Heroes Of The Trojan War

Heroes of the Trojan War:

What is a hero really? Everyone has their own beliefs about what a hero is, but the beliefs greatly vary from each other. In the movie Troy for example, lots of people think that Achilles is a hero because he is such a great warrior. In reality though, someone needs to be a lot more than a great weapon-handler to be a hero. A hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is a person who is regarded as a model or ideal person; in the time of the Trojan War, that would have been a warrior or king of special strength, courage and ability. A hero puts others first, and sacrifices his own needs and wishes for the good of humanity. With that whole definition in mind, there are few characters in the movie Troy that actually come to mind as heroes. Those heroes may not be the typical textbook heroes you will find in many stories, but they are all heroes non-the less.

Hector was a man built for a purpose: to lead the Trojan army. He was courageous, and intelligent. He did not run to or from battle, but calmly walked towards it when war was necessary. His choices and opinions were well thought out, and many people would have done well to listen to him. He was a wise person when it came to running his army. He didn't take unnecessary risks, and he didn't base his judgment on how things ought to be, or what he thought the Greeks would do. He based his judgment on what he knew the Greeks would do. He did not try to second-guess the Greeks. Hector took care of his family, friends, army and his country. He helped many people of Troy escape, including his wife and child, by showing his wife where an escape route from the city was. He inspired courage in his fellow warriors and led them bravely into battle until his end. His conscience and honor came before anything else in his life, even his family. When he made a mistake, he took responsibility for it. When he killed Patroclus by accident instead of Achilles, he faced death nobly and openly in one-on-one combat with Achilles, and was respected for it. Even after Achilles tried to dishonor his body by dragging it around for all to see, the Trojans spoke Hector's name with reverence, as did many of the Greeks. The world could use more people like Hector in it, even in today's society.

Paris is not typically known as a hero in the Trojan War, but he really is one. He may not be a warrior sort of hero, but there is more than one type of hero in the world. Paris cared not for honoring his country by winning battles against fierce opponents. He was concerned with righteousness, honesty and being trustworthy. Paris seemed to be guided by his conscience. Most importantly though, was his passion; for after all, the Trojan War really broke out over a passion between him and Helen. Paris seemed to believe that everyone was good, that no one would cheat or lie in war. Paris was also naÐ"Їve to a certain degree. Partway through the war, Paris is taken back by the gist of it all; that many men were dying because he and his love could not stand to be separated. That such a beautiful thing like love could start so terrible a war. It was an ugly end to a lovely beginning. Paris tries to admirably end the war right then by challenging Menelaus to send out his best warrior so that they can fight one-on-one. He didn't think about what would happen if he lost, he just tried to do what he thought was right. That's the way it always was with Paris. He did what he wanted and tried to bring honor to his family and country while he did it. If that didn't happen, it wasn't the end of the world, but he tried his best. Paris tried to justify his actions in the war, by telling himself that he is just protecting his family. That same justification led him to kill Achilles,