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Hector and achilles comparison essay
Hector and achilles comparison essay
Hector versus achilles
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Two Different Warriors In 700 B.C, Homer, a blind Greek poet, composed The Iliad. This work has become one of the most significant works in Western literature. The Iliad is an epic poem. It is a long narrative poem in verse form which tells the story of a hero. Achilles is the epic hero in The Iliad. Achilles is the best warrior of the Achaeans and Hector was the top warrior for the Trojans. Although Achilles and Hector seem very similar, they actually have a lot of differences between the two of them, which makes each of them unique. The similarities are prominent between Achilles and Hector, but they were different in the way the way they lived, why they fought, and by their mentality. It all began when King Agememnon was asked to return Hector kills Patroclus, as he thinks it was Achilles. When Achilles got word of his best friend’s death he became enraged and grief stricken. Achilles joins the war the following day and sets out to kill Hector. After a one on one battle, Achilles successfully kills Hector. Achilles drug Hector’s body home on the back of his chariot and did not return his body to his father until days after Patroclus had been put to rest. Achilles and Hector had many similarities. Both Achilles and Hector were respected by the people whom they fought for.”Personally to Achilles to control his temper, since he is, For all Greeks, a mighty bulwark in this evil war” (237). This shows that even when Achilles was wrong; his people still respected him, because he was their meal ticket to the war. He was the only chance the Greeks had in defeating the Trojans. Many warriors looked up to him and the Greeks depended on him. The Achaeans supported Achilles while the Trojans rooted on Hector. Each man was respected and viewed as a hero. Although their love is different, it is obvious that each man has love in his heart. Achilles loves Briseis, his mother Thetis, and his First, we can discuss the men themselves. Hector was a mortal. He was the son of a King and a queen. Hector had a family of his own which was his life. In addition to his family Hector loved the people of Troy and he had their best interest. Achilles on the other hand was “strong, swift, and godlike” (233). Achilles’ mother was the daughter of a god. Thetis was a sea goddess who did everything she could to protect her son, Achilles, and make him immortal. Also, Achilles was an only child. Since Achilles was an only child, it is clearly displayed how his mother baby’s her little boy. She turns to the God’s to assist him, she is always there to comfort him, and she has a new suit of armor built for him to go back to war and slay Hector. Second, they were different for the reasons why they fought. Achilles fought for military glory, recognition, and to become a legend. His mother says, “Now you are destine for both an early death and misery beyond compare” (240). Achilles chose a short life with a lot of glory over a long life with no glory. Achilles wanted to be a legend and a well respected warrior. Hector had a humanistic approach. He fought to protect his people and bring peace to his land. Achilles fought and lived for war, while Hector was really a family man. Achilles ran off of rage and passion, which is shown after the death of his friend Patroclus. “Over the sea and the dunes, he would hitch Horses to
To take it back ten steps, let's first discuss Achilles' treatment of Hector, before Hector was just a body to be discarded. In Homer's The Iliad, Hector, the son of King Priam and the heir to the Trojan throne, is faced in battle with Achilles, a Greek man made invulnerable to harm (and known for his number of killings), except for a bit of his heel that was not dipped (as he was, as a baby) in the river Styx. Their dual follows the wrongful death of Achilles' close friend Patroclus (who had dressed in Achilles' armor and entered battle) at the hands of Hector. Though Hector was mistaken, and Patroclus' death was arguably unnecessary, Achilles holds Hector accountable, and therefore they meet for battle outside the walls of Troy when Achilles comes seeking Hector, and Hector only.
Hector shows his heroism in his own particular way. Richards reported, “[Achilles’] swift horses dragged [Hector] the Greek ships” (182). Here, it was shown how Achilles treated Hector’s body with no respect as a sign of revenge to avenge Patroclus from his killer. Regardless of the loathsome way that Hector was murdered, the Trojans view him an imperative warrior since he attempted to battle for his kin and kingdom. While Achilles on the contrary, he represents the Greek as an important warrior. Despite of the Greek views Patroclus as a hero, they gave Achilles a magnificent commemoration in his regard since he was influenced to take part to win the war after Patroclus passed
Hector was the best warrior in all of Troy. He was the Trojans best hope of winning the war against the Greeks. Achilles was the Greeks best warrior, and their best chance of winning the war. This automatically made the two characters adversaries,
Throughout the poem we are lead to believe that Achilles is a great hero, and that Hector is a modest man with a great amount of compassion for his family, and a mostly successful military leader. He is arguably motivated entirely by the fear of letting his family down We’re shown how incompetent his younger brother, Paris, is, and generally given the impression that he is the best man in the Trojan forces. Yet, here we are seeing Achilles, a supposed glorious hero, mistreating his body horribly. While there is a mention of a personal battle between the men in the Embassy To Achilles, we aren’t lead to believe that there were any reasons for such a rivalry other than the fact that they are the best soldiers of their respective armies. Although ultimately, Achilles kills Hector as revenge for the death of his close friend Patroclus, the point could easily be made that the attempted disfigurement was because of Achilles’ pride and self obsession. He has killed the leader of the opposing army, and possible hundreds of other Trojans amidst his aristeia, and is bragging about it to everyone who will pay attention. This is not in line with the idea of eternal glory he wanted so much earlier, and gives the impression that he no longer cares for his public image, and only for his own violent desires. This picks holes both in the idea of glory
Achilles, the king of the Myrmidons, is a Greek hero who fights Hector, the leader of the Trojan forces. Achilles shows the qualities of the epic hero because his great skills as a warrior, his loyalty to his people and friend, and his compassion. The Iliad illustrates him as a simple but honorable hero. Achilles is enraged after Hector kills his best friend Patroclus. He then seeks revenge for the death of his close friend. Determined, he fearlessly fights Hector until his brutal death. Achilles is the most powerful of the Greek warriors. His actions show his major character flaws as an epic hero. For example, fighting his battle with Hector out of revenge, for his own glory. He is willing to sacrifice everything he has so everybody will remember his name, wanting only fame and glory. Although Achilles has superhuman strength and is very brave, he may be considered not heroic to many people because of his actions against Hector.
