Introduction: The transmission of classical Persian literary heritage to contemporary children’s and young adult literature requires more than simplifying language or shortening original narratives. Hero construction is particularly important because heroic characters can transmit cultural and national identity while connecting classical heritage with contemporary young readers. This study examines hero construction in selected works derived from classical Persian literature, focusing on Gordafarid, a heroic female character from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, and the contemporary hero Ilya. It investigates how classical heroic characteristics are preserved, transformed, or reconstructed for contemporary audiences.

Methods: This qualitative study employs a library-based, descriptive-analytical, and comparative approach. Five works were purposively selected, including four rewritings and recreations of the Gordafarid story and Ilya: The Birth of a Hero. The analysis focuses on the hero’s type and position, personality traits, motivation, agency, actions, obstacles and crises, relationships, character development, distance from the original narrative, and textual, visual, and contemporary media elements.

Results: The findings show that the Gordafarid adaptations generally preserve the original hero’s essential identity, particularly her courage, agency, and commitment to defending her community and homeland. Differences mainly concern language, dialogue, narrative details, illustration, and attention to inner experience. Ilya presents a different model of hero construction: an ordinary adolescent gradually develops a heroic identity through confronting personal and social crises, discovering inherited abilities, making decisions, and opposing oppression. Thus, Gordafarid represents an established hero adapted for contemporary readers, whereas Ilya embodies a process of becoming a hero.

Discussion: The comparison indicates that adapting classical heroes requires both preserving their cultural foundations and reconstructing them in accordance with contemporary narrative, visual, and communicative conditions. Gordafarid primarily represents the transmission and adaptation of an established national hero, while Ilya demonstrates contemporary hero construction through crisis, agency, choice, and transformation. Maintaining the connection between classical heritage and contemporary young audiences therefore requires a balance between cultural continuity and creative narrative, visual, and media strategies.