Discussion Question 3- Iliad

1.The biggest similarities between Hector and Achilles are that they are both the biggest and best warriors within their respected parties.  They are both highly respected leaders within their armies and want them to be the best as well. The differences start occurring when Achilles decides to leave his army after getting in an argument with the leader of of his army. He then goes as far as wishing bad luck upon his own army because he wants to make a glorious comeback and be a big hero.  This behavior kind of went along with his attitude though, as he is a arrogant and cocky type of person.  Hector, on the other hand, just wants whats best for his army and will honestly do anything, it seems, to accomplish that goal.  Hector’s army respected him so much that they followed his every order. When he sent them behind the Trojan wall to protect Troy, he stayed out to fight Achilles one-on-one.  This is where the similarities come back together for when they started fighting, the two realized that they were equal matches for each other.  Their power and skills were equal but they realized one of them was going to have to die.

2.After Achilles killed Hector and defiled Greek laws by dragging the body around and humiliating Hectors name, Achilles found himself in quite the predicament.  He finally seemed to settle down and figure some of his stuff out. During this time he listened to his mom when she said that he had been directed to return Hector’s body to his father so that it can be given a proper burial.  I found it quite smart actually what we learned, in that the government was able to stay in control of its people simply by mentioning words from the “gods” and the people obeyed mostly out of fear and respect for the gods.

3.The Familial Code and The Warrior Code go hand in hand in this instance I believe. For instance, even though Hector would have much rather stayed home with his family, whom he loved a lot, he knew he had to go out and fight for his people.  This shows that the two codes can happen together instead of having to be “one or the other”.  Ultimately, Hector chose to leave his family out of it and chose the battle. The same scenario applied to Achilles.

One thought on “Discussion Question 3- Iliad

  1. emrickrachel

    I agree that the codes are not exclusive to each other, but it’s interesting how Achilles and Hector both act in a way that makes them seem as if they do. In the end, both of the characters seek honor above family and are willing to die for it.

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