HERO, a Greek word of varying meaning whose ety mology is unknown.
Neglect of the worship of these heroes was held to be respon sible for pestilence, bad crops, and other misfortunes, while, on the other hand, if duly honoured, their influence was equally be neficent. This belief was supported by the Delphic oracle, which was largely instrumental in promoting hero-worship and keeping alive its due observance. Special importance was attached to the grave of the hero and to his bodily remains. The grave was re garded as his place of abode, from which he could be absent only for a brief period; hence his bones were fetched from abroad (e.g., Cimon brought those of Theseus from Scyros), or if they could not be procured, at least a cenotaph was erected in his honour. Their relics, the house of Cadmus at Thebes, the hut of Orestes at Tegea, the stone on which Telamon had sat at Salamis (in Cy prus) also were carefully preserved. Special shrines *Um) were also erected in their honour, usually over their graves. Like the gods, the cult heroes were supposed to exercise an influence on human affairs, though not to the same extent, their sphere of ac tion being confined to their own localities. Among the earliest known historical examples of the elevation of the dead to the ranks of heroes are Timesius, the founder of Abdera, Miltiades, son of Cypselus, Harmodius and Aristogeiton and Brasidas, the victor of Amphipolis, who ousted the local Athenian hero Hagnon. In course of time admission to the rank of a hero became far more common, and was even accorded to the living, such as Lysimachus in Samothrace and the tyrant Nicias of Cos. This is one of the soul ces of the Hellenistic and Roman cult of kings and emperors. In addition to persons of high rank, poets, legendary and others, legislators and physicians, the patrons of various trades or handi crafts, the heads of philosophical schools received the honours of a cult. Finally, hero sank into a mere complimentary term for any dead man.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-(I) In general: E. Rohde, Psyche; P. Stengel, DieBibliography.-(I) In general: E. Rohde, Psyche; P. Stengel, Die griechischen Kultusaltertiimer (Munich, p. 124, 1898) ; articles in Roscher's Lexikon and Daremberg and Saglio's Dictionnaire des Antiquites; L. R. Farnell, Greek (192I). (2) On particular points: Pfister, Reliquien Kult im Altertum; Bruck, Totenteil and Seelgerat (Munich, 1926) ; Oeconomus, De profusionum receptaculis sepulcralibus (Athens, ) . (X.) Teutonic Legend.—Many of the chief characteristics of the ancient Greek heroes are reproduced in those of the Teutonic North. Superhuman qualities and powers are commonly ascribed to both, an important difference being that whatever worship may have been paid to the Teutonic heroes never crystallized into a cult. This applies equally to those who have a recognized his torical origin and to those who are regarded as purely mythical.
During the i9th century the "degraded gods" theory was ap plied not only to such conspicuous heroes as Siegfried, Dietrich and Beowulf, but to a host of minor characters. (See also Henri de Tourville, Histoire de la formation particularistie, 1903.) It is now, however, admitted that, whatever influence the one may have from time to time exercised on the other, Teutonic myth and Teutonic heroic legend were developed independently. The Teutonic heroes are, in the main, historical personages; though, like the Greek heroes, they are sometimes endowed with semi divine attributes or interpreted as symbolical representations of natural forces.
The origin of Teutonic heroic saga, which includes that of the Germans, Goths, Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians, is to be looked for in the traditions connected with the period of the so called migration of nations (A.D. 350-65o), the earliest traces of which are found in the works of historical writers such as Am mianus Marcellinus and Cassiodorus. It consequently rests upon a distinct basis of fact, the saga being the oldest form of historical tradition. (See also Tacitus, Annals, ii. 88.) The next step in the development of epic narrative was the single lay of an episodic character, sung by a single individual, who was frequently a mem ber of a distinguished family, not merely a professional min strel. Then, as different stories grew up round the person of a particular hero, they formed a connected cycle of legend, the centre of which was the person of the hero (e.g., Dietrich of Bern). The most important figures of these cycles are the following.
