We are all heroes!
Webster’s dictionary defines a hero as:
a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
b: an illustrious warrior
c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities
d: one who shows great courage [1]
According to Mr. Webster we are all heroes in some type of way. Some use their courage to give birth to another human being or adopt a child. Others use their courage to plant a church while a few enter into a doctoral program. Still, a few have the privilege of raising a child with a disability, when others start a brand-new company. The truth is a hero has a thousand faces!
The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a classic that integrates mythology with psychology and philosophy to discuss heroism. Building on the remarkable contributions of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and other respected psychologists, Campbell argues that “by entering and transforming the personal psyche, the surrounding culture, the life of the family, one’s relational work, and other matters of life can be transformed too.” [2] Campbell strongly believes what transforms the psyche is mythology.
Campbell’s undergirding presupposition is that “Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into the human cultural manifestation” (p. 1).
Campbell’s idea is that there is only one story, the grand story of our lives, the monomyth. The story is told in millions of different ways, but every story ever told is just a repetition of this grand story or a retelling of a certain aspect of the complete story.
One of the biggest highlights of influence on producers is the ‘Star Wars’ that was inspired by the book. [3] So many movies and movie writers have been greatly influenced by Campbell’s work. Campbell is a mythographer — he writes about myths. What he discovered in his study of world myths is that THEY ARE ALL BASICALLY THE SAME STORY — retold endlessly in infinite variation.
He discovered that all storytelling, consciously or not, follows the ancient patterns of myth, and that all stories, from the crudest jokes to the highest flights of literature, can be understood in terms of the “HERO MYTH”; the “MONOMYTH” whose principles he lays out in the book.
The hero begins the story in his natural habitat, where he receives his calling. He is hesitant at first but is encouraged by the wise old man or woman to cross the first threshold, where he encounters trouble. He reaches the innermost cave, where he endures the supreme ordeal. He seizes the sword or the treasure and is pursued on the road back to his world. He is resurrected and transformed by his experience. He returns to his ordinary world with the treasure.
This is the template of the mythological adventure of the hero—someone who sets out on a journey, often with the help of a sage guide and allies along the way, overcomes obstacles, and achieves some sort of transformation which he or she then shares with the world a deeper, more spiritual redemption of a wayward and fallen people. Even though Campbell’s book can be related to Jesus Christ, Job, or even Paul, I’d like to think all of us are heroes in some type of way. We all set out on a journey, and along the way we face a devastating event or train wreck. Someone comes along to guide us and we wrestle with whether or not to get back on our feet. Wisdom calls us and we endure the struggle while overcoming obstacles. We are eventually transformed deeply by the experience and are NEVER the same again! Finally, we officially become one of the thousand.
Campbell displays amazing scholarship in this book and a vast knowledge of the mythologies, literatures and sacred writings of cultures from one end of the globe to the other. Perhaps this is why so much of it, particularly the second half, seems so esoteric. Maybe it’s because I really don’t know much about mythologies and because of this intellectually, I can’t keep up with him. This was not an easy read for this city boy and I doubt if I will pick this book up again.
1. Merriam-Webster, s.v. “hero (n),” Accessed February 2, 2023,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/definition/english/hero.
2. Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 2004). P. xxvi.
3. Moyers, Bill. “Cinema: Of Myth And Men – TIME,” August 25, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130825045550/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990820,00.html.
About the Author
Todd E Henley
Todd is an avid cyclist who loves playing frisbee golf, watching NASCAR, making videos, photography, playing Madden football, and watching sport. He is addicted to reading, eating fruits and vegetables, and drinking H2O. His passion is talking about trauma, epigenetics, chromosomes, and the brain. He has been blessed with a sensationally sweet wife and four fun creative children (one of which resides in heaven). In his free time he teaches at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and is the Founder/Executive Director of Restore Counseling Center.10 responses to “We are all heroes!”
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“Wisdom calls us and we endure the struggle while overcoming obstacles. We are eventually transformed deeply by the experience and are NEVER the same again!” Such a true statement, Todd. The obstacles in life have the ability to transform us and build endurance like nothing else sometimes can. Our stories resonate this on so many levels. Thanks for unpacking Campbell’s thoughts a bit more!
