Throughout time, heroes have always been honored. Heroes have not always been thought of the same way. To people of ancient civilization, heroes were highly regarded, and a model of what the perfect citizen should strive to be. Today, heroes act more as icons, and are not what people feel they should model themselves after. The changes in the values of a hero are definitely negative. Ancient civilization valued many heroes. Mythological heroes gave up their lives to die young in war and in turn they would be remembered forever. All heroes have some of the same characteristics. Heroes are not fools, nor are they invincible, heroes are often called upon to mak ...view middle of the document...
Today, in America, there isn't any hero or hero-like thing that has any of the characteristics or purposes of an ancient mythological hero. The closest things that resemble those heroes are famous people, like musicians or actors/actresses that people idol. One such idol is Britany Spears. She is one of many female pop musicians, however she is mainly referred to when it comes to being a role model for other girls. Many teenage girls try to dress and wear make-up the way Britany Spears does, but many adults feel that teens should not model themselves after her. There aren't any people now that others feel are the perfect citizen of society. There is no way a person could be perfect, so people today can't rely on people as heroes. The sharp change in how heroes affect the lives of others is unfortunate. It is good for people to have something greater than them to look up too. People now, and in ancient civilizations knew that the heroes in myths weren't real, and no human on earth could ever be capable of what they did, however, heroes had good qualities that people should model themselves after. Its always good to have a good influential role model, especially for young people, because it helps give them direction. By not having heroes who demonstrated good behavior and other qualities, many people grow up without learning or applying those qualities to their life. Although some people do have role models which are good for them, there are more people without the opportunity to be influenced by a role model, and that is definitely worse for mankind than in ancient civilizations.
