Who are your heroes?

Hero:

Mythological or legendary figure, often of divine descent, who is endowed with great strength or ability, like the heroes celebrated in early epics such as Gilgamesh, The Iliad, Beowulf, or the Chanson de Roland. Usually illustrious warriors or adventurers, heroes are often represented as fulfilling a quest (e.g., Aeneas, in Virgil's Aeneid, founding the Roman state, or Beowulf ridding his people of the monstrous Grendel and his mother). Heroes often possess special qualities such as unusual beauty, precocity, and skills in many crafts.

Are heroes better after they are dead? Can heroism be taught? What qualities make legends and what qualities miss the mark?

About the teaching of "how to be a hero", I suppose the Waldorf Schools have the most effective method. The curriculum includes the great legends and myths from many times and many places. The children, infused with these magnificent stories can make their own inner pictures and find their relationship with the heroes who resonate with them.

If we are all spiritual beings, we can all call on our own divine being and become the heroes of our own story. I suspect that we are all given chances over and over in our lives. I don't think we need to be perfect in our worldly lives. I think in an heroic moment, we need to be divine and combine that with whatever gifts or talents we possess. Give me your examples.