Myths and Heroes

Allow me to start with the definition of what is called a myth and what is called a hero. There is not one and a unique definition of the word myth but there are many. As a matter of fact, we have to distinguish between ancient mythology and today’s mythology. Ancient mythology consists of folklore stories that put in connection the world of Gods and the world of Men. So we hear about supernatural people and conflicts between the gods that fight over the earth; but nowadays mythology has modified. Looking at America for instance is an excellent example. The USA do not have an ancient mythology like Greece or Egypt, but they have created their own mythology through their comics. That is not the only difference; ancient mythology is oral transmitted on a very limited scale, whereas today’s mythology is transmitted through the media on a very wide scale. In addition, because of this widely spreading, we came to have a World’s wide mythology and not America’s mythology or Greek mythology like we used to have. People from South Africa can easily relate to Superman or Spiderman.
The word hero is hard to define because it is more diversified than the word myth; throughout the ages, its meaning has changed many times while its articulation never has. We call hero everyone who commits a heroic and extraordinary act. He is a warrior who displays courage and self-sacrifice in the face of danger. Nowadays we use and misuse some words like the word "hero". It has been so used and misused that it has become more or less meaningless. It used to be a great word, while today it is being used to speak about every soldier or civil servant ... It has lost its meaning and it has lost its purpose; everyday heroes are firefighters, cops, first responders. They are Dads and Moms, soccer players and singers. Everybody can be called a hero and that will be the subject of my presentation.

First we have to distinguish between those who had a heroic moment and those who had a heroic