True Hero: Achilles vs. Hector. Essay Example

What is a true hero? In the Homers epic poem The Iliad it is Achilles who tends to get the glory, and fame as the Hero in the story. I disagree. I do not argue that that Achilles did not have many heroic qualities, because he did. However I do not believe he had more heroic qualities or was greater than Priams’ son, Hector. I hope in this brief paper I can share my beliefs on why Hector, the leader of the Trojan army, is the true hero in this classic tale.
I will start with Achilles character. Achilles is mortal man. But he is godlike because his mother is a goddess. We are aware that Achilles dislikes the gods for rejecting him their world. He has to face the fact that he is only a human, and at some point he will have to die. When he comes to this realization he turns to making his name last for all times. He wants to gain so much honor for his name, that it will be remembered centuries after. I guess in his mind the next best thing to living forever was having his name last forever. So he becomes obsessed with finding a way to honor his name. You cannot really blame him though. Achilles really did not have anyone in his life. Thetis, his mother, was a goddess. She lives in the sea. It’s probable that she was not always there for him. He had no Father, sisters, brothers, wife, or kids. He had nothing else to do, but try to make someone remember him. So he goes to the shores of Troy, to fight and find honor for himself. Right of the back he is given two choices. First he could live a long life. He would find a women to marry, and would have children. But when his children, grandchildren, and their children were gone his name would be forgotten forever. He would be like other mortals whose names were forgotten. He has never had a family so I can understand why this would not be appealing to him. So he goes with his second choice. His second option was to go to the shores of Troy, where he would gain great honor for himself. His name would be remembered forever.