Mortality is the timeless equalizer of all living beings. Life ends sooner for some people than for others. Lifespans shorten in the world of The Iliad, where warfare is the norm. Glory is won through battle and honor comes from dying young. The most revered members of a society are those who display the highest level of battlefield aptitude. It is in this world that Prince Hector of Troy and the great Achilles rise to fame. These two men have much in common, regardless of their allegiances. Despite being the most fearsome warrior in their respective armies, both show kindness to the people they love. Both often find themselves at odds with their conscience and principles over the war. Further, they know their participation in the battle will …show more content…
As mortals, Hector and Achilles know that they do not share the eternal life of the gods. However, Achilles and Hector both express their knowledge of prophecy of their death if they fight in the war. Hector assures his wife, Andromache, that it is impossible to escape fate and that he himself will not meet his destiny before his time in Book 6. He also knows that his wife and child will be forced to become slaves to the Greeks because they will have no protection when he dies. In a similarly prophetic way, Achilles tells one of his horses, Xanthus, that he knows he will die in Troy (Book 19). Indeed, this prior knowledge of his likely death contributes to his unwillingness to fight especially after Briseis has been taken. Further, Achilles explains to Nestor that he would rather live an inglorious but long life than die a short and honorable death. However, each hero’s eventual return to the fight despite their premonitions of death display a kind of courage that their society …show more content…
Hector never seems to question or regret his own fate. He knows his place is defending his city and his family. Hector realizes from the start of the epic that the war is a much bigger issue than the problems in his own life. In Hector’s emotional farewell to his wife, Andromache, he tells her not to worry about him because no one will kill him before his time comes (Book 6, Line 512). Both Hector and his wife know he will die in battle, but he still goes out to fight. Where Hector seems to be motivated by pride and a sense of duty, Achilles fails to see past his personal plight to the grander scale of the fight. He refuses to join the fight for any reason, be it the return of Briseis or promises of countless gifts and glory from Agamemnon. After he feels dishonored by Agamemnon’s taking of Briseis, he tells Nestor and his friends that he would rather live a long, inglorious death than die fighting Agamemnon’s battles for him (Book 9, Lines 425-429). Indeed, he never fights for the Achaeans out of a sense of duty to protect his homeland or uphold his own honor and only chooses to fight to avenge his dear friend