(I) Beowulf, king of the Geatas (Jutland), whose story is an amalgamation of the myth of Beowa, the slayer of the water demon and the dragon, with the historical legend of Beowulf, nephew and successor of Hygelac (Cochilaicus), king of the Geatas, who was defeated and slain (c. 52o) while ravaging the Frisian coast. Beowulf is the hero of spring and light who, after overcoming the spirit of the raging waters, finally succumbs to the dragon of approaching winter. Others regard him as a wind hero, who disperses the pestilential vapours of the fens. Beowulf is also a culture-hero, indicating the blessings of a fixed habita tion, secured against the attacks of the sea. (2) Hildebrand, the hero of the oldest German epic. He follows his master Theodoric to the court of Attila. After 3o years' absence, he returns to his home in Italy; his son Hadubrand, believing his father to be dead, suspects treachery, and a fight takes place, in which the son is slain by the father. (3) Ermanaric, the king of the East Goths, who according to Ammianus Marcellinus slew himself (c. 375) in terror at the invasion of the Huns. With him is con nected the old German Dioscuri myth of the Hartungen. (4) Dietrich of Bern (Verona), the legendary name of Theodoric the Great. Attempts have been made to identify him as a kind of Donar or god of thunder. (5) Siegfried (M.H. Ger. Sivrit ), the hero of the Nibelungenlied, the Sigurd of the related northern sagas, is usually regarded as a purely mythical figure, a hero of light who is ultimately overcome by the powers of darkness, the mist-people (Nibelungen). He is, however, closely asso ciated with historical characters and events, e.g., with the Bur gundian king Gundahari (Gunther, Gunnar) and the overthrow of his house and nation by the Huns. Theodor Abeling (Das Nibelungenlied, Leipzig, 1 go7) traces the Nibelung sagas to three groups of Burgundian legends, each based on fact. (See also the articles KRIEMHILD, NIBELUNGENLIED.) (6) Hugdietrich, Wolf dietrich and Ortnit, whose legend, like that of Siegfried, is of Frankish origin. It is preserved in four versions, the best of which is the oldest, and has an historical foundation. Hugdie trich is the "Frankish Dietrich" ( =Hugo Theodoric) king of Austrasia (d. 534), who was illegitimate, and had to fight for his inheritance with his relatives. As the myth of the Hartungen is connected with Ermanaric, so another Dioscuri myth (of the Hartungen) is combined with the Ortnit-Wolfdietrich legend. The Hartungen are probably identical with the divine youths (mentioned in Tacitus as worshipped by the Vandal Naharvali or Nahanarvali), from whom the Vandal royal family, the As dingi, claimed descent. Asdingi would be represented in Gothic by Hazdiggos "men with women's hair" (cf. muliebri ornatu in Tacitus), and in Middle High German by Hartungen. (7) Rother, king of Lombardy. Desiring to wed the daughter of Constantine, king of Constantinople, he sends envoys to ask her in marriage. They are thrown into prison by the king. Rother, who appears under the name of Dietrich, sets out with an army, liberates the envoys and carries off the princess. The slaying of a tame lion by one of the followers of Rother is founded in an incident which actually took place at the court of Alexius during the crusade of IIcm under Duke Welf of Bavaria, while King Rother was composed about 116o by a Rhenish minstrel. Rother may be the Lombard king, Rothari (636-65o), transferred to the period of the Crusades. (8) Walther of Aquitaine, chiefly known from the Latin poem Waltharius, written by Ekkehard of St. Gall at the beginning of the loth century, and fragments of an 8th century Anglo-Saxon epic Waldere. Walther is not an historical figure. (g) Wieland (Volundr), Wayland the Smith, the only Teutonic hero (his original home was Lower Saxony) who firmly estab lished himself in England. There is no historical background for his legend. He typifies the advance from the stone age to a higher stage of civilization (working in metals). (Io) Hogni (Hagen) and Hedin (Hetel), whose personalities are overshad owed by the heroines Hilde and Gudrun (Kudrun, Kutrun). In one version occurs the incident of the never-ending battle between the forces of Hagen and Hedin. The battle represents the eternal conflict between light and darkness, the alternation of day and night. The historical background is the raids of the Teutonic maritime tribes on the coasts of England and Ireland.
Famous heroes who are specially connected with England are Alfred the Great, Richard Coeur-de-Lion, King Horn, Havelok the Dane, Guy of Warwick, Sir Bevis of Hampton (or South ampton), Robin Hood and his companions.
Celtic Heroes.—The Celtic heroic saga in the British islands may be divided into the two principal groups of Gaelic (Irish) and Brython (Welsh), the first, excluding the purely mythological, into the Ultonian (connected with Ulster) and the Ossianic. The Ultonian is grouped round the names of King Conchobar and the hero Cuchulainn, the defender of Ulster against all Ireland, re garded by some as a solar hero. The second cycle contains the epics of Finn (Fionn, Fingal) mac Cumhail and his son Oisin (Ossian), the bard and warrior. (See CELT; CELTIC LITERATURE.) Of Brython origin is the cycle of King Arthur (Artus), the adopted national hero of the mixed nationalities of whom the "English" people was composed. The original Welsh legend was spread by British refugees in Brittany, and was thus celebrated by both English and French Celts. From a literary point of view, however, it is chiefly French and forms "the matter of Brittany." Arthur, the leader (comes Britanniae dux bellorum) of the Siluri or Dumnonii against the Saxons, flourished at the beginning of the 6th century. He is first spoken of in Nenniu's History of the Britons (gth century), and at greater length in Geoffrey of Mon mouth's History of the Kings of Britain (I2th century), at the end of which the French Breton cycle attained its fullest develop ment in the poems of Chretien de Troyes and others.
