Achilles or Hector, That Is the Question!

Homer’s Iliad is not simply a story about the Trojan War. It is a story about human nature. Behind the battles, blood and glory, Homer presents two very different kinds of heroes, Achilles and Hector. Both are great warriors. Both are brave. Both know that death is waiting for them. Yet they choose to live their lives in very different ways. Achilles fights for honour, personal glory and the greatness of his own name. In contrast, Hector fights for his city, his family and the people who depend on him. Achilles tells how great a person can become, while Hector portrays what that greatness should be used for. That is why their conflict is still alive after thousands of years.
Achilles represents the power of the individual. He is young, gifted, fearless and almost impossible to defeat. He knows that he has extraordinary ability and he expects others to recognise it, because he has earned his reputation through his own courage and skill. But his greatest quality becomes his greatest weakness when pride turns into anger. When Agamemnon insults him, Achilles refuses to fight, despite knowing that his absence may hurt the Greek army. Here his personal honour becomes more important to him. This is what makes Achilles such a modern character. Today, many talented people cannot accept being ignored, criticised or treated unfairly.

They believe that their ability gives them the right to receive special respect. Sometimes they are right. But there is a danger in this way of thinking. A person can become so focused on proving his own value that he forgets the value of others. Achilles has enormous power, but he does not always have control over that power. His anger gives him strength, but it also takes away his peace. His victory over Hector gives him glory, but it does not give him happiness. This is perhaps one of the deepest lessons of Achilles. Winning a battle against another person does not always mean winning the battle within yourself.
Hector stands on the other side of this human conflict. He is also a powerful warrior, but his greatness comes from a different source. Hector is not fighting simply because he wants his name to live forever. He is fighting because Troy is his home. He is a prince, a husband, a father and a son. Before going to battle, he knows that he may never see his wife and child again. He understands the danger, but he does not escape from it. This makes his courage more meaningful. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the decision to do what is right even when fear is present. Hector knows that Achilles may be stronger than him, yet he faces him. He does not have the luxury of fighting only for himself. Behind him stands an entire city. His choices affect not only his own life but also the lives of thousands of others. In Hector, we see a different idea of greatness. It is not the greatness of the person who stands above everyone else. It is the greatness of the person who stands in front when others need protection. In a world that often teaches us to ask what we can get from others, Hector reminds us of asking what others can expect from us. That question is becoming increasingly important in our time. We have learned to speak about rights, freedom, success and personal happiness. But we speak much less about duty, sacrifice and responsibility. Hector reminds us that a society cannot survive on rights alone. Someone must also accept responsibility when things go wrong.
This is where Achilles and Hector become more than characters from an ancient poem. They become two sides of modern human life. We see Achilles in the ambitious person who wants to be the best, in the leader who cannot accept criticism, in the talented employee who wants recognition, and even in ourselves when our pride becomes more important than our relationships. On the other hand, we see Hector in the teacher who continues to serve even when nobody praises him, in the parent who sacrifices personal comfort for a child, in the honest leader who takes responsibility for a difficult decision, and in the ordinary person who does the right thing without expecting applause.
Modern society certainly needs Achilles. We need ambition, confidence, courage and the desire to achieve something extraordinary. Without the spirit of Achilles, many great achievements would never happen. But a society made only of Achilles would become a dangerous place. Everyone would want to win, but nobody would want to take responsibility. Everyone would want recognition, but few would want sacrifice. Everyone would ask, “What do I deserve?” but fewer would ask, “What do others deserve from me?” Perhaps this is why Hector speaks more strongly to our present world, when people want to be noticed, followed, praised and remembered. Hector offers a quieter form of greatness: a life does not become meaningful only because many people know your name but people could depend on you when it mattered most. 
If a young person today reads the story of Achilles and Hector, which one should he or she want to become? A person who is simply powerful, successful and remembered, or a person whose strength becomes useful to others? A person who wins every battle, or a person who knows which battles are worth fighting? Perhaps the world does not need another Achilles or another Hector. Perhaps it needs a new kind of hero, one who has the fire of Achilles, the conscience of Hector and the wisdom to know the difference between glory and greatness. That may be the real answer to the question. Achilles or Hector? That is the question. But perhaps the more important question is this. What kind of human being do we want to become?
_______________________________________
The writer is a teacher, lyricist and literary critic