The epic Iliad focuses primarily on the glory-seeking heroes in the Trojan and Akkhaian ranks, describing their various attempts to immortalize themselves by winning the honor. Interestingly, even though the heroes all possess the same desire for glory, there are some pretty obvious differences in the way they behave, as well as the motivations that lead them to seek glory. While one is motivated by self-interest, another throws himself into battle to protect his family; Homer makes the reader understand that each hero seeks honor in a different way and for unique reasons. The great diversity among the heroes ultimately leads us to ask a question: Does Homer believe that there are objectively superior ways of being a hero? This article argues, drawing on a discussion of the actions of Hector and Agamemnon, that Homer demonstrates that there are indeed specific heroic traits, such as selflessness, that heroes should aspire to possess in order to receive the greatest glory possible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay To begin with, a hero's life is centralized around a single aspect: achieving and maintaining glory. Homer's heroes constantly live in the shadow of the threat of disgrace, which means they must always be prepared to avoid being disgraced, including a painful death in battle. In order to avoid being looked down upon by those around them, heroes are expected to put aside their own personal feelings on matters, following the wishes of those around them rather than their own to safeguard their fragile reputation. For example, Hektor upholds this principle when he visits his beloved wife and child in Book 6, remaining steadfast about returning to battle for the sake of honor. While Hektor's wife, Andromache, tearfully laments her husband's impending doom that will befall him if he enters into battle again, Hektor "... caresses her..." (Iliad, VI, 564) and asks him to "...not be". too distressed by the thoughts of Hektor” (Iliad, VI, 566-567), because “… no mortal… can escape his fate, coward or brave man, once he is born” (Iliad, VI, 568-569).Hektor clearly loves his wife and child very much, but regardless of the fact that he would probably prefer to live long and peacefully with both, Hektor understands that his duty as a hero calls for him to put himself in danger at once of battle. Regardless of his personal feelings about separating from his family, Hektor must follow his community's demand that he stand with the other men of Troy to defend their walled city at the cost of their lives. . Hektor once again leaves his fate in the hands of the gods when he agrees to fight to the death "the greatest of the Akhaians" (Iliad, VII, 57), potentially putting himself in danger to gain "an honor... which will never pass.” » (Iliad, VII, 104-105). While it remains true that Hektor was told he would not die in combat, Hektor still put himself in danger for his honor, ignoring any personal fears of harm or death in the name of glory. Agamenon also demonstrates the idea of ​​making his personal feelings secondary when confronted by Nestor in Book 9, who clearly tells Agamemnon of his mistake in "...dishonoring Achilles" (Iliad, IX, 130), advising Agamemnon to “make peace with him by friendly gifts and by affectionate words” (Iliad, IX, 134-135). Agamemnon, although he probably harbors angry feelings towards Achilles, consents to Nestor's wise idea, thus placing the will of thecommunity before his own. In another case, after learning that the battle was going poorly for the Akkhaians, Agamemnon suggested retreating, which would allow the Trojans to achieve victory (Iliad, XIV, 73-91). Odysseus is disgusted by Agammenon's spinelessness, rebuking this cowardly idea, provoking Agamenon to retract it (Iliad, XIV, 101-119). Agammenon absolutely does not wish to stay for what could be a massacre for him and his men, but he does, submitting to the commands of the other Akkadian leaders. In these four examples, Homer affirms the idea that a hero's personal desires and emotions must defer to the wishes of the community, because disobedience leads to dishonor. A hero must not live for himself; he is at the heart of a much bigger cause than that. Unlike Agammemnon and Odysseus, it could be argued that Achilles does not conform to this aforementioned heroic quality, as Achilles is driven by his emotions without any respect for others throughout the story. It is true that his anger greatly influences his actions; however, the outcome of his actions still aligns with the common goal of his peers, which is to defeat the Trojans. No warrior opposes Achilles' return to battle, although this return is motivated by revenge for the death of Patrolocus. Additionally, Achilles exhibits a certain degree of altruism upon his reappearance, as he knows that by avenging Patrolocus' death and fighting the Trojans, he is doomed. However, as divine as the heroes depicted are, they are ultimately only human. therefore subject to error. Mistakes occur when a hero chooses to make their feelings and opinions the primary arbiter of their actions, directly disobeying the trait mentioned in the first paragraph: the idea that heroes are supposed to put the desires of their community ahead of the their. Chaos always arises from this disorderly action, and Homer clearly demonstrates that glory cannot be obtained until evil is corrected. An example of this is when Agamemnon, blinded by pride, insults Achilles by stealing Achilles' spoils of war, Breisis, which Achilles takes care of. This decision is advised against twice, once by Nestor and once by Achilles: “Just let the girl go.” , in the name of God, now; we will make up for it... (Iliad, I, 150-151), but Agamemnon, in his pride, refuses to back down on Achilles' daughter. Achilles even threatens to leave, which only leads Agamenon to mock him: "Desert, if the wind blows like this... others will honor me" (Iliad, 1, 201-203), while knowing that Achilles is essential to the success of his journey. the Akkhaians. By trampling on Achilles' honor, Agamemnon subjects the Akkhaian army to more deaths than ever necessary, seemingly almost losing the war in the final books of the epic. Hektor acts similarly to Agamemnon later in the story, allowing his pride to take over. him when he orders the Trojans to camp outside the walls, directly ignoring the call of the wiser Poulydamas to abandon this plan. In this case, Hektor acts only according to his own desires, as evidenced by the fact that he harshly tells Polydamas that “what you propose no longer serves me” (Iliad, XVIII, 330-331). Hektor's ignorance is what leads him to almost lose his honor, dishonored by his community for leading the Trojans to a bloody defeat. With these examples, Homer illustrates the idea that heroes cannot act of their own free will, because the hero's honor will be threatened and lives will be needlessly lost. When heroes make mistakes, Homer makes it clear that glory can once again be restored on one condition: acceptance of.