Compare and Contrast of Hector and Achilles

Option B : Compare and contrast the characters of Hector and Achilles. I choose to compare and contrast the characters of Hector and Achilles because I am interested in their story. I think there are many theme in this story, but the central theme is the fate of men; if it is ? xed or changed by the will of men. I feel interesting that the gods decides the fate of people. And I choose this option because I feel that I can understand what the author wants to express to the readers by comparing Hector and Achilles.

Therefore, I will compare the strengths and the weakness of both heroes. First of all, I will write about Hector. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest ? ghter for Troy in the Trojan War. He was born as a son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba. His father was the king of Troy. He had a wife called Andromache and the son, Astyanax. In the European Middle Ages, Hector was one of the Nine Worthies. And he was a good son, husband and father. Most of all, he loved the peace. He loved his country, his people, his family and wanted to die with honor.

When he realized that Jove and his son Apollo are not with him for the protection anymore against Achilles, he says to himself “ My doom has come upon me; let me not them die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me ? rst do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter. ”. The gods decided not to protect him. That was the reason why Hector lost, but he wanted to ? ght against the strong Achilles. Therefore, I think Hector was the true soldier. I want to write about Achilles now. He was a hero and greatest warrior for Greek in the Trojan War.

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He was the son of the goddess Thetis and Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. Achilles was a mortal person even though he was the son of a goddess. And he had the great pride that he was the strongest soldier, and he did not want to be under anybody. When the Agamemnon dishonored him, Achilles asked his goddess mother to go to Jove, then to ask Jove to help Troy, so that Agamemnon would be in trouble. Therefore, Achilles did not think about his country and his people. He only think about himself. So I think Achilles is not the person to be the king.

Now I want to compare and contrast their strength and the weakness. First, I want to write about Hector’s strength. He was brave and courageous. He was the man who thought about his family, loved his family and thought his country and people. He wanted to die with honor. He went to Paris because he did not stand to hear bad things about Paris and said, “you ? ght bravely, and no man with any justice can make light of your doings in battle. But you are careless and willfully remiss. It grieves me to the heart to hear the ill that the Trojans speak about you, for they have suffered much on your account.

Let us be going, and we will make things right hereafter, should Jove vouchsafe us to set the cup of our deliverance before ever-living gods of heaven in our own homes, when we have chased the Achaeans from Troy. ” From this conversation, you can see that Hector thinks about his brother, thinks about the people of Troy, and is willing to push his brother to ? ght with honor. When he fought with Achilles, Hector escaped to ? ght him ? rst because he was afraid of Achilles. However, when he realized that the gods were not with him to ? ht Achilles, he decided to ? ght with honor until he died. Therefore, I think one of his strength is his brave heart. But Paris did not have the brave heart. Next, I want to write about Achilles’s strength. I think Achilles did not have many strength. I think the physical power from his goddess mother was the only strength he had. Even the king Agamemnon feared his strength. Hector was the greatest soldier in Troy, but even that greatest soldier run away from Achilles when Hector was standing in front of the gate of Troy.

It says “ Fear fell upon Hector as he beheld him, and he dared not stay longer where he was but ? ed in dismay from before the gates, which Achilles darted after him at his utmost speed. ”. Then when Hector ? nally decided to ? ght with Achilles, Achilles killed him easily. Therefore, I think Achilles was the strongest worrier on earth. Next, I want to write about Hector’s weakness. I could not ? nd many weakness of Hector, however, the only weakness I could ? nd was that Hector did not know how strong he was. He thought that he could ? ht with Achilles, but when he met Achilles, he run away. He run away because he ? nally realized that he was not as strong as Achilles when he met the enemy at the gate. I think it is too late for him to realized that. Because of this weakness, he died. Therefore, Hector did not have many weakness, but the only weakness he had destroyed him. Next is the weakness of Achilles. I think Achilles had many weakness even though he was the greatest warrior on earth. I think Achilles was strong physically, but he was weak mentally. When Agamemnon took Briseis from Achilles,

Achilles went to the sea and prayed to his mother such as, “ Mother, you bore me doomed to live but for a little season; surely Jove, who thunders from Olympus, might have made that little glorious. It is not so. Agamemnon, son of Atreus, has done me dishonor, and has robbed me of my prize by force. ”. He cried when he was saying it. This was not like the greatest warrior, but rather a small child’s doing. He liked to ? ght and liked to kill people. He was very good at killing people, but he did not have any respect to his king, his country and his people.

When he killed Hector, he did something very dishonorable. Achilles treated the body of Hector with contumely. He pierced the sinews at the back of both his feet from heel to ancle and passed thongs of ox-hide through the slits he had made. He made the body fast to his chariot, letting the head trail upon the ground. Then Achilles lashed his horse on, and the dust rose from Hector as he was being dragged along. Thus was the head of Hector being dishonored in the dust. This is not something what the greatest warrior does. Again Achilles became so emotional that he acted like a child.

Therefore, I think that Achilles is not a person to be a great king. If he becomes to be a king, his country and people will be destroyed. I do not want to live in his country. I think he has the extreme character. He was a supermen physically, but he was a little kid mentally. As the conclusion of the comparison between Hector and Achilles, Hector is more heroic than Achilles. I think that the hero is a person who think of his country and his people. After comparing the characters of Hector and Achilles, the person who thinks of his country and his people is Hector.

Hector always thinks about his country, his people and his family. He loves his father, his mother, his brothers, his wife and his child. When Hector died, Paris’s wife, Helen, cried and said, “ I have never heard one word of insult or unkindness from you. ”. Helen was the person who was the cause of this war. I think it is dif? cult to be kind to Helen, but Hector was nice to her. That means Hector’s heart was so deep. And I think Hector will be the greatest king. I love to live in his country.

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