Heroic Sacrifice/Other Media

Art

The Fallen Caryatid: Ancient Greek architecture included women carved into columns, holding up the roof. They were later carved into buildings done in the Classical style and evolved into men, demons, anyone one wanted to have holding up a building forever. The sculptor Rodin created the Fallen Caryatid as a woman collapsing under the impossible burden, but struggling to carry it still. Many interpretations exist, of course. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art has castings of Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone and Fallen Caryatid Carrying an Urn.)

At the end of Bionicle's 2007 story arc, Toa Matoro sacrifices himself by wearing the Mask of Life, which converts him into energy used to revive Mata Nui.
Originally meant to be played straight as a redemptive act in the end of Bionicle Mask of Light when Makuta allows himself to be crushed under a massive stone door. Later canon turned this into a subversion in that he's not really dead, and was really working towards his master evil plan.