Hero vs. Martyr — What's the Difference?

A priestess of Aphrodite beloved by Leander.

A martyr (Greek: μάρτυς, mártys, "witness"; stem μαρτυρ-, martyr-) is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or cause as demanded by an external party. In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an actor by an alleged oppressor.

A hero (heroine in its feminine form) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly solely gender-specific terms (like actor), hero is often used to refer to any gender, though heroine only refers to women.

A person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs

A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed one's life

Kill (someone) because of their beliefs

A person noted for special achievement in a particular field

One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.

The principal character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.

In mythology and legend, an individual, often a man of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for bold exploits, and favored by the gods.

One who endures great suffering

See submarine sandwich.

One who makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

Somebody who possesses great bravery and carries out extraordinary or noble deeds.

To make a martyr of, especially to put to death for devotion to religious beliefs.

A role model.

To inflict great pain on; torment.

The protagonist in a work of fiction.

One who willingly accepts being put to death for adhering openly to one's religious beliefs; notably, saints canonized after martyrdom.

(poker) The current player, especially an hypothetical player for example and didactic purposes. Compare: any opponent player. Not to be confused with a weak call against a supposed bluff.

(by extension) One who sacrifices their life, station, or something of great personal value, for the sake of principle or to sustain a cause.

(US) A large sandwich made from meats and cheeses; a hero sandwich.

One who suffers greatly and/or constantly, even involuntarily.

The product chosen from several candidates to be photographed, as in food advertising, or with props used in a movie.

(transitive) To make someone into a martyr by putting them to death for adhering to, or acting in accordance with, some belief, especially religious; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.

(web design) The eye-catching top portion of a web page, sometimes including a hero image; the portion above the fold.

(transitive) To persecute.

An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.

(transitive) To torment; to torture.

A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person.

One who, by his death, bears witness to the truth of the gospel; one who is put to death for his religion; as, Stephen was the first Christian martyr.

The principal personage in a poem, story, and the like, or the person who has the principal share in the transactions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and Æneas in the Æneid.

Hence, one who sacrifices his life, his station, or what is of great value to him, for the sake of principle, or to sustain a cause.

A man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength;

To put to death for adhering to some belief, esp. Christianity; to sacrifice on account of faith or profession.

The principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem

To persecute; to torment; to torture.

Someone who fights for a cause

One who suffers for the sake of principle

Greek mathematician and inventor who devised a way to determine the area of a triangle and who described various mechanical devices (first century)

One who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty for refusing to renounce their religion

(classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god

Kill as a martyr;

(Greek mythology) priestess of Aphrodite who killed herself when her lover Leander drowned while trying to swim the Hellespont to see her

Torture and torment like a martyr

A large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States