Compare And Contrast Achilles And Hector In The Iliad

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Achilles vs. Hector The Iliad is an epic poem, usually attributed to Homer. The poem narrates the story of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans, known as the Trojan War. The Trojan War started when Paris of Troy took Helen, wife of Menelaus, to his homeland. Angered by the kidnapping of his wife, Menelaus (king of Sparta) asks his brother the King Agamemnon (king of the Achaeans) to march to war against the Trojans. The war is fought on the outskirts of Troy, and lasted ten years. The importance of this war is that it marks the end of the Heroic era. The protagonists in the poem are Achilles of the Achaean army, and Hector of the Trojan army. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast Achilles and Hector by discussing their similitudes and roles in the Trojan War.

Achilles, son of Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis, leader of the Myrmidon is the greatest warrior of the Achaeans. The poem starts with a plague brought down on the Greeks by Apollo when Agamemnon refuses to give back Chryseis, daughter of Chryses. After nine days Achilles decides to make an assembly to solve the problem, Agamemnon decides to give Chryseis back, but he takes Briseis from Achilles. Insulted by Agamemnon, Achilles decides to stop fighting for …show more content…

The poem starts with a plague brought down on the Greeks by Apollo when Agamemnon refuses to give back Chryseis, daughter of Chryses. After nine days Achilles decides to make an assembly to solve the problem, Agamemnon decides to give Chryseis back, but he takes Briseis from Achilles. Insulted by Agamemnon, Achilles decides to stop fighting for Agamemnon and he and his troops go back home. This tells us that Achilles has issues controlling his pride and the rage that surges when someone insults his pride. It is just after the death of Patroclus that Achilles redirects his rage towards Hector and reunites with

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