What makes a hero?

That thing sticking out between his legs.

>Onii-chan, please stop! I can feel you in my womb, you'll get me pregnant!
>My hips are moving on their own

It's trading something comfortable for something uncertain. Even if it is better, it's still a sacrifice. Like all that shit Neitzsche said about the comfortable man.

Risking your life for someone else and asking nothing in return

Superhuman ability and a desire for glory. Morality has nothing to do with the classical definition.

Showing and promoting the virtues of the hero's culture and society even when circumstances arise that would usually promote the opposite as more rational course of action.

Might if we talk about greek heroes.

If we talk about american heroes then being a hippie and a waste of oxygen.

what about asian-centric myths

Helping yourself by helping everyone else.

Being blessed by the gods.

No one myth more encapsulates the Apollonian/Classical civilization's heroic ideal more than Heracles as the legendary wandering warrior elite, who beats back the foreigner and venerates homicide and violence as the noblest path to salvation.

What makes him a hero from a literary standpoint is that he rises to the occasion. When he murders his wife and children in a fit of mother-inspired madness, he sets out on a journey to atone for his heinous sin through epic feats of strength.

The fight against the Nemean lion showcases his great physical strength, throttling the beast when cutting or piercing weapons were proving ineffective.
The fight against the Hydra shows his ability to be cunning and think on his feet against an adversary that resurrects itself, but this was considered by the ancients to be one of his failures as he required assistance
Hunting the sacred hind showed his ability to be supple, trapping the creature without wounding it
Capturing the Erymanthian boar showed off his ability to network and forge alliances
Cleaning the stables showed his ability to find creative and unusual solutions to a seemingly impossible problem, although this labor was also considered a failure as Heracles let greed get the best of him
Killing the Stymphalian birds showed how Heracles could triumph even in circumstances way outside of his usual comfort zone
The Cretan Bull as a metaphor for hyper-aggressive masculinity, with Heracles triumphing over raw unthinking brute force
Capturing the Mares of Diomedes showed his ability to corral even the most difficult and unruly subjects
Capturing the Belt of Hippolyta as a triumph over hyper-aggressive femininity, expressed as manipulation and intrigue
Obtaining the Cattle of Geryon showed his ability to cling stubbornly to a long, drawn out plan even in the face of set backs
In stealing the divine fruit of the Hesperides he triumphs over age
In capturing the Cerberus he was triumphing over death, itself

Even in the ancient world this would have been seen as an act of insanity, as someone who would rather throw his life away chasing a dream of material glory than have a long, fulfilling life. They would have looked upon this act in much the way that we would look upon a poor young black kid who neglects school because he is convinced that he'll play in the NBA some day

What makes Achilles a hero is that he beats the odds and triumphs rather than end up as another nameless corpse laying in a ditch.

why, bringing back fire of course