The True Hero of Homers The Iliad Essay - 890 Words

The True Hero of Homers The Iliad The Iliad is a story in which many men should be recognized as great war heroes. They all show a tremendous amount of courage to fight in such a barbaric battle. But this paper?s main focus is between two great leaders of opposing sides. Achilles, who represents the Achaians and Hector, who represents the Trojans. Though both show their bravery during many different instances in the poem, it?s quite obvious to the reader who the better of the two is. The rest of this paper will prove why Hector is a greater hero in comparison to Achilles. The reader is introduced to Achilles in the first book of the poem. King Agamemnon and Achilles are having a conflict over a woman.†¦show more content†¦Hector is introduced to the reader around book three. His brother Paris is challenged to a one on one match against Menelaos, with Helen as the prize. Paris loses but the gods save him. They take Paris and Helen and put them in bed together. When Hector finds his brother he is enraged. Hector is very concerned with upholding honor and gives his brother a scolding about how wrong his actions are. There are many separate occasions where the Trojan army would attempt to retreat but Hector would always be the one to say no and want to keep going forward. For example, after Nestor comes to battle in the armor of Achillies the Trojan army retreated but Hector kept going. Another sign of Hectors importance is when he is chosen to be the one who is sent to relay messages back and forth from the city of Troy, to the battlefield. Another character trait that is seen in Hector but in no other character in the poem, is the love for his family. On one of his trips to Troy to relay a message he stops home to see his wife and child. Here the reader gets a sense of love and warmth from Hector. A large majority of the poem is about battle, so to see a little compassion in one character makes a difference in that characters role. His main purpose in fighting in the war is to protect his wife and child. He states his concern for them if the city was to be taken over at the end of book six. No other characters portrayShow MoreRelatedHector as the True Hero of Homer’s Iliad Essay2389 Words   |  10 PagesHector is the True Hero of Iliad      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In todays society, a mans mind is his most important tool. In the past, however, a mans courage and strength is all that he had to keep him alive. In Homers Iliad, courage is valued over honesty and even faithfulness to ones wife. If a hero is the most courageous man in the bunch, then Hector is more heroic than Achilles and King of the Myrmidons. Hector is the true hero of Homers Iliad. 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