Was Hector An Epic Hero

735 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Achilles and Hector character analysis

Hector: The Epic Hero of Troy Hector, prince of Troy and heir to the throne, was the greatest epic hero in the Trojan War. He was glorified by his people because of he was a strong leader and courages. Hector proved that he was courageous and morally upright during his one on one battle with, another epic hero, Achilles. The heir to the Trojan throne also reflected the ideals of his society and risked his like for glory. Hector was the greatest epic hero because of the characteristics he possessed. Hector was strong and courageous glorified leader. He showed he was a strong leader by not showing fear when he and his army had to go against 1,000 ships worth of Greek soldiers (Hamilton 189). He aligned his troops and prepared them and himself …show more content…

"His glancing helm was everywhere and one gallant warrior after another fell beneath his terrible bronze spear" (Hamilton 195). Hector was not dome he knew that before the war ended his death would come but his intelligence in battle helped him be great warrior. During the Trojan War Hector had to battle Achilles, the great warrior of Greece, one on one. "This is the end. The gods are calling deathward" (Homer 71). Hector knew that his battle with Achilles would end with the death of either one of them, but he also knew he would not be the last man sanding. Even though Hector knew before fighting Achilles that he would die he still accepted Achilles' challenge to fight him because if he, with a lot of luck, beat Achilles he would become the greatest warrior and epic hero of his time. He knew his name would be passed down not only for being brave for fighting the man who everyone knew as the greatest hero but also for defeating the greatest hero. Hector is the greatest epic hero for being willing to risk death for his own glory and his countries glory and for being an intelligent …show more content…

Before Hectors's battle against Achilles he proposed a pact to Achilles, if Hector won he would allow the Greeks to take Achilles' body for a proper funeral as long as Achilles promised to do the same, but Achilles replied "Hector, I'll have no talk of pacts with you, forever unforgiven as you are. As between men and lions there are none" (Homer 70). Hector proved he was a better epic hero by showing he had morals by promising not to damage Achilles body after death, meanwhile Achilles could not make the same promise. Hector then proved his courage by continuing his battle with Achilles even though the goods were not one his side. "Athena had tricked him and there was no way of escape... 'At least I will not die without a struggle'" (Hamilton 199). Hector knew he would not win as soon as he relished he was tricked by a goddess, yet he still kept fighting and fought his best. He never gave up even though he knew death would come soon. His courage, strength, and morals make Hector an epic

Show More
Related

  • Hector Quotes In The Iliad

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Iliad, Hector isn't always shown as a courageous character. In book 18, Achilles discovers Patroclus is dead. Upon the realization that Hector is to blame, he is ready to rejoin the fight against Troy. The Trojans start to lose their courage until hearing Hector’s speech in which he says, “Tomorrow at daybreak armed to the hill for battle we slash to attack against their deep curved Hills!...I for one, I'll never run from his grim assault.(18.353-357)” In

    Read More

  • Ilus And Achilles: The Challenges Of The Homeric Hero

    1387 Words  | 3 Pages

    The foundation of the Homeric heroes’ actions develops from the internal struggle amongst concern for themselves, their families, and their community. The hero’s egoistic desire compels him or her to pursue everlasting glory for them, launching a manifest of feats that people will remember in history for generations. The hero’s altruistic desire seats their personal safety, and the safety of their families, above everlasting fame. Iliad opens with Achilles and Hector fighting for someone else’s gain—Achilles for Agamemnon, Hector for Paris. Both start with similar motives but in contrasting directions. During the opening of Iliad, Achilles retracts his men from the action, due to being unsympathetically dishonored by Agamemnon taking Achilles bride Briseis. Achilles, despite the loss of his fel...

    Read More

  • Source Analysis: The Death of Hector

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anyway, this was the main reason Homer wrote the Iliad. The specific story of the Death of Hector shows tells the story of Hector, who wants to fight Achilles outside the city gates. He refuses his father’s request to come inside and be protected. In the end he is killed. This entire episode shows the way one should act.

    Read More

  • Is Hector A Hero

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Hector saw the anger that burned within Achilles as he walk towards him, “Hector began to shake in fear. His courage gone, he could no longer stand there. terrified , he started running” (Homer 22. 140). Hector should be this great hero who will fight to the death in order to protect his country, but some may see his fear as a weakness that makes him unqualified to be called a hero. However Hector reflected his bravery because to chose to stand and wait for Achilles, but he also realizes when fighting will end in his demise. Hector is not a god, he is not immortal, he is human and he does not want to go into a fight where he knows he will die because he cannot protect his country if he is dead. Previously in the war, Hector broke through the mighty Greeks defences he “ jumped inside the gates, no moving out to stop him could hold him back, expect the gods. From his eyes fire blazed” Homer (83). Hectors bravery helped him push through the Greeks defences even though there were people all around him trying to kill him. After this Hector acts as a model for the rest of the Trojan soldiers, inspiring them to push forward with Hector. After making the decision to join the Marines Tillman was “not sure where this new direction will take [his] life though [he is] positive it will include its share of sacrifices and difficulty, most of which falling squarely on Marie’s shoulders.” (Tillman 2). There are many strong people in the world, but only the brave few will be willing to step up where others would not. Heros are the people who will do what most others would not do in order to protect the greater good. Just as Tillman acted as a role model for everyone Hector showed the Trojan army that they could

    Read More

  • Free College Essays - The Obligations of Hector in Homer’s Iliad

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Homer’s Iliad, an extremely courageous and noble character is Hector, Prince of Troy.  Hector does not want war, so his decision to lead the assault on the Achaean forces may seem strange.  However, if there were a noble way out of the war, Hector might have taken it. “Without a noble escape, Hector is forced to fight”(Willcock 62).

