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Achilles and Hector character analysis
Achilles and Hector character analysis
Achilles and Hector character analysis
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Hector: The Epic Hero of Troy
Hector, prince of Troy and heir to the throne, was the greatest epic hero in the Trojan War. He was glorified by his people because of he was a strong leader and courages. Hector proved that he was courageous and morally upright during his one on one battle with, another epic hero, Achilles. The heir to the Trojan throne also reflected the ideals of his society and risked his like for glory. Hector was the greatest epic hero because of the characteristics he possessed.
Hector was strong and courageous glorified leader. He showed he was a strong leader by not showing fear when he and his army had to go against 1,000 ships worth of Greek soldiers (Hamilton 189). He aligned his troops and prepared them and himself
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to attack the enemy. He was an intelligent leader that did not underestimate his opponent in battle. "Hector, than whom no man anywhere was nobler or more brave, and only one greater warrior, the champion of the Greeks, Achilles" (Hamilton 190). Even though Achilles was a better warrior Hector was a better hero by being a better leader. Hector lead his army into a battle agains a bigger army in order to save his country, meanwhile Achilles stopped his army from fighting because he was upset with one person on the Greeks side. The heir to the Trojan throne is an epic hero because he risked his life for glory he was also intelligent.
"His glancing helm was everywhere and one gallant warrior after another fell beneath his terrible bronze spear" (Hamilton 195). Hector was not dome he knew that before the war ended his death would come but his intelligence in battle helped him be great warrior. During the Trojan War Hector had to battle Achilles, the great warrior of Greece, one on one. "This is the end. The gods are calling deathward" (Homer 71). Hector knew that his battle with Achilles would end with the death of either one of them, but he also knew he would not be the last man sanding. Even though Hector knew before fighting Achilles that he would die he still accepted Achilles' challenge to fight him because if he, with a lot of luck, beat Achilles he would become the greatest warrior and epic hero of his time. He knew his name would be passed down not only for being brave for fighting the man who everyone knew as the greatest hero but also for defeating the greatest hero. Hector is the greatest epic hero for being willing to risk death for his own glory and his countries glory and for being an intelligent …show more content…
leader. The greatest epic hero, Hector, was a man who was courages and morally upright.
Before Hectors's battle against Achilles he proposed a pact to Achilles, if Hector won he would allow the Greeks to take Achilles' body for a proper funeral as long as Achilles promised to do the same, but Achilles replied "Hector, I'll have no talk of pacts with you, forever unforgiven as you are. As between men and lions there are none" (Homer 70). Hector proved he was a better epic hero by showing he had morals by promising not to damage Achilles body after death, meanwhile Achilles could not make the same promise. Hector then proved his courage by continuing his battle with Achilles even though the goods were not one his side. "Athena had tricked him and there was no way of escape... 'At least I will not die without a struggle'" (Hamilton 199). Hector knew he would not win as soon as he relished he was tricked by a goddess, yet he still kept fighting and fought his best. He never gave up even though he knew death would come soon. His courage, strength, and morals make Hector an epic
hero. Hector was the greatest Epic hero of his time. He was a strong and glorified leader of his country. Hector used his intelligence in the battle field and it made him a great warrior, and he also willingly risked death for his own glory and the glory of his people. He lived his life with morals and with courage as all epic heroes should. Hector stands out as the greatest epic hero by risking his life and being a smart, courages, strong, morally upright, and glorified leader until his last breath.
