All throughout history there are stories of people dying for others or a certain cause. Many of our legends or fairy tales are about a certain person laying down his or her life for another. That person would be considered a hero in my definition.
I believe that a scenario of when I would lay down my life would be if someone who is unable to defend themselves and is in danger. As in a woman or a child. I would lay down my life for any of my family members and actually any defenseless person. If someone was in danger of getting injured or being attacked i would step into action. It is easy to say this now, but would it be in the actual situation. I would also with out question lay my life down for Christ and the spreading of his word.