Tennessee politician who fought and died for Texas independence at the Alamo
• The Doctor, a Time Lord and main character of the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who
• Don Quixote, knight of the imagination and pursuer of goodness, virtue, honor, and truth
• El Cid, Spanish knight
• The Einherjar, heroes chosen to fight the Jotuns at Ragnarok
• Esfandiar, one of the greatest Persian mythological hero. He'd done 7 labours, told in detail in Shahnama. He was son of King Goshtasb, the first persian king to believe in Zoroaster. Zoroaster made Esfandiar so that no weapon could harm him.
• Terry Fox, Cancer activist hero
• Frodo Baggins, bearer of the One Ring in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
• Gandalf, heroic wizard from The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• Mohandas Gandhi, the non-violent activist and revolutionary.
• George Washington, leader of the American revolution
• Urza or Gerrard Capashen, from the Magic: The Gathering storylines
• Gilgamesh, Epic of Gilgamesh
• Gino Strada, war surgeon
• Giordano Bruno, renaissance mystic burned as a heretic
• Gustav Vasa, leader of a revolt to figth Christian the Tyrant
• Captain Harlock, fictional Space Pirate created by Leiji Matsumoto
• Hector, classical Greece
• Heracles (Hercules), Greco-Roman mythology
• Heralda Luxin, German Woman who, during World War II, protected 9 Jewish children.
• Sherlock Holmes, famous fictional detective
• Hua Mulan, Chinese folk hero
• Hulk Hogan, an Iconic professional wrestler of the WWE
• Ilya Muromets, East Slavic folk hero
• Indiana Jones, adventurer, based in part on H Rider Haggard's Alan Quartermain
• Ivan Susanin, a Russian peasant who saved the Czar
• James Bond, British secret agent
• James T. Kirk, Star Trek hero
• Jesus, the person who gave his life, on the cross, in the Christian religion.
• Joan of Arc, France
• John Henry, an American steel-driver
• Juan Santamaría, Costa Rica
• Jin Kazama, grandson of the villain Heihachi Mishima, Tekken Series
• Kintaro, hero from Japanese folklore
• Laura Secord, Canada
• Link, protagonist in The Legend of Zelda series
• Lord Guan, Chinese general and demigod
• Luke Skywalker, hero of George Lucas' epic Star Wars saga.
• Mario, protagonist in Super Mario Brothers series
• Maximus the main character and hero in the movie Gladiator.
• Marvin Heemeyer, modern day hero
• Merlin, wizard from the story of King Arthur
• Muhammad (Mohammed), prophet of Allah and leader of Islaamism
• Nelson Mandela, during the apartheid, held in a South African prison for 26 years. He led the battle to end the apartheid.
• Nameless Hero an ancient chinese warrior who was executed an assassin, but buried a hero.
• Momotaro, hero from Japanese folklore
• Muad'Dib, (aka Paul Atreides) hero from Dune series.
• Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, hero of the Battle of Trafalgar.
• Neo, hero of The Matrix
• The twelve paladins of Charlemagne
• Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, undefeated German general in Africa during world war I.
• Oskar Schindler, saving 1,200 jews during the world war II
• Paul Bunyan, a mythical American lumberjack of great size
• Allan Quartermain, H Rider Haggard character from King Solomon's Mines
• Sigurd, Norse mythology
• Stanislav Petrov, Soviet military officer who averted a worldwide nuclear war in 1983
• Piet Hein, Dutch pirate in 16th century
• Harry Potter, fictional character by J. K. Rowling
• Raoul Wallenberg, saving 100,000 jews during the WWII
• Robin Hood, medieval British egalitarian (semi-mythical)
• Rob Roy, Scottish folk hero of the 1700s.
• Roland, French Christian knight killed by the Basques in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass.
• Rostam, greatest persian ancient time hero in Shahnama. He similar to Esfandiar, had done 7 labours in his way to free king Khosro from hostage.
• Ryu Main Charather of the Street Fighter games.
• Winston Smith, hero from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
• Saigo Takamori the most influential samurai in Japanese History, a japaenese hero.
• Samwise Gamgee, companion of Frodo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
• Siavash (Siavakhash), the most holy persian mythological hero. He was son of king Kei-Kavous and Rostam tutored him art of war and life. He once rode in a valley of fire to prove his innocence.
• Snowy, Tintin's heroic dog
• Solid Snake, hero of Shadow Moses incident. Stopped launch of Metal Gear repeatedly in different adventures (Metal Gear series)
• Squall Leonhart, main character of the popular PlayStation game Final Fantasy VIII
• Spartacus, leader of a slave revolt in the Roman Empire
• Stenka Razin, Russian folk hero
• Sun Wukong, fictional hero of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, as well as Son Goku (the main character of a TV show and manga called DragonBall Z, based on Sun Wukong from Journey to the West)
• Spiderman, bitten by radioactive spider and given superpowers
• Superman, prototypical comic book superhero
• Tintin, protaganist in The Adventures of Tintin series
• Thomas Andrews, designer of the Titanic; he spent the final hours of his life helping people to the lifeboats and went down with his ship.
• Vasil Levski, bulgarian national hero, founder of a revolutionary net
• William Tell, the national hero of Switzerland
• William Wallace won the freedom of the scots from the ruthless King Edward I of England.
• Wong Fei-Hung, Chinese hero who was a martial arts master as well as an esteemed doctor. Famous headquarters was named "Po Chi Lam".
• Yue Fei, Chinese general from the Southern Song Dynasty.
• Zorro, California's own Robin Hood