Heroism

views updated May 29 2018

326. Heroism (See also Bravery.)

Achilles Greek hero without whom Troy could not have been taken. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad ]
Aeneas Trojan hero; legendary founder of Roman race. [Rom. Lit.: Aeneid ]
Argonauts those accompanying Jason to fetch Golden Fleece. [Gk. Myth.: Parrinder, 26]
Arjuna hero of the civil war between two royal houses of ancient India. [Hindu Lit.: Mahabharata ]
Arthur king and hero of Scotland, Wales, and England. [Arthurian Legend: Parrinder, 28]
Bagradian, Gabriel leads heroic defense by a group of Armenians against the besieging Turks; is killed by a Turkish bullet. [Ger. Lit.: The Forty Days of Musa Dagh in Magill I, 291]
Bellerophon rider of Pegasus; conquered monsters and Amazons. [Gk. Myth.: Parrinder, 42; Kravitz, 43]
Beowulf saved Danes from monster Grendel. [Br. Lit.: Beowulf ]
Cid Spanish knight renowned for exploits against Moors. [Span. Hist.: EB, 4: 615–616 ]
Cuchulain “the Achilles of the Gael.” [Irish Myth.: Benét, 239–240]
D’Artagnan challenges horseman, rescues a lady, and earns fame as a doughty soldier. [Fr. Lit.: Dumas The Three Musketeers ]
David boy who slew Goliath. [O.T.: Samuel: 18:4–51]
Durward, Quentin seeking his fortune abroad, he saves the life of King Louis XI, wards off attacks by the king’s enemies, and distinguishes himself in a seige. [Br. Lit.: Quentin Durward ]
Edricson, Alleyne knighted for chivalry by the Black Prince. [Br. Lit.: The White Company in Magill I, 1108]
Frithiof kills proud sea-kings, saves a king and queen from death, and defeats her brothers in battle. [Nor. Lit.: Haydn & Fuller, 275]
Grettir the Strong Viking adventurer whose exploits are related in The Grettisaga. [Icelandic Lit.: Magill I, 335]
Hanuman monkey deity, conqueror of demons, builder of a stone bridge from India to Ceylon. [Hindu Myth.: Collier’s, IX, 214]
Harmodius slew Hipparchus, brother of the tyrant Hippias. [Gk. Hist.: EB (1963) XI, 198]
Hector King Priam’s son; dies fighting for Troy. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad ]
Hercules completed tasks requiring great bravery, strength, and ingenuity. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 448]
Hereward the Wake last of the English; dies defending home-land. [Br. Lit.: Hereward the Wake, Magill I, 367–370]
Hornblower, Captain Horatio victorious captain of HMS Lydia and HMS Sutherland. [Br. Lit.: Captain Horatio Hornblower ]
Jason leader of the Argonauts. [Gk. Myth.: Payton, 347]
Judith saved her city from the onslaught of Holofernes by beheading him during a drunken sleep. [Apocrypha: Judith 13:4-10 ]
Leonidas Spartan king held off thousands of Persians at Thermopylae with a few hundred men. [Gk. Hist.: Bénet, 578]
Prometheus stole divine fire for man’s sake. [Gk. Myth.: Espy, 33]
Richard the Lion-Hearted (1157–1199) nicknamed the Black Knight; performer of valorous deeds. [Br. Hist: EB, VIII: 566; Br. Lit.: Ivanhoe ]
Rogers, Buck 25th-century adventurer who combats menacing aliens and other villains in order to save the world. [Comics: Berger, 93]
Roland chief paladin of Charlemagne; renowned for his prowess. [Fr. Lit.: NCE, 2344]
Samson hero of Israel. [O.T.: Judges 13–16]
Siegfried killed many great heroes, won the fabulous hoard of the Nibelungs, and was made invisible by the blood of a dragon he had slain. [Ger. Myth.: Nibelungenlied in Magill I, 653]
Tancred crusader renowned for his fighting helps capture Jerusalem from the infidels. [Ital. Lit.: Jerusalem Delivered ; Ital. Opera: Rossini Tancredi ]
Theseus hero of Attica who slew the Minotaur, conquered the Amazons, and helped drive off the Centaurs. [Gk. Myth.: Hamilton Mythology, 152]
Worthies, the Nine nine heroes — three each from the Bible, from the classical period, and from medieval romance — who were frequently grouped together. [Pop. Culture: Brewer Dictionary, 694]