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Although the term hero is easily defined in any dictionary, the definition only deals with what is a hero, not what makes a hero. In order to find the answer to this question, alternative sources of information need to be used. Several authors have presented their own view of the qualities that a hero should have in epics, such as The Odyssey, Illiad, and Beowulf. The epic Beowulf portrays all of its heroic figures, from …

…dies, he will soon be forgotten, and his exploits will not be celebrated throughout the centuries. Both societies agree that honor is also an indispensable attribute for a hero, though how such honor is calculated differs considerably. The quantity of followers one has may decide whether a person is a great man or a hero, but it is the amount of honor one has that dictates whether that person is a hero or a villain.