The ancient Greeks had Hercules and Aphrodite, the Egyptians Isis and Osiris, and early Americans -- well, they worshipped The Durango Kid and Jesse James.

In 1903, the first Western hit the screen in the United States. The French had invented cinema, and American entrepreneurs were determined to beat them at their own game, and make movies that would appeal to people in the USA. Someone at Edison studios in New York City came up with the idea of pulling together some bandits, horses, and one train, and the rest is history.

Today, 100 years after the first showing of "The Great Train Robbery," the western is making a comeback on and off the screen. Wanted lists and smoking guns -- American mythology is still in the saddle and riding high.