The figure of the traditional hero of old legends and epics has always fascinated writers and researchers, readers and viewers due to the connotations of grandeur, magnanimity and honour. Shifting tastes and realities have determined transformations regarding the features associated with heroes, or regarding perceptions of them and of the very set of values they embody, with the figure of the equally attractive anti-hero thus reflecting the mind-set and the spirit of the time engendering him/her. This paper explores the changes in the nature of and perceptions on the iconic figure of the hero, his trajectory to anti-heroism and his metamorphosis into the new hero of the day in contemporary culture. After some preliminary remarks on heroes and heroism, the paper offers some chronological examples of anti-heroes in literature and culture and also discusses their features. The third section discusses the emergence of the new (anti)heroes of contemporary culture by stressing the historical and social context that led to this alteration. The last section brings to the forefront typologies of contemporary iconic (anti)heroes and discusses some examples of such ‘new heroes’ belonging to the royal circles, people in the world of arts and show business, politics and sports.
