Monday, December 8, 2008
Hector's Heroism, Or Lack There of
It’s probably safe to assume that even before we started reading The Iliad, we all knew who the heroes were. We all knew that Achilles was the prominent hero of the story with Odysseus and others filling the void in minor roles. At the beginning of the trimester Mr. Crotty warned us that we should look beyond the obvious Achaean characters and look to Hector as the possible hero of The Iliad. Upon concluding the story, I have tried to find evidence to back such a claim for Hector, but have found it difficult. On numerous occasions, Troy’s commander-in-chief flees from danger in a most un-heroic way. Twice he runs away from Great Ajax and again he turns his back on a fight when he retreats from Achilles. When Hector finally decides to confront Achilles, he first begs to negotiate and then literally runs away in fear. Only upon the belief that a fellow Trojan has joined him does he turn to face Achilles. With the reality being that his fellow Trojan is merely Athena in disguise and that he is all-alone in facing his enemy, Hector is easily defeated. Hector’s numerous acts of cowardice are what prevent him from being a hero. Granted, he does lead the Trojans to some success on the battlefield but he demonstrates his incompetence as he lets the success go to his head and in turn makes several over aggressive, costly decisions. Even simply as a commander does Hector fail to exert himself as proficient. Throughout the poem it hard to find true heroes as even Achilles shows flaws but of the major players, Hector appears to be one of the least heroic.
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11 comments:
I agree with you. It was very difficult for me to find a character that encompasses all the character traits of a hero. However, this is probably a realistic portrayal of war. Maybe it is our view of what a hero is that is skewed. People are so used to watching movies and reading fictional books in which there is one person who saves the day and isnt afraid to do anything. The Iliad offers a more realistic view of what a hero actually is.
I agree with Sam regarding your blog post. I think the Iliad offers a realistic viewpoint of men's actions in war and how they act both positively and negatively. No hero is perfect, and Homer does a great job pointing this out. A hero, to me, is someone who works past their own actions, and strives towards the good of the whole. Hector, as you say, is definitely the least heroic because he is too narcissistic and cowardly.
Let me restate what was just said--the Iliad is surprisingly realistic in terms of representing both the good and the bad side of warriors. i find it interesting that Homer understood how to express this and Hollywood appears to have forgotten it. Or maybe it just doesn't sell.
Well I completely agree with Sam. However, referring to what Tess said, Hollywood would not want to portray all heroes with some kind of character flaw. Hollywood usually shows the hero as a "perfect" character that all others should look up to (or try to mimic). While in real life this is completely untrue, Hollywood tries to provide the public with false reassurance in hopes that it will make people think about the decisions they make.
I mean i completely agree with everything that you say. Literally, everything. AFter watching Troy, i really thought that Hector would be the true hero, but as we quickly found out he wasnt. Great Blog and i completely agree with everything
I have to agree with you nick in the fact that Hector is not a hero, and only shows small glimpses of heroism. I believe that Homer actually made Hector and Achilles have these flaws to prove that no man is above another and that all are equal.
Barber, I really like your blog post. All of the evidence that you provide proves Hector's fall from heroism to cowardice. When you mentioned Mr. Crotty asking us to look at Hector as a hero before we started reading, I thought that he would eventually show more and more heroism. Because the movie Troy portrays Hector as a main hero, I came into the book expecting more from him.
I don't view Hector to be a complete coward, but rather a man who values his life. When he runs away from Achilles, I do not blame at all. Hector realizes the mistake he has made in killing Patroclus and fears for his life that Achilles will kill him. Soldiers and warriors are supposed to embrace death in battle as honorable, but Hector realizes the brutal death he will receive at the hands of Achilles and tries to avoid it, to no avail I may add.
I think Hector shows great loyalty to his brother and to his country. He is described as a passionate leader who inspires his people and he stands by his brother in his times of difficulty. Hector protects Paris and cares for him. He may not be a great warrior like Achilles, but I sympathize with his character and his disgraceful death at the hands of Achilles.
I think you're right, Hector is kind of a coward, but if you were facing the great Achilles wouldn't you be? I mean, Hector's a great fighter, but so is Ajax and Achilles and Odysseus, etc. See where I'm going? The Acheans have many "leaders" and the Trojans only have Hector. If he dies they're screwed. And they were. Before we pass judgment on Hector, I think we should realize, we'd probably run from the great Ajax or Achilles too.
I think another thing that we should consider about Hector is his hubris and ignorance towards the Gods. Also, we need to step back and take it in the context of the time period. Hector would not be exalted as a hero no matter how many people he killed or how much success he attains because he defies the Gods. In Greek culture this would be an incredibly offensive action. Therefore, I agree with you Nick; it is very hard to find anything heroic about Hector.
I had a hard time trying to pull a perfect hero from the poem. Homer really showed us that all heroes are flawed in one way or another. Achilles was overly egotistical, letting his personal interests get in the way of reaching a goal. Hector became way too arrogant and became a blinded by it. Each of them had major flaws yet both get brought up as heroes all the time.
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