Heroes have been important for as long as people have communicated. They appear in books and movies, and play a large role in our childhood and adult lives as a whole. As history has progressed, so have the heroes and their details, but there are still many links to the heroes of old.
There are a multitude of aspects of heroes that have not changed. The majority of hero stories follow the same journey structure, which people have subconsciously adopted into their story. There are still characteristics of ancient heroes that can be found in modern ones. For instance, both Batman and Odysseus, heroes from very different eras, are brave and courageous, neither of them back down in the face of danger. Heroes are often very intelligent, and can use their surroundings to benefit themselves. Many heroes are also well-off, Batman has a mansion and Odysseus has a palace because he is a king. Heroes are similar throughout history.
A lot of characteristics have changed as well. Nowadays, the consumers really enjoy antiheroes, or just people that are not liked by their cities. Batman is hated by most of Gotham, the police are always after Spider-Man, and nobody liked Shrek. It is common for heroes to be very technologically advanced. For example, Iron-Man has a bulletproof flying suit. In modern times, hospitality is not as important as it was in ancient Greece. This is because our society does not hold it as a must-have trait. Also heroes tend to not have much family, at least not that they talk to. Of course, history has taken its toll on aspects of heroes.
Part of these details that have changed is the obstacles that heroes face. Heroes from ancient times battled against very different things versus now. People like Odysseus more often fought uncontrollable phenomena like nature and the gods’ wrath. Modern heroes fight similar things, but not as often. Now, more often than not, people are fighting physical objects, namely technology. This ranges anywhere from guns, to armor, all the way to giant, advanced, magical robots from another dimension. Odysseus never fought technology. He was too concerned with the gods, usually Poseidon, the qualities of the native people, and how to get home. None of these deal with technological advancement. The driving details of heroic stories have changed greatly.
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