I have recently been re-reading a lot of old favorite classics.  Maybe, it was an escape from the present to the past.  Maybe, a nostalgia about a childhood spent reading the best literature humanity owns. 

I often return to the Iliad and Odysseus (or Odyssey, depending on your preference).  And while Odysseus is the part I read when I need a bit of adventure, it is the Iliad that I take when I want to enjoy the beauty of the language and a great story.

I’ve recently noticed that one of the questions that I answered differently as I grew older, was who was my favorite character– Achilles, Hector, or Odysseus?

Achilles is usually considered one of if not the main characters of the Iliad.  I think he is the most enigmatic character of the poem. Homer depicted him in such a way that he attracts everyone’s attention, becomes an example of all the best qualities. Homer even starts the poem by speaking about him.  Achilles was generally admired throughout history.   But is he really such a wonderful hero if we look at him attentively?

He is a strange man who likes to cry and looks for his mother’s comfort.  He is the only hero who came to fight Troy knowing that his mother would be by his side. Homer jokes about Achilles.  The strongest and bravest hero cries more than any other character of the poem.  And not only this.  He also asks his mother to retaliate for his offense.  Achilles understands that many of his people would die as a result of this request, and still is asking for it.

Homer also seems to laugh at Achilles by calling him quick-footed. You would have a hard time naming a single person whom he succeeded in catching.  Aeneus and Agenor run away from him, then Achilles himself tries to run away from river Scamander and it easily catches up with him.  When Achilles tried to catch Hector, they make 3 circles around Troy and Achilles could not reach him till Hector stopped and accepted the fight.

The driving force of Achilles is fame.  He made his choice in youth to die at Troy and get eternal memory of people. He came to Troy to earn this fame without any great deeds before this and knew from predictions that he would not succeed in taking Troy.  So, he needs time to earn eternal fame.  It is against his interest to help Achaeans to take Troy.  And that answers the question of why they spent 9 years trying to take it. The quicker Achaeans would have captured Troy; the quicker Achilles would be dead. It is mentioned in the text that he alone could have taken Troy, but he was the only person among Achaeans who would get absolutely nothing from taking Troy. And he was the only one benefitting from dragging it. The longer it stalled, the longer Achilles lived. And meanwhile, he grew his fame by taking the cities around, for example, the home city of Andromache, ruined Lesbos, etc.  By the 10th year of the war, he finally had his measure of fame.

I was infatuated with Achilles in my teenage years. I was often asking myself what I would sacrifice in order to achieve eternal fame. With time, this infatuation went away. now I think Achilles clearly is not the Hero we would want to sing to.

What about Odysseus?

Odysseus is the brightest and the most original character; he can navigate difficult circumstances, is always energetic, shows organizational abilities and leadership qualities; he can express himself well, is diplomatic, and reveals himself as a good politician.  Also, he is very adventurous and thus becomes entertaining.

Many times, Homer compares Odysseus to Achilles.  In Iliad, Odyssey compares his experience and knowledge to Achilles’ fame and bravery.

He is very cunning: gets from the cave under the sheep’s belly, makes Cyclops drunk and takes his only eye, passes by the sirens, though nobody has ever passed them alive.  He often lies when it is not required, and even his patron Athena asks whether he could stop lying.

His destiny is arduous; it makes him suffer.  “Sufferer” is his constant attribute.  Poseidon is ever angry with him; Zeus and Helios break his ship and leave him alone in the sea. His sufferings seem to have no end.  He was absent from home for 20 years.  Many times, he was left alone in the ocean for several days.  He speaks about himself that his heart never dreaded death.

Homer praises him as irreproachable, great by soul and heart, famous with his spear, etc.  Odysseus himself is ready to boast of his strength and exploits.  For example, no one among the living can compare with him in archery except Philoctetes.  When he introduces himself to Alcinous, he says about himself that his fame reaches the skies.

