Defining a Hero Essay -- Mythology

To the world today, a hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, or strength; but really, anyone can be a hero. A hero can vary from someone as well-known as George Washington to someone as unheard of as anyone’s very own mother. Someone who has done a good deed for someone else is hero. The biggest heroes are the ones in well-known books and plays, such as Odysseus from The Odyssey, or have made a huge difference in the history of this world, like Mahatma Gandhi. Siddhartha Gautama is a hero, but not in the same way Odysseus or Gandhi are. Although these three influential people went through different journeys in order to accomplish different things, they are all heroes in their own way and have been through the same cycle of the road of trials and crisis/salvation. The word â€Å"hero† has several definitions. In Greek mythology, a hero was originally a demigod. A hero can be the principle character in a play, movie, novel, or poem. A hero can even simply mean someone who is discerned by outstanding courage, dignity, or power. Even though there a many different types of heroes, they have all been through a journey with many obstacles that they had to overcome. The journey of a hero is one huge cycle, starting at the home of the hero and ending at the same place, the home. There are two very important stages of journey cycle—the road of trials and crisis/salvation. The road of trials stage is basically the obstacles the potential hero had to overcome. The crisis/salvation stage is the disaster that occurred and how the hero was saved from it. Odysseus faced many obstacles, and there were many crises that he underwent. The journey of Odysseus was mythological. He left his homeland of Ithaca to go fight in the Tro... ...without giving up in order to achieve their goals. And that is what you call a hero. Works Cited "Gandhi, Mohandas K. (1869-1948)." King Institute Home.Stanford University.Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . Boeree, C. G. "Siddhartha Gautama."My Webspace Files. 1999. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . Homer, and Frederic Will. The Odyssey. New York: Pocket, 2005. Print. Hooker, Richard. "Siddhartha Gautama." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. 1996. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . Potpourri, Kamat. "Gandhi: A Biography." Kamat's Potpourri -- The History, Mystery, and Diversity of India. 4 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .