Description
The word "hero" seems in its present usage, an all-purpose moniker applied to everyone from Medal of Honor recipients to celebrities to comic book characters. This book explores the Western idea of the hero, from its initial use in ancient Greece, where it identified demigods or aristocratic, mortal warriors, through today. Sections examine the concept of the hero as presented in the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. Special attention is paid to particular heroic types, such as warriors, martyrs, athletes, knights, saints, scientists, rebels, secret servicemen, and even anti-heroes. This book also reconstructs how definitions of heroism have been inextricably linked to shifts in Western thinking about religion, social relations, political authority, and ethical conduct.
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Author: M. Gregory Kendrick
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: 06/08/2010
Pages: 236
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.90h x 6.90w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9780786437863
ISBN10: 0786437863
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Popular Culture
- Social Science | Folklore & Mythology
About the Author
M. Gregory Kendrick is a professor of modern European history and director of the UCLA Freshman Cluster Program at the University of California in Los Angeles.