Hello Esther! You are too kind by thanking me for unpacking Campbell’s book a bit more. But I like your thoughts obstacles helping us to BUILD endurance. I really like that…we all need to BUILD endurance. As usual, good word, Esther! 😊
Wisdom calls us and we endure the struggle while overcoming obstacles. We are eventually transformed deeply by the experience and are NEVER the same again!
Love this statement Todd, “Wisdom calls us…”, that in and of itself is pretty profound when you think about it. “The call” initiates our journey to adventure and growth, but having wisdom as the one beaconing us to something deeper speaks resonates with me.
It goes with the idea of “threshold concepts”, once you see and experience some things you can’t unsee or un-experience them. Once you taste the wisdom of living and loving certain ways, it’s hard to go back, and you want to share it with others. Good stuff man!
Brother Adam, you said I HAD good stuff? Man, after reading your comments and how you tied it in to threshold concepts, I nearly made me jump out of my seat! GOOD STUFF ADAM!
I love the way you think because you are such a deep thinker and yet your heart always comes through! Thanks for allowing the Spirit to use you! 👊🏽
Hey Todd. Great thoughts. I find myself torn with the popular notion of ‘everyone’s a hero.’ A part of me agrees, because life isn’t easy. I recall the phrase, “Remember, everyone is fighting a battle that you know nothing about”…and I think that is a good reminder to think the best of others, to recognize the trauma or struggle that they have experienced, and to be someone that wants their best even if they are manifesting the pain of that struggle in unhealthy and hurtful ways. In that sense…everyone is having to face their life with courage and is therefore a ‘hero’. I like that concept. But….
This sort of definition also diminishes the word and leaves us a bit at a loss when people accomplish the extraordinary in some way, shape, or form. A different example that might help elucidate my point: when someone begins a mass-media communication, “Hello Friend”, my immediate response is, “I’m not your friend.” I’m not trying to a jerk (although I can be!), I’m meaning to honour the intent of the term. In the same way, I wonder if we strip the word of its plain meaning when we make everyone a hero. How about simply naming them as ‘human’…and if you are one of those, you will have to learn to grab ahold of courage, resilience, determination, and a lot of other necessary characteristics to successfully navigate life on this broken planet and follow the call of Jesus on their life.
So there’s my wrestle on every-person a hero: I like it, I don’t like…and like many things, I find myself conflicted!
WHOA!!! Scott, I see what you’re saying. At first I thought, “I’m not sure if I agree.” But I can see when a woman jumps into a burning car to save a man from dying, she should definitely be called a hero…and not everyone can do that.
I deal with so many Christians who have a terrible self image and nearly always put themselves down and don’t see or acknowledge their giftedness, skills, or the wonderful things they possess in Christ. I’m more apt to put people where they belong versus agreeing with how dirty they think of themselves. Yeah, in away we are all heroes and yet in away it should be reserved for certain people in certain situations. Thanks sir!
Hi, Mr. Henley. I like the way you put together the concept of “hero has the thousand faces” and “the threshold concept.” You shared that we are all hero in our particular calling from our Maker. And that we realized it when we crossed the threshold.
Thanks Todd, for writing so eloquently.
I found it hard to climb onto the Campbell bandwagon. Your writing helped me to see his value.
1Cor10:8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
So I believe this happened. I see that the Monomyth, did not work for the 23,000 who tested Christ. The reality of some of the bible stories reveal that Campbell’s approach is for STORIES. It is leans towards a Disney, happily ever after scenario. Raised with both western and eastern influences. I enjoy his Monomyth, but wonder how much it applies to life and real people….Thanks for your comments…Shalom…Russ
Hey Mr. Russel, that is a good insight about the Disney, happily ever after approach. I did not see that but now I do. There can be a danger in this approach to life as you used the verses to prove this. Thank you sir!😊
Campbell’s idea of the monomyth made me realize that there is only one universal story, which is then translated into thousands of faces. In fact, in my opinion, that universal story is also embodied in billions of faces, including you and all of us. Campbell’s writing motivates many people to raise awareness that the face of a hero exists in everyone so that those who are aware of it can use their life meaningful and be a blessing to the people around them.