In an age of equal rights and radical feminism, the intrinsically male figure of the hero - the protector, the saviour, the man of invincible might - has lost its identity and stature. The most famous names in the history and mythology of all races are those of heroes - Herakles and Samson, who fought with the lions; Lohengrin and Perseus, who rescued princesses; the Horatii, who saved Rome; the Samurai, warriors of Japan; Gagarin, conqueror of space; Zapata, defender of his people. Rightly used, the cult of the hero has led to the highest that a culture can conceive. Misused, it has led to tyranny, violence and death. This book brings the values of epic and myth to bear upon the problems of modern man, his search for identity and the justification for his masculine role. With the "masculine backlash" in evidence and male consciousness-raising a topic of our time, this book proposes that the hero is poised to re-enter the world of the 1990s.