Compare and Contrast of Hector and Achilles

The great talents that Achilles’ possesses cause him to become much admired and well known by both the Greeks and the Trojans. He begins to believe all the good things people are say and becomes an arrogant, child-like, selfish person which all mark Achilles’ hubris part of his behavior cycle. Achilles shows his arrogance when he gets angry with Agamemnon for him wanting take his prize of honor, which Achilles worked very hard to get. Because of this, Achilles begins to lose his capability to think straight and weigh all the factors in situations, and withdraws himself from the battle. Later on after Achilles overcomes the death of his best friend and regains back his courage and pride, Achilles kills Hector and thinks he is invincible for doing the great deed he did. Achilles fought Hector for honor over all else and performed the death of Hector almost as a duty and feels proud of himself for doing so. Before he kills Hector, Achilles declares, “I will go forth to slay Hector, who killed the man the I loved… Until then, may I win great fame and glory, and may every Trojan realize that the greatest of the Greeks no longer remains apart from battle”(145).

When you read the Iliad you really can notice the contrast between Hector and Achilles. Hector is a man who loves his child and wife and who can forget war when a little child cries. Andromache and Hector are instantly humanized in a way that no other character is in the Iliad except Achilles throughout and Priam at the very end. Their personalities and how they live their

In the Greek epic, The Iliad, Homer describes the siege and capture of the ancient city of Troy by Achilles and the Achaean warriors. Achilles, being a fearless fighter, defeated many throughout his battles against the Trojan army, including the brave-hearted Hector during the invasion of Troy. Though Achilles has been given the title of the hero of the Trojan War, many historians believe that Hector was a greater hero than Achilles. When comparing the characteristics of an epic hero such as being a national hero and having supernatural abilities, Hector clearly surpasses Achilles. In this essay, the argument will be supported through the context of the heroic personas revealed by the warriors and the non-heroic qualities that dishonored

The Ancient Greeks idealized and worshiped their heroes, this is portrayed in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. To become a hero in ancient Greece, one would have to live and die in pursuit of glory and honor. Both Achilles and Hector seek victory in battle to become the “true hero.” Although both characters possess many hero-like qualities, Hector proved to be the genuine hero.

In Homer’s epic, the Iliad, the legendary, has no two characters that are so similar yet so different as Greek warrior, Achilles, and the Prince of Troy, Hector. Achilles is the strongest fighter in the Greek side, and Hector is the strongest Trojan. They are both put into the mold of a hero that their respective societies have put them into; however; it is evident that they are both extremely complex characters with different roles within their society and with their families, and with the gods.

Although his father Priam begs Hector to retreat behind the safety of the walls, knowing Achilles will most likely kill the last of his sons, Hector believes this is his fate to fight Achilles. Pride and honor play a role in preventing Hector from backing down. However this is where Achilles turns out to be more hero-like than Hector as Hector backs off when he is confronted with Achilles one on one. Each hero responds in a different manner to this conflict. Hector, in this case, decides to flee from Achilles, who chases him. Achilles, vengefully kills Hector with a spear to the throat which is the only part of Hector‘s body which isn't covered with Patroclus‘ armor. After Hector dies Achilles shamelessly desecrates the body and allows Greek soldiers to "have a piece of Hector" by cutting him. These actions do not follow the warrior code of the Greeks, which in turn angers the gods. When Achilles and his soldiers gain pleasure from repeatedly stabbing Hector's lifeless and bloody corpse, Achilles true nature is shown, and according to the heroic code, this should take away his title as a hero. In my mind Hector was more of a hero than Achilles although Achilles survived and Hector didn't. Hector died for the Trojans and died in the glory of battle whereas Achilles downgrades himself by attacking the lifeless corpse and gains pleasure. Also Achilles takes Hector's body and keeps it as a ransom. Knowing Hector's father,

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.

In book 22, Hector becomes an instrument of fate and is shown no mercy by Achilles. Hector was consistently tricked by Apollo into fighting the battle even though there was no hope of winning. At the end of the book, as Achilles is bounding towards the city of Troy with Hector standing out front. Despite all of the encouragement to come back inside the city walls, Hector remains outfront and faces his death. Ultimately his pride gets the best of him and he would rather stay out and accept his fate of death, then to come inside and receive shame for leading his people into a losing battle in the first place. Hector chooses to leave his city to fend for itself without its greatest warrior to save himself from shame. The parallel between Hector and Achilles leads to a greater understanding of the theme of freedom vs. fate. Hector gives into his pride and accepts the “fate that awaits us all” and Achilles is motivated by freedom and seeks the revenge of his friend ultimately escaping death. Homer makes an excellent statement of this connection between the two men when he writes: “They ran by these springs, pursuer and pursued, a great man out front, a far greater behind” (book

