Hector vs. Achilles A Contrast and Comparison Essay

'Don't offer me mellow wine, mother, not now-you'd sap my limbs, I'd lose my nerve for war.' (VI, 179-180)
<Tab/>Like all the other men of their time and culture, both Hector and Achilles knew that their most important duty was to fight wars. In the Iliad, by Homer, war was of the utmost importance, and the Greeks felt that dying in battle was the noblest way to die. Outside of war, men made their own decisions as to what else would be important in their lives. Hector valued his family, was able to control his emotions, and respected the gods. Achilles was almost the exac…