As Hector saw the anger that burned within Achilles as he walk towards him, “Hector began to shake in fear. His courage gone, he could no longer stand there. terrified , he started running” (Homer 22. 140). Hector should be this great hero who will fight to the death in order to protect his country, but some may see his fear as a weakness that makes him unqualified to be called a hero. However Hector reflected his bravery because to chose to stand and wait for Achilles, but he also realizes when fighting will end in his demise. Hector is not a god, he is not immortal, he is human and he does not want to go into a fight where he knows he will die because he cannot protect his country if he is dead. Previously in the war, Hector broke through the mighty Greeks defences he “ jumped inside the gates, no moving out to stop him could hold him back, expect the gods. From his eyes fire blazed” Homer (83). Hectors bravery helped him push through the Greeks defences even though there were people all around him trying to kill him. After this Hector acts as a model for the rest of the Trojan soldiers, inspiring them to push forward with Hector. After making the decision to join the Marines Tillman was “not sure where this new direction will take [his] life though [he is] positive it will include its share of sacrifices and difficulty, most of which falling squarely on Marie’s shoulders.” (Tillman 2). There are many strong people in the world, but only the brave few will be willing to step up where others would not. Heros are the people who will do what most others would not do in order to protect the greater good. Just as Tillman acted as a role model for everyone Hector showed the Trojan army that they could
In The Iliad, Hector isn't always shown as a courageous character. In book 18, Achilles discovers Patroclus is dead. Upon the realization that Hector is to blame, he is ready to rejoin the fight against Troy. The Trojans start to lose their courage until hearing Hector’s speech in which he says, “Tomorrow at daybreak armed to the hill for battle we slash to attack against their deep curved Hills!...I for one, I'll never run from his grim assault.(18.353-357)” In
...battle that Achilles’ ego needed. However, Hector tried to do the right thing by offering the deceased be returned to their respective camps after the battle was over. It is at this point that Achilles is beyond the common courtesies of war and flat out denied Hector’s request. This action by Achilles shows his arrogance and the bloodlust that was truly in his heart rather than the courage that so many people claim that he had.
Throughout the Iliad, heroic characters make decisions based on a specific set of principles, which are referred to as the “code of honor.” The heroic code that Homer presents to readers is easy to recognize because the heroic code is the cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be regarded. Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as a model for a hero. His dedication and firm belief in the code of honor is described many times throughout the course of the Iliad. As a reward for heroic traits in battle, prizes were sometimes awarded to victors of war. In Book 1 Achilles receives Chryseis as a prize and a symbol of honor. Heroism had its rewards and its setbacks which ultimately was the backbone of the Illiad in the case of Achilles prize. Hector, arguably the greatest Trojan warrior or even the bravest of the Homeric heroes is very fierce and fights for what he believes is his destiny. In book VI Hector expresses his bravery when Andromache pleads with Hector not to fight when Hector says, “But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan woman trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward. Nor does the sprit urge me on that way. I’ve learned it all too well. To stand up bravely, always to fight in the front ranks of Trojan soldiers, winning my father great glory, glory for myself” (VI, 387).
Throughout this piece, there are so many examples of Hector proving himself to his people. Loyalty is a good sign of
The foundation of the Homeric heroes’ actions develops from the internal struggle amongst concern for themselves, their families, and their community. The hero’s egoistic desire compels him or her to pursue everlasting glory for them, launching a manifest of feats that people will remember in history for generations. The hero’s altruistic desire seats their personal safety, and the safety of their families, above everlasting fame. Iliad opens with Achilles and Hector fighting for someone else’s gain—Achilles for Agamemnon, Hector for Paris. Both start with similar motives but in contrasting directions. During the opening of Iliad, Achilles retracts his men from the action, due to being unsympathetically dishonored by Agamemnon taking Achilles bride Briseis. Achilles, despite the loss of his fel...
Hector fights for belief and respect while Achilles fights out of rage and rashness. Achilles is not respected by his men, rather he is feared. Nobody wants to receive the blunt of the attack when Achilles randomly flies into a rage, therefore his men are terrified of him and allow him to do as he pleases. Within the first book of the poem, we read that Achilles is considered by many to be "god-like". (King Agamemnon, Book 1, line 154)
Throughout the text, major characters seem to be at constant battle with their different emotions. This inner conflict is mirrored by the everyday conflicts between the gods. Just as Zeus and Hera are constantly at odds with one another, so are the different sides of Achilles: his cultural responsibility, pride, honor, and revenge. No one is completely at peace with his or her conflicting emotions in The Iliad – and therefore, neither are the gods, who represent these emotions. Hector is a prime example of a human who finds himself torn between two forces: his love for his growing family, and his duty as a prince of Troy. He admits to Andromache that he worries about his own mortality, but emphasizes that “I would die of shame to face the men of Troy…if I would shrink from battle now, a coward.” (Homer 6: 523, 525). Hector’s deeply ingrained sense of honor and loyalty to home is clearly established in the beginning of the text. Therefore, when Zeus later grants Hector “power to kill and kill till you cut your way to the benched ships” (Homer 11: 241-242), it is not too much of a stretch to attribute Hector’s dodged perseverance to his upbringing and rigid sense of duty, rather than to the
Anyway, this was the main reason Homer wrote the Iliad. The specific story of the Death of Hector shows tells the story of Hector, who wants to fight Achilles outside the city gates. He refuses his father’s request to come inside and be protected. In the end he is killed. This entire episode shows the way one should act.
