Hector As A Modern Hero In The Iliad By Homer

Yet the opposition, Hector, has achieved many great feats in his life as well. He is considered the hero for the Trojans and personifies the ideal hero with his humility, kindness, and bravery. One may go as far to say that he was perfect but with what standard? Hector was the perfect classical hero, what with his Warrior archetype (Klemmer, 2010) that fits the classical hero description stating that a classical hero must be an archetypal character (Reilly, n.d.), with his characteristics not quite fitting our given description of a modern hero. Meanwhile Achilles, as proven in the previous points, fit the modern hero’s description quite well.

And far more than anything, there is a trait of Achilles that is of most import which should be addressed. Despite Hector being the most ideal hero, he was alone in this feat of his. When one talks of Hector’s achievements and role in the Trojan War, one can just mention him alone. Achilles however, in his entire splendor, cannot simply be narrated with only himself because he is not just a hero alone even though he far surpassed humans. Even with his

He was flawed as proven multiple times in the Iliad yet he strived to rise above his station; he was a god but was humbled back into being human by one who in terms of strength and power was not his equal but what Patroclus lacked in such he made up for his warmth which Achilles clearly needed. We, the current generation, would most likely identify ourselves with Achilles for he, one with many faults, found balance in someone that he dearly loved: his equal Patroclus. And when faced with the most soul-crushing experience he ever had to face, such a crisis ultimately changed him in the end, thus proving our point that he fits all of the modern hero criteria. Hector may have been a great hero, but with all these points stated, Achilles is the better choice for an example of a modern