For today's world, a hero is someone who stands out for exceptional courage, nobility or strength; but in reality, anyone can be a hero. A hero can vary from someone as famous as George Washington to someone as unknown as anyone's own mother. Anyone who has done a good deed for someone else is a hero. The greatest heroes are those from well-known books and plays, like Odysseus from The Odyssey, or those who made a huge difference in the history of this world, like Mahatma Gandhi. Siddhartha Gautama is a hero, but not in the same way as Ulysses or Gandhi. Although these three influential people have traveled different journeys to achieve different things, they are all heroes in their own way and have been through the same road cycle of trials and crises/salvation. The word “hero” has several definitions. In Greek mythology, a hero was originally a demigod. A hero can be the main character in a play, film, novel or poem. A hero can even simply refer to someone who stands out for their exceptional courage, dignity, or power. Even though there are many different types of heroes, they all have had a journey filled with many obstacles that they have had to overcome. A hero's journey is a huge cycle, starting at the hero's house and ending in the same place, home. There are two very important stages in the cycle of the journey: the road of trials and crisis/salvation. The Road of Trials stage is essentially the obstacles that the would-be hero had to overcome. The crisis/salvation stage is the disaster that occurred and how the hero was saved from it. Odysseus faced many obstacles and went through many crises. Odysseus' journey was mythological. He left his homeland of Ithaca to fight in the Tro...... middle of paper ......without giving up in order to achieve his goals. And that's what we call a hero. Works Cited “Gandhi, Mohandas K. (1869-1948). » King Institute Home.Stanford University.Web. February 23, 2011. .Boeree, CG “Siddhartha Gautama.” My webspace files. 1999. Internet. February 23, 2011. Homer and Frederic Will. The Odyssey. New York: Pocket, 2005. Print. Hooker, Richard. “Siddhartha Gautama.” Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. 1996. Internet. February 23, 2011. .Potpourri, Kamat. “Gandhi: A Biography.” Potpourri of Kamat - The history, mystery and diversity of India. January 4, 2011. The web. February 23. 2011. .