There are many different ways for a certain person to define a hero. Some people, when they hear the word hero, they think of someone like Superman or someone with extraordinary powers, like super strength or flying. Some people may think of their parents. In Homer’s epic poem of The Iliad, Homer portrays his view of a hero in his character of Achilles.
In Homer’s Iliad, he portrays his view of a hero to be a fighter who is independent, had a strong lust for war and has individual honor and glory. This definition of war is very similar to that of the view of who a hero was during that time, but Homer believes in the independence of the hero. The word “independence” in this use is meant, specifically in Achilles case, choosing your own path like fighting, or not fighting, for what you believe in. Bloodlust during that time meant that a fighter would want to kill as many opposing enemies as possible. It did not necessarily mean that you were a good fighter, just crazy enough to stab as many people as you could and being lucky enough to not get killed. Skill had no part in being a hero, though it did give you an added advantage. Finally, individual honor and glory was perhaps the most important thing in obtaining the status of “Homer’s hero.” If you had no individual honor or glory, you would not be recognized as a good fighter and not known about at all. In reality, it is not so much the honor and glory itself that gets you viewed as a hero, but the recognition that comes with the honor and glory that get’s a fighter recognized as a hero. The bloodlust and honor and glory go closely together because the fighters have such a strong lust for blood and battle to get the honor and glory in battle. If you are just fighting to get the honor and glory and not because you believe in what you are fighting for, then you are not viewed as a hero according to Homer. You have to believe in what you are fighting for as well, which goes along with the independence and choosing your own path. So, in order to be viewed as a hero according to Homer, you need to be independent and choose your own path, obtain honor and glory and have a lust for battle and blood.
During Achilles’ time, the definition of a hero was individual glory and honor, lust for blood and battle and self independence. Achilles was independent, for example, when he refused to fight for a cause he did not believe in and under a general he did not like. “What a worthless, burnt-out coward I’d be called id I would submit to you and all your orders... Never again, I trust, will Achilles yield to you.” (pg. 87, Book 1 lines 343-344, 347) Even though Achilles was taking a big risk by challenging his commander, he still chose not to follow everyone else and be self independent. Another example of his independence is when, even though Agamemnon offered him “Seven tripods never toughed by fire, ten bars of gold...” (pg. 255, Book 9 line 148) along with other gift if he would come back and fight, but since he did not believe in the cause of the war, he refused to fight. Another example of Achilles’ heroism is his self seeking glory. In the proem of The Iliad it describes Achilles’ honor in previous battles; “ Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus‘ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls...” (pg. 77, Book 1 lines 1-3) Achilles was renowned in his time for being an incredible fighter, making his glory known. Another example of his glory is when he kills Hector. “Hector could still gasp out some words, some last reply... he crashed into the dust - godlike Achilles gloried over him...” (pg. 552 Book 22 lines 387-389) Killing Hector gave him an amount of glory that put him above many other because Hector was also known for his skill in battle. A final characteristic of Achilles’ heroism is his bloodlust and long for battle. After Patroclus died, Achilles was determined to fight again and Homer describes Achilles as “starved for war...”(pg. 503, Book 20 line 2) saying that Achilles longed for the battle. When Achilles came charging into the battle for the first time after not fighting for so long he was “afire like the man destroying Ares.”(pg. 505, Book 20 line 55) Achilles not only longed to go back into the battle but he was eager to.
Another fighter in Homer’s Iliad that could fit this Homer’s description was Hector. He had honor in battle and was known for his strength in fighting. Homer said that “...countless ranks struck down by mighty Hector...” (pg. 471, Book 18 line 121) Hector also fought in more of the battle than Achilles, who actually did not show up in the battle at all until the very end. He also dueled Ajax and “When Hector heard that challenge he rejoiced and right in the no man’s land along his lines he strode, gripping hi spear mid-haft, staving men to a standstill...” (pg. 216 Book 7 lines 62-64) Hector was a good enough fighter to bring seasoned fighters to a standstill and to duel Ajax. Hector also had self independence. His self independence is different from Achilles‘, though, in that Achilles’ is more about making his own choice while Hector’s is more about his choice to fight for what he believes in instead of staying with his family at home. Homer describes him as “...the challenger, he with his lust for battle.” (pg. 221 Book 7 lines 250-251) Homer goes right out and states the Hector has a lust for battle. Homer here, by saying that he was “the challenger”, meant that he was the one who had challenged Ajax. Ajax was also renowned for his skill and strength in battle and it would have taken courage to challenge someone like him, but Hector still did.
What it ended up coming down to was that Hector was killed by Achilles. If Hector had not been killed by Achilles, he could have just as easily been the hero of The Iliad as Achilles was. Hector also fought in more of the overall war than Achilles did. Achilles spent most of the book not in the main action while Hector was risking his life the whole time. Hector overestimated himself and underestimated Achilles and got himself killed for it, which also lost him the spot of the hero.
In conclusion, Achilles possess all of the qualities of independence, bloodlust and personal honor and glory. Even though Hector also possess the same qualities, Achilles killed him in battle, losing him the spot. Achilles is the main hero that is portrayed in The Iliad.
Is that the end of the story, the end, shut the book, we are closed for business? Is Achilles a true hero? Homer does not look at the character of the person when deciding who he will portray as a hero, but at his actions. Homer looks at if the person is independent, has a lust for battle and blood and whether or not the person has obtained honor and glory in battle, not at whether they have a good character. Since Homer does not look at the character of the person, can we really trust his choice of hero? Can a hero be defined by just his actions and not his character? No, he cannot. The character of a person is what really decides who a hero should be. If people only looked at other peoples’ actions, and not their character, it would be a sad world to live in. It is true that actions help define the character of a person, but that is not all that defines a person’s character. A character of a person is also defined by what they say and by what they do not say. Also, Homer does not look at all of the person’s actions, just to see if they have a lust for battle, independence and honor and glory in battle. If Homer looked at all of a person’s actions, instead of checking off the requirements and not caring about anything else, and looked at a person’s character, Achilles would not be the main hero of The Iliad. His character consists of himself and only himself. Yes, he did cry when his friend died, but there were other people around and it would have looked bad if he did not cry. That was the only selfless thing he did, and it looked like it was all for show. His “character” spent most of the book pouting in his tent or in a cave because he lost a girl he had originally stolen from someone else. He then disappears from the action until the last chapter where he kills Hector out of revenge, showing that he is a hothead and thinks rashly. If Homer had taken all of a person’s actions into account and the person’s character, then the hero he portrays would have been drastically different.
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