Similarities Between Hector And Achilles

Question:

Who is more heroic, Hector or Achilles?

Answer:

Throughout the Iliad, Achilles and Hector were two of the main characters. Both Achilles and Hector defended their countries greatly. Achilles defending his country Greece and Hector defending Troy. Both were great warriors and were equal in power, but in the end Achilles would be considered the more heroic warrior. Achilles was more heroic than Hector because he was raised to be a warrior, while Hector was raised to be a king. Being brought up in different circumstances the way both men were had an impact on the way they fought. Even though Hector was indeed a great fighter he was no match to Achilles. It is said that Achilles was the greatest warrior of the Trojan War. As stated in class, the heroic code meant that honor is more important than life itself. Achilles stood by that meaning. Achilles wanted to die knowing that his name would be remembered by all.

Other characteristics of why Achilles was a better warrior was that Achilles had superhuman strength, swift feet, and was skilled in swordplay. Hector compared to Achilles was often referred to as being a

coward, since his main purpose in life was to be a king of his country instead of a warrior like Achilles. Because Achilles fought for death and not peace like Hector it also made it seem as though Achilles was a tougher and braver warrior than what Hector could ever amount to. The amount of rage and anger that Achilles had inside him made him a tougher candidate. Achilles also was not afraid to admit to killing people. To him it seemed normal. Achilles went on to state in Book 24, lines 639-641, “How could you dare come to Achaea’s ships and come alone, to rest your eyes on me, when I’ve killed so many noble sons of yours?” this quote alone shows how arrogant, but yet brave Achilles was. Achilles admits to killing other people because he knows that a great warrior is not ashamed of the actions that he has done.
The last characteristic of why Achilles is more heroic than Hector is because Achilles is more independent and is able to do what he wants.

Achilles is more independent because he does not have a family and a wife, nor a city to protect the way that Hector does. Because Hector has a family he does not want to fight all the time the way that Achilles does. Though Hector gets all the love and respect from everyone else and Achilles is greatly hated, in the end Achilles survives the longest and survival means success and death means failure. Both Hector and Achilles were great warriors and showed their characteristics in different ways. Achilles was considered the more aggressive fighter while Hector was more of the peacemaker. Both warriors were highly favored for the achievements made in their countries and were equal matches when it came to

war.