The heroes, villains, and monsters portrayed in such popular science fiction television series as Heroes, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Doctor Who, and Torchwood, as well as Joss Whedon's many series, illustrate a shift from traditional, clearly defined characterizations toward much murkier definitions. Traditional heroes give way to "gray" heroes who must become more like the villains or monsters they face if they are going to successfully save society. This book examines the ambiguous heroes and villains, focusing on these characters' different perspectives on morality and their roles within society. Appendices include production details for each series, descriptions and summaries of pivotal episodes, and a list of selected texts for classroom use. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Part philosophy, part practical handbook, 'The Hero Forge' is designed to empower those who want to make a difference in the world. Andy Fisher guides you, chapter by chapter, through the tools, attributes and skills needed to be of service, at a time when we are more in need of heroes than ever before. You do not need a cape, a mask or any superpower to become an 'everyday hero', just a growth mindset and the desire to be part of something bigger than yourself. Heroes are not born, they are forged and this is your call to adventure. Will you shy away or embrace the challenge?

Where Have All the Heroes Gone? provides an analysis of heroism's application and meaning among political and media elites, as well as the mass public over the past fifty years. In asking "what has happened" to American heroes over this span, it explores how heroes are used strategically by governing officials and providers of media content in ways that are frequently divergent from and even directly opposed to popular expectations.

A recurring and significant theme in ancient Greek literature is that of returns and returning, chiefly - but by no means only - of mythical Greek heroes from Troy. One main, and certainly the most 'marked', ancient Greek word for 'return' is nostos (plural nostoi), from which is derived the English 'nostalgia'. Nostos-related traditions were important ingredients of colonial foundation myths and the theme runs through both ancient Greek prose and poetry from Homer's Odyssey to Lykophron's Alexandra, also leaving traces in the historical record through the archaeological and epigraphical commemoration of nostoi, which played a central part in defining Greek ethnicity and crystallizing personal and communal identities. This volume offers a truly interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of nostos in ancient Greek culture, which draws on its contributors' expertise in ancient Greek (and Roman) history, literature, archaeology, and religion. The chapters examine both literary and material evidence in order to achieve a better understanding of the nature of Greek settlement in the Mediterranean zone, and of sometimes equivocal Greek and Roman perceptions of home, displacement, and returning. The special problems and vocabulary of exile are explored in the long Introduction, which offers an incisive yet accessible overview of the volume's key themes and sets its range of contributions clearly in context: while two chapters are concerned in different ways with emotions and personal identity, making use of the theoretical tool of place-attachment, another demonstrates that failed nostoi can be more interesting than successful examples. Evidential absence can be as important and illuminating as presence, and mythical women, underrepresented in this regard, feature extensively in several chapters, which open up a range of new perspectives on nostos.

In times of stress, trauma and crisis—whether on a personal or global scale—it can be all too easy for us to externalize a larger-than-life figure who can assuage our suffering, a Hero who comes to the fore even as we recede into the background. In taking on our collective burden, however, such an omnipotent Hero can actually undermine us, representing as it does the very same characteristics we fail to note in one another. By granting the Hero to power to set things right, we seem to deny it to ourselves, leaving us temporarily lightened but ultimately helpless. In response, Sue Grand deconstructs the myth of the Heroic and argues for the "ordinary hero," a more realistic figure with the same limitations, concerns and fears as the rest of us, but who nonetheless stands up for the greater good in the face of danger, despair and villainy. From the foundation of relational psychoanalysis, Grand incorporates cultural and ethical considerations in her examination of what this ordinary hero might look like, a trip that takes us from the consulting room to right outside our front doors, from the heart of a "civilized" nation to the myriad war-torn regions dappling the globe, both past and present. Along the way we meet individuals whose encounters with adversity range from the mundane to the catastrophic, and learn how they struggle against the dubious concept of the Hero looming large in their lives. Recounting this journey in finely-tuned yet imminently accessible and enjoyable prose, Grand demonstrates that the best place to ultimately find the ordinary hero is within each other: The hero is us.

Almost all Americans believe in God. But, the author shows, this belief has little impact on their lives. He finds them unable to see any meaning in life, lacking any heroes, and without a compelling moral vision.

Theories of human development characteristically include a series of stages through which individuals are expected to pass if they are to achieve wholeness and happiness. Whether explicitly or not, such theories privilege 'normalcy.' Heroes, on the other hand, are commonly wounded individuals whose developmental 'disabilities' are ultimately the source of their personal success and heroism. The Wounds that Heal examines developmental theory in the light of the heroic narrative and argues that such theory should be adjusted to accommodate the experience of those who are, in many ways, our principal role models. Four individuals are examined in depth: Jane Austen, T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, and George S. Patton, Jr. The study draws on the experience of a host of other individuals, both historic and fictional, and includes materials designed to aid readers in defining their own views of the heroic as well as to become heroes or heroines in their own lives.