Heroes - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Hero \He"ro\, n.; pl. Heroes. [F. h['e]ros, L. heros, Gr. ?.] 1. (Myth.) An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.

2. A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person.

Each man is a hero and oracle to somebody. --Emerson.

3. The principal personage in a poem, story, and the like, or the person who has the principal share in the transactions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and [AE]neas in the [AE]neid.

The shining quality of an epic hero. --Dryden.

Hero worship, extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes.

Hero worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind. --Carlyle.

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