In Homer’s Iliad, an extremely courageous and noble character is Hector, Prince of Troy. Hector does not want war, so his decision to lead the assault on the Achaean forces may seem strange. However, if there were a noble way out of the war, Hector might have taken it. “Without a noble escape, Hector is forced to fight”(Willcock 62).
The Greeks also had their share of icons and heroes. They admired Jason and his quest for the golden fleece, and Perseus, the killer of Medusa, but their finest heroes come from Homer’s Iliad: Hector and Achilles. Hector was the best warrior in Troy and the son of Priam, the king of Troy. Achilles was the great warrior of the Greek army and killed Hector. The Greek citizens, siding with their own nationality, declared the Greek warrior Achilles the hero of the Trojan War, but since ancient Greece no longer exists an unbiased view of the Ilia...
...h Agamemnon and wishes that ‘strife could die from the lives of gods and men’… Not to avenge Patroclus by killing Hector would be a renunciation of all that he stands for and has lived by”. Even though “sorrow fell on Achilles like a cloud” (216), he went back out to the battlefield and killed Hector. It took a great deal of bravery for Achilles to face the man who killed his best friend but Achilles, being the hero that he was, got back into battle and killed him because he couldn’t let Patroclus’ death go unavenged.
Even though The Iliad is a Greek epic poem Homer is really getting at how Hector was a better hero than Achilles or even the Hero of The Iliad. Homer shows Achilles as a selfish, disgraceful warrior that does not care about the lives of his fellow countrymen and even wish for their deaths. Achilles is put in a repulsive light while Hector is seen in a captivating way. He is a family that puts his life down for his family and City. Homer actually made Hector the real hero in The Iliad.
In the final points, I think Hector has the most to loose in the battlefield at Troy, because he was killed by Achilles in a horrible way, but Hector is win in the spirit mind because he have many people loving him and celebrated for his funeral as a true hero, his name remembered forever as a great warrior of trojan, and his death body was take back from Achilles by helping of the King of Gods, Zeus, who sent Iris come down to help Priam who is Hector father. Hector has a great family relationship, leadership image, and a superior warrior.
Hector is just mainly a good person. He has his flaws just like every other person who ever lived, but it seems as if his strengths outweighed his flaws. Hector loves his wife and his son more than he loves himself. He was loyal to his wife and wanted the very best for his son. He left them to go fight because he knew it was what he had to do for Troy (Homer 79). In today’s world, people do not merely look for someone who is a great warrior, but also someone who is an overall good person. Hector is very brave and reasonable. He is very courageous and will fight for his country no matter what the cost. Hector does not act like a child in difficult situations like Achilles does, but he acts like a mature man. Along with Hector being a good person, he is also a great warrior on top of all that. The modern world needs somebody they can look up to who acts in a positive way. Hector never turned against his own country like Achilles did when he wanted Zeus to be on the Trojan’s side (Homer 13). The people in ancient times chose Achilles rather than Hector merely because Achilles is an outstanding warrior and he is part god. Fighting is what Achilles excels at, and at that time, that was really the only aspect that mattered. It does not matter that Achilles is selfish, stubborn, and prideful, as long as he can fight well for his country. The Greeks were actually hurt by this because Achilles did not even end up fighting for his country until his best friend died. His stubbornness outweighed his greatness (Homer 178). Achilles was the greatest warrior physically, but he was far from the greatest