Everybody speaks about his love for Penelope. But Odysseus was also living for not less than seven years with Calypso (He preferred returning home rather than having immortality and living with her, but still, seven years were spent). Then he remained for one year with Circe on her island, feasting and drinking wine.

He is sentimental and egoistic at the same time.  For example, when listening to the songs of Demodocus about the Trojan War, he cries.  And then, when treating Demodocus with a piece of meat, he gave a smaller bit away and kept the larger part for himself.

Odysseus is quite greedy.  When he finally arrived in Ithaka, he first started counting the presents given to him by Phaeacians, and only after that gave way to his feelings connected with his return to his homeland.

Odysseus is exceptionally cruel in dealing with the suitors.  One of the most shocking things was the way Odyssey treated some maids.  He gave orders to Telemachus to hang them.  After this crazy dead, he calmly hugs the rest, takes a bath, and goes to see his wife. 

So, Odysseus is a complex character – patriot, warrior, sufferer, diplomat, wise and good speaker, merchant, assiduous master, hero, boaster, adventurer, womanizer, and a family man at the same time, sensitive and ready to cry and simultaneously cruel executioner. 

My love for Odysseus came through stages. The Iliad was mainly about him when I was a kid. And I still pick up parts about his adventures when I am in no mood for deep thoughts.

He isn’t a good example of a Hero either: he tries to do his best for himself in all the challenging circumstances under which his fate gets him - but isn’t it what most of us focus on for ourselves?

The last person I want to consider is Hector.

Hector's character is one of the most interesting in Homer’s work. He is present in almost all the chapters. He is driven by one overwhelming force – to fight for his people, his country. Against the advice of older people, he put his army against Achilles and did not take it back to Troy, although his death and the death of many Trojans seemed inevitable.

When Hector saw Ayaks with beautiful armors, and his heart fell, he had no thought to decline the fight or not to lead it openly and honestly. Even when he was parting with Andromache, he thinks about his duty, feels shame thinking about treason.

Hector is a loving husband and father.  The farewell scene with Andromache is so touching and profound that it was exciting for people through ages.  This was one of the most used subjects in the history of art and literature.

But being so great, Hector has a lot of weaknesses, constant doubts, uncertainty; he is very impulsive, sometimes too proud, and self-assured.  For example, he thinks it would be pretty easy to capture the golden shield of Nestor and Diomedes’ armor made by Hephaestus, but nothing comes out of it. 

He is so sure of his victory over Achaeans that he is ready to compare himself with Athena and Apollo though he knows that Trojans would perish in this war, not Achaeans.

He is not touched by the requests of his closest people not to go against Achilles. When he sees Achilles, however, he gets scared and starts to run away, he goes around Troy three times, and only Athena manages to stop him by pretending to be Deiphobus. After meeting Achilles face to face, he enters the fight. He quickly understands that Athena misled him, and he is alone.  He was always relying on Gods’ help and understands now that they can also be treacherous and disloyal.

Hector’s death fills us with compassion.  He asks his rival not to give his dead body to the dogs but to bury it according to traditions.  Even in death Homer shows how much Hector was respected by his people.  The wood for his burial fire was brought from around for 7 days (against for example 1 day for Patroclus).

Hector is a leader, loyal to his people, patriot, brave soldier, and not a very successful “general,” too hesitating, sometimes arrogant, and boastful.  He knows about his destiny and still goes to fight.  He is the most tragic character that lost everything – his country, family, and life.

So, comparing the three main characters of the story, I think Hector undoubtedly is the greatest hero.  Not only is he a superior hero in his own right, but he is also constantly making himself better.  He is the one with a conscious soul.  He understands he is not perfect and tries to overcome his weaknesses. Hector is the only character Homer does not laugh at.  He accepts both his failures and his greatness.

But I still feel a little bored with him. Both Odysseus and Achilles feel more human to me.

Who is your favorite character of the Iliad? Do you re-read books? Are there any books/characters you changed your opinion about as you grew older?

Share your thoughts below!