In the Iliad, Achilles is the main protagonist. He is a demi-god and is the son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus who was the King of the Myrmidons. He was a Greek hero of the Trojan War. He falls in love with a battle prize called Briseis. He is to portray, “as a brave, loyal, cocky, intelligent and even superhuman soldier. In Achilles ' case, the word "superhuman" is literal; he is the result of a union between a god and a mortal.”(Harvard 1)
The height of Hector’s ego and pride are reached when he and his army are driven back into Troy by Achilles and he is left alone outside the walls. Hector is urged by all, including his own parents, not to face Achilles alone. To do so would be to accept one’s death, as Achilles is much too strong and reckless to be defeated by one man, even if that man is the most powerful in all of Troy. Hector does not heed this advice, though, as he is too proud to back down, and instead imagines all the glory and honor he will receive if he defeats the great warrior Achilles. Hector’s decision to take on Achilles can be viewed in two ways: on one hand, taking on the demigod shows incredible bravery, and his refusal to flee even in the face of death is admirable.
Throughout the text, major characters seem to be at constant battle with their different emotions. This inner conflict is mirrored by the everyday conflicts between the gods. Just as Zeus and Hera are constantly at odds with one another, so are the different sides of Achilles: his cultural responsibility, pride, honor, and revenge. No one is completely at peace with his or her conflicting emotions in The Iliad – and therefore, neither are the gods, who represent these emotions. Hector is a prime example of a human who finds himself torn between two forces: his love for his growing family, and his duty as a prince of Troy. He admits to Andromache that he worries about his own mortality, but emphasizes that “I would die of shame to face the men of Troy…if I would shrink from battle now, a coward.” (Homer 6: 523, 525). Hector’s deeply ingrained sense of honor and loyalty to home is clearly established in the beginning of the text. Therefore, when Zeus later grants Hector “power to kill and kill till you cut your way to the benched ships” (Homer 11: 241-242), it is not too much of a stretch to attribute Hector’s dodged perseverance to his upbringing and rigid sense of duty, rather than to the
Hector fights for belief and respect while Achilles fights out of rage and rashness. Achilles is not respected by his men, rather he is feared. Nobody wants to receive the blunt of the attack when Achilles randomly flies into a rage, therefore his men are terrified of him and allow him to do as he pleases. Within the first book of the poem, we read that Achilles is considered by many to be "god-like". (King Agamemnon, Book 1, line 154)
...h Agamemnon and wishes that ‘strife could die from the lives of gods and men’… Not to avenge Patroclus by killing Hector would be a renunciation of all that he stands for and has lived by”. Even though “sorrow fell on Achilles like a cloud” (216), he went back out to the battlefield and killed Hector. It took a great deal of bravery for Achilles to face the man who killed his best friend but Achilles, being the hero that he was, got back into battle and killed him because he couldn’t let Patroclus’ death go unavenged.
Achilles is related to God that he is the son of Peleus who is the king of the Myrmidons and the nymph Thetis who is the daughter of Sea God. His two good friends are Briseis and Patroclus . Otherwise,The two closest person to him is his mother and his friend Patroclus who is Greek warrior. That show when Hector killed his friend Patroclus , then Achilles was very sorrow "I sat by the ships, a useless burden, though there are better in Assembly- so may this strife of men and gods be done with."( Lines 104-107).When he has confidence, he will shared it to his mother. ...
Homer makes it clear that Achilles is a man mainly driven by his hunger for glory. Achilles has all the traits of a superhuman from his strength to his incredible ability to fight on the battlefield. Even with these great abilities, it is hard for many readers to perceive him as a hero because of the way he acts. Homer takes this brief time period out of this whole ten-year war just to demonstrate how Achilles cannot control himself when he goes into a rage. In todays world Achilles would not last long as a soldier in any army because he would be court marshaled for insubordination. Achilles ye...
The driving force toward facing their enemies is ignited by anger. On learning the death of Patroclus, Achilles is mad with grief and vows to take revenge on Hector (Jonathan, pp 56). When Achilles slays Hector he does it with anger; Hector pleads with Achilles to return his body for a proper buri...
In the poem, Iliad, Achilles and Hector both show relative heroism in their own different ways. Achilles may have been the more popular hero, but Hector had great heroism as well. Each of these characters possess their own different strengths and weaknesses. These two characters both have pride as being one of their main weaknesses. Hector seems as if he would suit best in the modern world, but there are a few different reasons as to why the ancients may have chose Achilles. Hector and Achilles both lost a lot by letting their pride get in the way of their heroism. Both of these characters were their country’s best warrior. Achilles and Hector have very different personalities, and very different ways of approaching situations.
In the Greek society, Achilles has the role of the aggressive soldier. From the very first lines of the epic, we are introduced to Achilles’ murderous rage: