Selfless Leadership In The Iliad

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).

Hector fights in his kingdom, unlike any of the Achaean commanders do, which shows even more honor. Hector has a deep real love for his wife and children. They are his first and foremost thought, not himself such as Achilles. As much as he loves his family, he is always committed to his responsibilities for Troy. When he took the leadership role of Troy, he commits his life to serving his country and follows through with his commitment until his death.

Meanwhile, Hector was often pictured as a strong, valiant man who also had a gentler side, unlike Achilles. Even when facing attacking armies, Hector fought to protect his family from the invading forces and for the survival of his city. It should be noted that before Hector faced the tragedies of the upcoming Trojan War, he blessed his only son and asked Zeus, the god of all gods, to grant his son to be like him, the “first in glory among the Trojans” (340). Though Hector was a better man in a moral sense when compared to Achilles, he still had some flaws. While attempting to eliminate Achilles, Hector mistakenly killed one of Achilles’ closest men, Patroclus, who happened to be wearing Achilles’ armor. After Patroclus’ death, Hector, under the belief that he had defeated the great Achilles, removed the armor from the corpse and wore it, which defiled the warrior’s respect and honor. Also, in “Book 22” of the Iliad, Hector tainted his honor during the arrival of Achilles by leaving “the gates [of Troy] behind and [fleeing] in fear” (347). Even though he fled Achilles, Hector knew that in order to save his people, he must face the great runner, and he did so for Troy. Unfortunately for Hector, he was facing certain death. When Hector took his final stand, Achilles, with Athena’s assistance, dealt the final blow that killed the great Hector. Due to the infinite outrage of the death of Patroclus’ death still dwelling inside of him, Achilles refused to return

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.

In Homer's epic, The Iliad, there are many great characters, both mortal and immortal. However, no characters seem to match the greatness and importance of Achilles, the mightiest of the Greeks and Hector, Trojan prince and mightiest of the Trojans. Although they are the mightiest of their forces, their attitudes and motives for the Greek-Trojan war are completely different.

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.

There are some actions that can determine a leader’s characteristics; due to the fact that these characteristics are determined by their leader’s actions when protecting his or her comrades. A lot of leaders show characteristics toward the situations they encounter; such as being cunning to save themselves and others, showing bravery, and being loyal to other people and to himself. Leaders use these characteristics as leadership in order for him or her to solve the situations that they are currently experiencing. During real life situations, people are sometimes cunning when they are trying to solve their situations in a stealthy way. There are also some people who use the characteristics of bravery when facing their situations

    Homer's Iliad enthralls readers with its’ valiant heroes who fight for the glory of Greece. The Iliad, however, is not just a story of war; it is also a story of individuals. Through the characters' words and actions, Homer paints portraits of petulant Achilles and vain Agamemnon, doomed Paris and Helen, loyal Patroclus, tragic Priam, versatile Odysseus, and the whole cast of Gods. Ironically, the most complete character in the epic is Hector, enemy hero, and Prince of Troy. Hector is in many ways the ideal Homeric man: he is a man of compassion and piety, a man of integrity and bravery, a man who loves his family, and above all, a man who understands and fulfills his social

Warriors of ancient Greece were considered heroes by following the Heroic Code of excellence. They achieved this by acquiring a kleos; establishing fame, glory and a positive reputation. It was not an easy task to become a Grecian hero. Building and maintaining kleos meant that a warrior must be brave and strong, be “a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.” The solider had to protect his friends and harm his enemies, respect the gods and his elders, and most of all value his honor over his life. To die in battle, and be spoken of after death was the most important act of honor for a hero. The Greek tragedy, Iliad, attributed to Homer, portrays Achilles as the most gallant hero of the Athenian army. The story tells of Achilles, who develops into the greatest hero of the Trojan War. While the end of the end of the poem does portray Achilles as the solider that the story foretells throughout the poem he does not act like that. Many times in the story Achilles actions are perceived as unheroic but ultimately they shape the course of the few weeks of the Trojan Wars described in the Iliad, the Achaean’s final victory at Troy and his emergence as a hero.

Hector on the other hand, is a more sympathetic hero than Achilles. Hector is the leader of the Trojan forces in this epic poem. He is driven by the idea of protecting his home and his family; he is driven by a sense of responsibility. While Achilles is stuck on the idea of having his ego hurt, Hector is focusing on more important things, demonstrating his selflessness. When Hector, comes to see his son after battle, the child screams with horror at the sight of the armor. Hector understands his child in an instant and takes off his helmet, with its giant horsehair plume, then bends over, picks his boy up and embraces him, while Andromache looks on happily. Hector goes on to say…

Throughout the entire Trojan war, Achilles spent most of his time pouting in his tent after Agamemnon kidnapped his prized maiden, Chryseis. He also lets his best friend, Patroclus, go into battle alone only to die when Hector kills him with his spear. Achilles joins the war when he hears of Patrclus death, but it was not out of bravery; out of guilt, revenge and anger, when he hears of his friend's death. When Achilles kills Hector, he binds his feet to his chariot and drags his body around the walls of Troy. In my opinion this was not an act of heroism. But in the Iliad the Greeks loved Achilles. Achilles was considered half mortal and half God. Achilles has all the characteristics of a heroic warrior on a grand scale, and he possesses more than a common measure of all the merits and all the faults of a hero (Bowra 193). All of Achilles traits and glory are won primarily in battle, which sets Achilles apart from Hector because Achilles knows little about home and family. He has no wife: his father he has not seen in years; his mother, even though she helps him but he cannot help her and she isn't even a human being (Bowra 194).

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

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.