Nestor, noble charioteer, captures best the essence of Achilles when he says, “Achilles, brave as he is, he has no care, / no pity for our Achaeans” (Homer 11.787-788). Most readers of the Iliad, consider Achilles the greatest warrior of The Trojan War, however, he lacks an important characteristic; care for others. Achilles’ best friend Patroclus, has described him as a great warrior, but a terrible person (11.774). In Homer's Iliad, Hector the great warrior of the Trojans, exhibits a selfless leadership approach, which contrasts to Achilles’ selfish actions as a leader. In order to be a great warrior, one’s loyalty must belong to something outside of themselves, and it’s through Achilles’ self-centered actions, that he loses the title of the greatest warrior to Hector. As the two capital warriors of the different sides of the Trojan war, Hector and Achilles provide an interesting contrast between two powerful leaders. Known for being loyal, selfless, and dedicated to his army, Hector contrasts to Achilles, who is self-serving in every aspect of his life. Despite his defeat at the hands of Achilles, Hector proves to be the greatest warrior of the Trojan War. The first characteristic Hector possesses, making him the superior warrior, is his ability to set his pride aside when he knows it will benefit his army. In contrast, Achilles allows his pride to control him and detriment his army. Another vital characteristic Hector’s possesses, making him a better leader, and

Homer concentrates on Hector throughout the chapter and makes comments about how brave and courageous he was. He also mentions that he is a great commander and leader of the Trojan army. In addition, Hector knew the reason behind the invasion which was Paris stealing Menelaus’ wife, Helen. This gives Agamemnon an excuse to attack Troy. Both Hector and his wife know that he is soon to meet his death, it’s inescapable. However, even though it is not his fight, he still feels compelled to go to war with his country and search for some vague glory. Hector seems to be very heroic. Moreover, Homer describes Hector as an immense warrior almost god-like. But in

Now that I have given a rough setting for book 12 of Metamorphoses, I will give a brief background of the battle with Hector. Achilles’ battle with Hector in book 22 of Iliad begins outside of the walls of the city of Troy at the end of the Trojan War. Hector was the last of the Trojan’s outside of the walls, ignoring his father King Priam’s pleads for him to get back to safety inside of the walls of the city. However, Hector believes he must fight for his honor and believes it is more honorable to die as one fighting to defend his city rather than dying an old man. At this same time moment, Achilles is going on a killing spree, because he believes glory is found in the size of the amount of Trojans he kills. This leads to Achilles chasing who he believes is a Trojan, Agenor, but in reality is the god Apollo distracting Achilles. Apollo is acting as a Trojan in order to divert Achilles from his killing of Trojans to save Trojan lives. Achilles’ anger is heightened due to the trick, and is now even more dangerous to Hector. After realizing that Achilles’ anger meant there was no chance of negotiation, Hector chose to run. After three laps around the walls of the city, Zeus began to pity Hector but was dissuaded by Athena who informed him

The most powerful warriors in this story were Hector and Achilles. Both men were given the title of heroes and displayed great power, skills and courage. But the values of Hector and Achilles were very different from one another and very different from the people of today’s society. Dignity, pride, honor, glory, fame, and revenge are very important to these people as it still is today, but it is achieved in a

With these wrathful words of Achilles to his commander Agamemnon, so begins the sequence of events in The Iliad that ultimately pits Achilles the runner against Hector, breaker of horses. Although these men were already enemies, Achilles being an Achaean and Hector being a Trojan, it is truly Achilles’ rage that makes the rivalry personal. These two men, from opposite sides of the

Achilles has been considered the greatest hero of the Greeks in the Iliad for numerous valid reasons. Similarly, Achilles not only stays humble, but extremely courageous. Waiting patiently for Hector, Achilles says, “No man so long as I am alive above Earth… and see daylight shall lay the weight even if you mean Agamemnon.” (1.88-90) In this statement, Achilles says that no one should ever have power over him. “So, must one be called of no account and a coward if I must carry out every order you may happen to give me….” (6.293-303) Clearly, he fears no one and does not understand the meaning of failure. Achilles constantly acts as man of fierce strength and courage.

In the Homeric society, being an ideal and successful warrior was so critically important to many individuals for the sake of being remembered. Like the love of glory, no one would remember the person for centuries if he/she did not give them a reason to remember he/she. By being a brave and a heroic warrior it gave fame and recognition to the warrior which, in return, made them memorable. In the text it can be seen that Hector will go to great lengths to be the brave warrior that he is. For example, he criticizes his own brother for being a coward when fighting against Menelaus, stating that his charm and good looks are going to get him nowhere in the realm of being a great hero and being remembered. He even stands firm to protect Troy even though he does not agree with the war. Since Hector is the mightiest of warriors for the Trojans, he always leads his army into battle, gives commands, and kills fiercely for the sake of his reputation. His loyalness to the king, his royal position, his country and his army all contribute to him being a brave warrior and for him to receive the glory and being honored.