Saying he's either a pariah or a hero is a very political stance either way, and I don't want to spout politics here on HN (That's not what HN is for, although political rants still slip through the cracks on HN).
That said, the leaks did leave some aftermath[0]. All the tinfoilers, pre-Snowden had their suspicions confirmed in real, tangible ways. Yeah we knew abut ECHELON[1] but the Snowden leaks were far more substantial IMHO, and leaked at a time when The Internet was really starting to ramp up (in terms of all the services/tooling now available, and social media making leaps and bounds).