This decision to kill is out of line. The warrior needs to learn restraint and to hold back on his anger. The ability to hold back and properly grieve a loss is not present in Achilles. Overall, here Achilles shows that his rage and selfishness leads to mistakes that he obviously will not take and blame for. This takes away from his qualifications as an Epic and Homeric Hero. .
Achilles, although he contains some divine blood, is convinced he is better than human. He is arrogant and quick to overlook anyone who isn't as blessed by the gods as he. Often, Achilles becomes angry and runs to the Gods to help him out. A prime example of when he abuses his divine relationships is when he needs armor to rejoin the war and kill Hector. The armor he receives, straight from the Gods, is unbreakable, and essentially guarantees the warrior victory against any man he battles. Achilles unjustly exploits his associations with the gods, unlike a true epic Hero.
The last trait that Achilles lacks which is necessary in the creation of the epic hero is leadership. He does not pull his army together, hiding his rage, and focus his attention on the war in the situation that erupts with Agamemnon, as a leader would. Instead, Achilles pouts and runs away from the army in an infantile manner. To become a true epic hero, the warrior needs to step up and show leadership because he already has the attention and respect of his army.
In the Iliad, Hector is considered the celebrated hero of his people, the Trojans. His followers look him upon similarly as Achilles supporters did he, but has no divine assistance on his side. Unlike Achilles, though, he is of Royal blood, his father Priam is the Kind of Troy.
In essence, Hector proves to be the greater epic hero through the leadership and humanity that he displays alongside his impressive battle skills. Hector values honor and pride in his army and homeland more than he values life.
