"Troy" Question 5: Achilles, Hector, Heroism

Achilles and Hector are the greatest heroes of their respective sides.  How are they characterized in the film?  What motivates each of them to fight?  How do they relate to their social groups?  What are their closest emotional bonds in the film?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?  Do you think their ideas of heroism and loyalty are fundamentally different?


------------

Comment by Patricia:

Until Achilles killed Hector, both were considered the greatest hero on Earth in the movie Troy.  Nestor calls Achilles this when he is convincing Agamemnon to ask for Achilles' assistance.  Nestor says, "This is the greatest war the world has ever seen.  We need the greatest warrior."  In Hector's favor, in the Trojan council, Priam says Troy can win because, "... we have Hector!"  Even Odysseus at one point in the movie insinuates to Patroclus that Hector could be a greater warrior than Achilles. 

While their reputations as warriors are similar, their motivations are very different.  Agamemnon says, after the first battle without Achilles, "Hector fights for his country.  Achilles fights only for himself."  This seems to be the consensus throughout the movie.  There are several scenes in which Hector displays his patriotism and loyalty to his family.  When he is rallying his troops, Hector says, "All my life I have lived by a code, and the code is simple; honor the gods, love your woman, and defend your country.  Troy is mother to us all.  Fight for her!"  Also, when the two armies charge, the camera cuts to a close-up of him yelling, "For Troy!"  Furthermore, though he is obviously frustrated by the trouble Paris has caused his city, he is so loyal to his family that he is essentially fighting Paris's war for him, and even kills Menelaus for Paris (blatantly breaking the truce) after saying, "He is my brother."  This strong link between patriotism, filial piety, and loyalty for Hector is also linked to his idea of heroism.  To him, if one honors/protects his family, his gods, and his country, one is a hero (see his "code").  Achilles, on the other hand, fights only for glory, or kleos.  Heroism, to him, means winning as many fights as possible.  When Odysseus is convincing him to come to Troy, Achilles asks why another man's problem with his wife is his (Achilles') business.  Odysseus answers, "Your business is war... this war will never be forgotten, my friend, nor will the heroes who fight in it."  This convinces Achilles to aid Agamemnon at Troy.  Later in the film, when Achilles is rallying his troops, he defines his own reason for fighting; "Do you know what's beyond that beach?  Immortality!  Take it, it's yours!"  Achilles, who dismisses Patroclus's pleas to help the struggling Greeks, will fight anyone as long as his name becomes legend.  Incidentally, this desire for fame was a real influence in Greek culture.  Achilles' reaction to Patroclus's speech also shows the difference between Achilles and Hector's definitions of loyalty; Hector would have immediately charged to the Greeks' aid, had their places been reversed.  Achilles' version of loyalty is more protecting those close to him.  For instance, he immediately goes to avenge Patroclus's death, and he searches high and low for Briseis. 

Due to his intense loyalty, Hector is the more involved in his social group; Priam says that Hector's soldiers will follow him in a fight in Tartarus.  Though Achilles is shown as more aloof and solitary, when Patroclus dons Achilles' armor and enters the battle, all the Greeks cheer, thinking it's Achilles, so Achilles is obviously an inspirational figure to them, as Hector is to the Trojans.  Beyond the large group of soldiers each interacts with, there are several personal relationships in the film.  Hector is very close to his wife Andromache, as well as his son, his father, and his brother (Paris).  Achilles is friends with Odysseus, but is really only close to Patroclus and later in the film, Briseis.  Hector's personal and patriotic ties are somewhat of a weakness because they pull him into conflicts (i.e. the war) he would otherwise have been able to back out of.  His strategic intelligence and his loyal troops, along with his battle prowess, are obviously strengths, as they are for Achilles.  Achilles has weaknesses as well, in that he is very arrogant (he doesn't even bother to guard himself in a warring city, resulting in Paris shooting him).  Overall, these are two very different, though both heroic, personas.