Speaking generally, the Celtic heroes are differentiated from the Teutonic by the extreme exaggeration of their superhuman, or rather extra-human, qualities. Take, for instance, the descrip tion of some of Arthur's knights in the Welsh tale of Kilhwch and Olwen (in the Mabinogion) ; Sgilti Yscandroed, whose tread was so light that no blade of grass bent beneath his weight; Sol who could stand all day upon one leg; Sugyn who was so "broad chested" that he could suck up the sea on which were Soo ships and leave nothing but dry land. Such figures as these make no human impression, and criticism has busied itself in tracing them to one or other of the shadowy divinities of the Celtic pan theon. Remnants of their primitive superhuman qualities cling to the Celtic heroes long of ter they have been transfigured, under the influence of Christianity and chivalry, into the heroes of the mediaeval Arthurian romance ; while memories of early myths live on, strangely disguised, in certain of the episodes repeated uncritically by the mediaeval poets. So Merlin pre serves his diabolic origin; Arthur his mystic coming and his mys tic passing.
The chief heroes of the mediaeval Arthurian romances are Arthur himself, who tends however to become completely over shadowed by his knights; Merlin (Myrddin) the famous wizard, bard and warrior, first introduced by Geoffrey of Monmouth, originally called Ambrose from the British leader, Ambrosius Aurelianus, under whom he is said to have first served; Perceval (Parzival, Parsifal), the Welsh Peredur, the most intimately con nected with the quest of the Grail (q.v.) ; Tristan (Tristram), the ideal lover of the middle ages, whose name is inseparably associated with that of Iseult; Lancelot, son of Ban, king of Brittany, known chiefly from his amour with Guinevere; Gawain (Welwain, Welsh Gwalchmai), Arthur's nephew, the type of knightly courage and chivalry. Among less important figures may be mentioned Kay (Kai of the Mabinogion), Arthur's foster brother and seneschal, the type of the bluff and boastful warrior, and Bedivere (Bedwyr), the type of brave knight and faithful retainer, who alone is with Arthur at his passing, and afterwards becomes "a hermit and a holy man." (See ARTHUR, MERLIN, PERCEVAL, TRISTAN, LANCELOT, GAWAIN.) Heroes of Romance.—Another series of heroes, forming the central figures of stories variously derived but developed in Europe by the Latin-speaking peoples, may be conveniently grouped under the heading of "romance." Of these the most im portant are Alexander of Macedon and Charlemagne. Alexander's name, in the form of Iskander, is familiar in legend and story all over the East to this day; to the West he was introduced through a Latin translation of the original Greek romance (by the pseudo-Callisthenes) to which the innumerable oriental versions are likewise traceable. (See ALEXANDER III., KING OF MACEDON : The Romance of Alexander.) More important in the West, however, was the cycle of legends gathering round the figure of Charlemagne, forming what was known as "the matter of France." The romances of this cycle, of Germanic (Frankish) origin and developed probably in the north of France by the French, con tain reminiscences of the heroes of the Merovingian period, and were influenced later by the Arthurian cycle. Charlemagne is chiefly venerated as the champion of Christianity against the heathen and the Saracens. (See CHARLEMAGNE, ad fin. "The Charlemagne Legends.") The most famous heroes who are associated with him are Roland, praefect of the marches of Brittany, the Orlando of Ariosto, slain at Roncevaux (Roncevalles) in the Pyrenees and his friend and rival, Oliver (Olivier) ; Ogier the Dane, the Holger Danske of Hans Andersen, and Huon of Bordeaux, proba bly both introduced from the Arthurian cycle; Renaud (Rinaldo) of Montauban, one of the four sons of Aymon; the traitor, Doon of Mayence; Gamelon, responsible for the treachery that led to the death of Roland ; Archbishop Turpin, a typical speci men of muscular Christianity; William Fierabras, William au court nez, William of Toulouse and William of Orange (all probably identical), and Vivien, the nephew of the latter and the hero of Aliacans. The late Charlemagne romances originated the legends in English form, of Sowdone of Babylone, Sir Otnel, Sir Firumbras and Huon of Bordeaux. (See OBERON.) The chief remains of the Spanish heroic epic are some poems on the Cid, on the seven Infantes of Lara and on Fernan Gon zales, count of Castile. The legend of Charlemagne, as told in the Cr6nica general of Alfonso X., created the desire for a national hero distinguished for his exploits against the Moors, and Roland was thus supplanted by Bernardo del Carpio. Another hero of a 14th century cycle of romance was Amadis of Gaul; its earliest form is Spanish, although the Portuguese have claimed it as a translation from their own language. There is no trace of a French original.
Slavonic Heroes.—The Slavonic heroic saga of Russia centres round Vladimir of Kiev (98o-1o15), the first Christian ruler of that country, whose personality is eclipsed by that of Ilya (Elias) of Mourom, the son of a peasant, who was said to have saved the empire from the Tatars. It is not known whether he was an historical personage. A much-discussed work is the Tale of Igor, the oldest of the Russian mediaeval epics. Mention may here be made of Wainamoinen, the great magician and hero of the Finn ish epic Kalevala. The popular hero of the Serbians and Bul garians is Marko Kralyevich, son of Vukashin, characterized by Goethe as a counterpart of the Greek Heracles. For the Persian, Indian, etc., heroes see the articles on the literature and religions of the various countries.