As cultures have evolved, so have the values that they cherish—heroism being one of them. In The Iliad, Achilles and Hector are the two most powerful and fearsome warriors on the battlefield at Troy. Both of them exhibit heroic values, but the two heroes are notably different. When they fight, they give every ounce of what they have to the fight and inspire their men to do the same. The Ancient Greeks for whom this epic was written craved this type of hero, and with Achilles and Hector, they got two. In The Iliad, Achilles and Hector, although very different, exemplify Ancient Greek heroic ideals, some of which are still recognizable today.
Every great hero has their faults, and Achilles and Hector are no exceptions. Achilles’ main weakness
As the greatest warrior on the Trojan side, Hector needs to be heroic and fearless. Unfortunately, on occasion he acts quite cowardly. When finally confronted by Achilles, Hector literally turns and runs away. “And when Hector saw it he lost his nerve, Panicked and ran, leaving the gates behind, With Achilles on his tail…” (Homer 209). For someone who is supposed to be a fearless and honorable warrior, this was a surprising move. He seems to have been able to “talk the talk,” but when it came to “walking the walk,” he fell woefully short of the mark. Another of Hector’s weaknesses is his arrogance. He shows his arrogance when he refuses to withdraw his troops back behind the walls of Troy after killing Patroclus. By killing Patroclus, Hector fills with confidence and is eager to continue the fight and get to Achilles. “Who knows? Achilles, son of Thetis, May go down first under my spear” (Homer 174). His arrogance leads to a frantic retreat from the one-man-army that is Achilles and the loss of many soldiers. Throughout the war, Hector spoke like a true hero, but some of his actions said
Achilles was everything that the gods loved: powerful, intelligent, and confident. Some gods even liked him because of the way he treated other gods; he lipped off to Apollo but remained in the good graces of every god that like him before. “I swear, I’d make you pay if I could!” he yelled at Apollo (Homer 205). Directly telling a god that he would hurt him if he could was not enough to fall out of grace with the other gods, they liked him so much. Another reason the gods like him is because he was half divine. Since his mother, Thetis, was a goddess, he was basically a nephew of the other gods. The gods were not to keen to let their children die as well, so not only did Achilles have abilities that normal mortals would not have, he also had his mother, a goddess, in his corner. One advantage that this gave Achilles was access to Hephaestus’ forge where his new armor was created (Homer 183-187). If his mother were not a goddess, there is no way Achilles could have found such wonderful
In the introduction of the Essential Illiad given by Sheila Murnaghan, Achilles is labeled as “the greatest of the Greek heroes”. In classic mythology a hero is a person of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits and is often the offspring of a mortal and a god. Achilles was the greatest fighter among the Greeks or Trojans and feared no man in battle. He was also the offspring of a mortal and a god so by classic mythology definition, Achilles was indeed a hero. A hero is defined by the present day Websters Dictionary as: “one who inspires through manners and actions; an individual who leads through personal example and accomplishments requiring bravery, skill, determination, and other admirable qualities.” Achilles, in no manner, fits this definition. By contemporary standards, he is instead a pathetic villain. Aside from being a kidnapper, rapist and murderer, Achilles proves to be emotionally weak, selfish, and malicious. Many times throughout the Illiad, Achilles is also referred to as “godlike”. The gods of Greek mythology were subject to the same emotions and character flaws as humans, and though privileged to some foresight, the gods had similar mental capacities as humans. What really set the gods apart were their powers (controlling the elements, changing their appearance, etc.), great strength, and immortality. Because of his great strength and apparent invincibility, it is easy to see why Achilles would...
Achilles, like most Greek epic heroes, was a demigod. The Nereid Thetis was Achilles’s mother, and his father was Peleus, the mortal king of the Myrmidons. Like most Greek demigods, Achilles has a very interesting childhood backstory. Soon after Achilles was born, his mother wished to make him immortal. Thetis took Achilles to the river Styx and immersed his body in the water. But Thetis was unsuccessful in her task and ultimately created a fatal flaw for Achilles. She neglected to immerse her son’s heel in the water and he is left mortally vulnerable to his enemies. Greek heroes always have a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to their death. Achilles is later shot in his heel with an arrow and dies almost instantly. Though his previous conquests were amazing, they did not exempt him from the power of his fatal flaw. Achilles was also strong, vengeful, and deeply loyal. When hector strikes down Achilles’s best friend during battle, Achilles makes it a point to get revenge on Hector. Eventually Achilles brutally kills Hector and drags his body behind his chariot. He wanted to humiliate his enemy even in death. Achilles was known to fly into a rage during battle. He was incapable of control his actions. Another unique quality that Greek heroes possess is their reliance of the Gods. Achilles had Athena to assist him in the fight with Hector. The Greek culture believed that a person could be favorited by the
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).
