Achilles Vs Hector

When it comes to the Iliad there are plenty of heroic, blood thirsty, warrior types to choose from. Everybody is killing everybody. The gods are constantly getting involved. Nobody is safe. Not even the great Achilles or Hector manage to escape the horrors handed down from Olympos. But when it comes down to the Prince of Troy and the great Greek warrior who better deserves to survive the war? Hector because he is the better, more admirable of the two fated to die young in battle. While it is true that both Achilles and Hector share many traits that make them both admirable there are also major differences. The treatment of the opposition’s dead bodies is one of them. When Hector kills Patroclos the two sides fight over his body, but eventually Patroclos was reclaimed and buried by the Greeks. Following Hector’s death, despite his straightforward request, Achilles desecrates Hector’s body by refusing to return his body to his family and dragging it around Patroclos’ grave behind a chariot. Though it is understandable that that would be a fairly emotional situation, it is also a complete affront to the gods.

The only reason he does not fly into a rage is because Athena physically stopped him from launching himself forward. He then proceeded to make a passionate speech insulting Agamemnon and threatening to leave the battle with his Myrmidons over a greatly exaggerated fight about a woman that was the physical representation of his manhood. This shows that Achilles is immature and that he did not actually believe in the war he was fighting. He then stayed out of the fight until his best friend begged him to heed the cries of the dying all around them, and even then he merely allowed Patroclos to go in his place. A series of events resulting in Patroclos’