Heroes vs. Martyrs What's the difference?

[mandyky]

Last week they had a psychologist on CSpan who had written a book on Martyrs, mostly concerning Islamic Fundamentalists, and I've been thinking ever since that really there is little difference between heroes and martyrs, especially when heroes are usually celebrated after their death (soldiers, firemen, policeman).

[JM]

1. Sorry, but I disagree

Granted, this is totally dependent on historical perspective and culture, however, based on Western culture, I totally disagree.

To me, a hero is someone who does something extraordinary in order to save the life of someone else. For the hero, typically there is no intent or thought regarding death despite risks being taken.

A martyr has their sights set on a particular cause, and has intent toward sacrifice, including death, in the outcome of their action. Additionally, from our viewpoint of martyrs in the ME, I don't think their intended outcome is exactly noble being the intentional death of others.

I don't think a fire fighter, whose intent is to put out fires and saves lives, falls into the same category as someone who intentionally dons a vest filled with explosives and ball bearings intent on taking out themselves and others in the name of a cause.

JM

[Nay]

2. Well you can have live or dead heroes, but martyrs are always

dead. Also, heroes can be heroes for helping their fellow humans with no higher end than to save their lives, but martyrs almost always die for a cause rather than a person.

[mandyky]

3. There are "good martyrs"

I see Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Mother Teresa as martyrs as well as heroes, and not just because they are dead. They sacrificed to promote a cause, and their causes were pretty specific.

My point is martyr is not always a bad word. And heroes is not always a good word. Heroes are willing to die for a good cause and so are martyrs, whether we agree with the cause or not.

[NashVegas]

4. Heroes *Live* for Their Cause

Martyrs die for it.

[AP]

5. Martyrs always lose in short term? Heroes, may lose short term, but always

win eventually, and the victory is inevitable? Martyrs' victories -- if they have them -- never seem inevitable?

[progdonkey]

6. Some Martyrs are Heroes

The most obvious difference is that martyrs must, by definition, be dead; heroic deeds need not result in the hero's death to be counted as such.

There are a few important distinctions between the two, the greater of which being the reason for the hero/martyr's actions.

A hero is somone who puts himself in between another person and danger simply because it's the right thing to do. This would exclude firefighters, policemen, soldiers, etc. They aren't heroes because they get paid and receive accolades and respect from the populace simply for doing their job. If you jump in front of a bullet for someone on the street, you are quite clearly a hero (or a fool...); however, a Secret Service agent performing the same action for the President is not a hero, for he is merely doing the job he's been trained to do. Likewise, a firefighter who runs into a burning building is just doing his job; if you do the same for your neighbor, you're a hero.

The martyr is a lesser type of hero, in that martyrs die for an ideology rather than for a single person. Whereas heroes merely find themselves in a bad situation, the martyr goes looking for it.

Heroes are superior to martyrs because there is no ideological impetus to the hero's actions. While the Christian martyr seeks to please Christ and the Muslim martyr seeks to please Allah, the hero simply sees an injustice and corrects it, dying if neccessary.