    Read More

  • Heroic Code in the Iliad and the Odyssey

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the Iliad, heroic characters make decisions based on a specific set of principles, which are referred to as the “code of honor.” The heroic code that Homer presents to readers is easy to recognize because the heroic code is the cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be regarded. Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as a model for a hero. His dedication and firm belief in the code of honor is described many times throughout the course of the Iliad. As a reward for heroic traits in battle, prizes were sometimes awarded to victors of war. In Book 1 Achilles receives Chryseis as a prize and a symbol of honor. Heroism had its rewards and its setbacks which ultimately was the backbone of the Illiad in the case of Achilles prize. Hector, arguably the greatest Trojan warrior or even the bravest of the Homeric heroes is very fierce and fights for what he believes is his destiny. In book VI Hector expresses his bravery when Andromache pleads with Hector not to fight when Hector says, “But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan woman trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward. Nor does the sprit urge me on that way. I’ve learned it all too well. To stand up bravely, always to fight in the front ranks of Trojan soldiers, winning my father great glory, glory for myself” (VI, 387).

    Read More

  • Achilles: A Classical Hero

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Greeks also had their share of icons and heroes. They admired Jason and his quest for the golden fleece, and Perseus, the killer of Medusa, but their finest heroes come from Homer’s Iliad: Hector and Achilles. Hector was the best warrior in Troy and the son of Priam, the king of Troy. Achilles was the great warrior of the Greek army and killed Hector. The Greek citizens, siding with their own nationality, declared the Greek warrior Achilles the hero of the Trojan War, but since ancient Greece no longer exists an unbiased view of the Ilia...

    Read More

  • Achilles’ Courage in the Iliad

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...battle that Achilles’ ego needed. However, Hector tried to do the right thing by offering the deceased be returned to their respective camps after the battle was over. It is at this point that Achilles is beyond the common courtesies of war and flat out denied Hector’s request. This action by Achilles shows his arrogance and the bloodlust that was truly in his heart rather than the courage that so many people claim that he had.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Loyalty In The Iliad

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout this piece, there are so many examples of Hector proving himself to his people. Loyalty is a good sign of

    Read More

  • The True Nature Of Man And Gods In Homer's The Iliad

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Hector as the True Hero of Homer’s Iliad

    2380 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hector is the true hero of Homer's Iliad. Although Achilles and Hector are both leaders of men, Hector leads with a mature sense that gives his men reason to respect him. In turn, Hector respects his men which gives fulfillment to both parties. Hector is not a man to sit around and mull over strategies and ideas - Hector is a man of action. His men are inspired to fight because they see their captain fighting as well.

    Read More

  • Achilles; the True Hero of the Iliad

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Similarities And Differences Between Hector And Achilles

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the final points, I think Hector has the most to loose in the battlefield at Troy, because he was killed by Achilles in a horrible way, but Hector is win in the spirit mind because he have many people loving him and celebrated for his funeral as a true hero, his name remembered forever as a great warrior of trojan, and his death body was take back from Achilles by helping of the King of Gods, Zeus, who sent Iris come down to help Priam who is Hector father. Hector has a great family relationship, leadership image, and a superior warrior.

    Read More

  • Who was the Real Hero in Homer's The Iliad?

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though The Iliad is a Greek epic poem Homer is really getting at how Hector was a better hero than Achilles or even the Hero of The Iliad. Homer shows Achilles as a selfish, disgraceful warrior that does not care about the lives of his fellow countrymen and even wish for their deaths. Achilles is put in a repulsive light while Hector is seen in a captivating way. He is a family that puts his life down for his family and City. Homer actually made Hector the real hero in The Iliad.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Achilles And Hector

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hector is just mainly a good person. He has his flaws just like every other person who ever lived, but it seems as if his strengths outweighed his flaws. Hector loves his wife and his son more than he loves himself. He was loyal to his wife and wanted the very best for his son. He left them to go fight because he knew it was what he had to do for Troy (Homer 79). In today’s world, people do not merely look for someone who is a great warrior, but also someone who is an overall good person. Hector is very brave and reasonable. He is very courageous and will fight for his country no matter what the cost. Hector does not act like a child in difficult situations like Achilles does, but he acts like a mature man. Along with Hector being a good person, he is also a great warrior on top of all that. The modern world needs somebody they can look up to who acts in a positive way. Hector never turned against his own country like Achilles did when he wanted Zeus to be on the Trojan’s side (Homer 13). The people in ancient times chose Achilles rather than Hector merely because Achilles is an outstanding warrior and he is part god. Fighting is what Achilles excels at, and at that time, that was really the only aspect that mattered. It does not matter that Achilles is selfish, stubborn, and prideful, as long as he can fight well for his country. The Greeks were actually hurt by this because Achilles did not even end up fighting for his country until his best friend died. His stubbornness outweighed his greatness (Homer 178). Achilles was the greatest warrior physically, but he was far from the greatest

    Read More

More about Was Hector An Epic Hero

Open Document