Tyraniking, Hero is basically an all-rounded class - it is mostly physical-oriented with some minor spells. It does have a few exclusive spells, such as Thordain (a powerful lightning-based attack which costs 30 MP), and Omniheal which cost 62 MP in that game (yes, the Hero was the only one to get Omniheal). Unfortunately since the Hero only has about 150 MP even at level 99, he can't do a whole lot with magic, not nearly as much as a Sage can.
Hero is way better than Minstrel, trust me. Minstrel is basically a watered-down version of Hero.