According to the dictionary a hero is: a person of distinguished courage or ability, one who is admired for his brave deeds. "An epic hero possess enhanced strength, confidence, is helped and harmed by interfering Gods, has admirable ideals, and always emerges victorious from perilous situations,  this is the defining traits of an epic hero as stated in "The Odyssey:The Epic  class handout. A hero can simply be defined as a selfless and courageous person who exercises resiliency.
A modern hero is selfless, courageous, and resilient. "Selfless: having little or no concern for oneself, especially with regard to fame, position, money, etc.; unselfish, (Webster Dictionary). Dr. Lickerman in his "What Makes a Hero,  document in Psychology Today states that heroes "have a willingness to make personal sacrifice for the benefit of others.  Personal sacrifice for others fits under the definition of selfless because that person has no regard for himself. Dr. Lickerman is a reliable source with medical training, who defines a hero using an example of one of his patients who is a kidney donor. "...A football player being promoted by the media as a hero, and I remember thinking how strange it was that the entire nation was celebrating him when only a handful of people knew about my patient," Dr. Lickerman describes a person who did something for someone and demanded nor received any recognition and was not praised in public, therefore this is an example that further proves Dr. Lickerman's point that true heros do not need recognition for their deeds. This example from Dr. Lickerman also further supports the Dictionary's definition of selflessness; an example of having no regard for fame or money. Throughout Dr. Lickerman's article he maintains that true heros, "make personal sacrifice to save another,  which proves the point that true heros are selfless. As previously stated in the definition of a hero " A person of distinguished ...