Achilles, a great war hero, does have character flaws, which make him slightly less heroic. He has the makeup of a stereotypical hero… chiseled features, otherworldly strength and a close-knit relationship with the gods. He fights with great tenacity and is certainly the most mighty of all the men in the Achaean army… but if you look closer at his character, you will see he’s not the hero he is made out to be.
Achilles' Choice
Achilles is given a choice… he can fight in the war, become a great hero and be remembered forever or he can stay home from the war, live out his days happily and die at an old age after living a good life. He chooses to fight, but why does he choose such a course…
While he does want to help his country, Achilles is driven by selfishness. He wants glory and honor; he wants to go down in history as a hero. He is fighting less to preserve his people/lands and more to make a name for himself. Achilles fights with Agamemnon, during their dispute, Achilles’ pride gets wounded and he responds with spite towards the Achaeans… he abandons them and even hopes the Trojans slaughter them… all because his commanding officer smites him??
After a spell, he does amend things with Agamemnon, but this doesn’t change his hatred. Achilles then turns into a killing machine and slaughters anyone / anything that gets in his way… even Hector. The killing doesn’t stop until Priam asks for Hector’s body. This, for some reason, strikes a chord with Achilles, but still isn’t enough to redeem him as a winning character.
While there is no doubt that Achilles fought well and saved his people, there is also no doubt that he did it to get a name for himself and not for the people whom he wound up saving. Achilles may have saved many lives, but he is in no respect a hero.
Hector's Decision
Hector, is to the Trojan army what Achilles was to the Achaean army, he is their warrior, the one who is to lead them to victory during war. Though Hector is defeated by Achilles, he does tip the scales of the war in Achilles’ absence, he fights well and maims many in the Achaean army.
Hector, though clearly not the winner of the war and clearly not the “hero” in the end… is much more of a hero than Achilles could have even been even though Achilles bested him in the end. Hector is a warm and compassionate family man fighting for his people. This makes him more of a hero than Achilles could have ever hoped to be. Not only did he fight well and valiantly, being the only Trojan to set fire to an Achaean ship, he is also much more human than Achilles.
Hector faces fear and cowardice as well as anger and compassion, he is a much more multi-faceted character and he shows human flaws… the fact that he does so well in the war while still being human also makes him more of a hero than Achilles.
Hector shows a deep and profound love for his wife and children and even his brother, Paris. He is always warm towards his family and friends and he is fighting from the heart to save his people. He is shown a coward when he runs from Achilles, but he eventually stands up to him and dies in a hero’s death. Hector is much more of a hero than Achilles ever could have been.
Here are some other articles on Hector/Achilles:
Here is another article on Greek Literature