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 Ancient Greeks admired their heroes and tried to learn from both their achievements and their mistakes. They believed that most great leaders and warriors followed a predictable behavior cycle, which often ended tragically. In Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, Achilles is a great warrior who traces the stages of the behavior cycle twice, from arete to hubris to ate and then to nemesis. Achilles is a highly skilled warrior and a great leader who becomes a narcissist and an arrogant person, which leads to selfish and childish behavior resulting in the death of his best friend. Following Patroclus’ death, Achilles repeats the behavior cycle by regaining his courage and motivation, and goes back to battle against Hector. The pride he feels in killing Hector and his overpowering hatred for him, leads Achilles to another bad decision: disrespecting the body of his enemy. This foolish choice leads directly to Achilles death. Although The Iliad is mainly known as a story about the Trojan War, it is understood as a story about Achilles and his struggle to be a hero.
...side of Troy’s gates. Of course, Hector losing his nerve and running around Troy before facing Achilles for his fatal duel would have been quite entertaining to see in the movie also. As mentioned before, Hector was portrayed as somewhat of a hero, and if this aspect of the fight was shown, Achilles would have been glorified even more and shown as more of the hero that he was in the Iliad. Most of these things were probably changed in the making of the movie to create a happier, more finalized and simpler storyline.
Steve Coates’ article quotes Alexander, he says, “Achilles is at once a star-like demigod and a raging monster” (Coates). Alexander suggests that looks may be deceiving, but it is on the inside that really counts. Achilles appears to be a great demigod, but on the inside he is an inhumanly cruel person. Achilles is an eristic man; he refuses Hector’s wish in honoring his body and giving it back to his family if he is killed in battle. The narrator says, “But it was shame and defilement Achilles had in mind for Hector” (xxii. 438-439). By the narrator saying this, it briefly foreshadows what repugnant actions the next few lines will hold. Because of the way the narrator arranges these words, it seems as though Achilles plots to ruin Hector’s body so that it cannot be returned to his family. “He pierced the tendons above the heels and cinched them with leather thongs to his chariot, letting Hector’s head drag” (xxii. 439-441). Homer paints this horrendous picture of Hector being dragged by a chariot. This is a very disturbing thing for Achilles to do, and since he shows no regret, it confirms that he has no conscience or remorse for what he did. Phoebus Apollo, a Greek god, even says Achilles is an unpleasant and awful man. Phoebus
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. 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.
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
For example, Hector does not like to fight in battle, the only reason why he fights is because he is the only way Troy could ever win the war. However, Achilles loves the war. He even chose being a warrior over having a long life, something that Hector probably would not do. Achilles is drawn to war because of his anger. As I have previously stated, Hector is only fighting in the war because he has to fight for the city of Troy. Achilles on the other hand, does not have to fight for his city. This is because the Greeks are not being attacked. Also, Hector is human. Although his father is a wealthy king, he does not have any god- like powers. Achilles however, is a demi-god he is an exceptional warrior and great runner because of this. Also, because he is a demi-god he is only venerable in his heel. While Hector, being a human, is venerable everywhere. Lastly, Hector is not dictated by rage like Achilles. Even before their battle Hector showed respect towards Achilles. Hector did so by saying “With all the gods as witnesses, I swear: if Zeus gives me the victory over you, I will not dishonor your corps, only strip the armor and give the body back to the Greeks. Promise you’ll do the same.” (22. 281-285). Hector is the perfect foil for Achilles, everything Hector stands for and everything he is, is the polar opposite of
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
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.
Achilles is the son of Peleus and the goddess Thetis. It is evident that he loves his father and holds him dearly in the scene of Priam’s speech. Priam appeals to him as a father, and reminds Achilles of his own father:
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.
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