In Homer's Iliad, two conflicting desires motivate Hector. He adheres to the heroic code by fighting for honor and glory, but does not always actively pursue the fight. He has a strong survival instinct that drives him to move away from danger and conflicts with his desire to fight heroically. However, his desire to follow the heroic ideals that he holds so dear ultimately influences him more than his will to protect himself. Hector's drive to achieve glory and immortality in the hearts of his followers drives him to fight by putting himself in danger and fighting more valiantly than he naturally would. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay When Hector fiercely wages battle, he does not fight because he likes Paris and supports his theft of Helen; nor does he even fight to protect Troy and his father, wife, or son. For example, when the Greeks, under Diomedes, repel the Trojans, Hector begs Hecuba to pray to Athena for help and then curses his brother: "A great curse let Olympian Zeus live and grow in him, / for Troy and the magnanimous Priam and all his children" (6.334-335). Hector expresses his resentment towards his brother and the "curse" of the war that Paris brought on Troy, and all the suffering it caused both him and his loved ones. He is not fighting the Greeks to show his support for Paris' decision to capture Helen; in fact, he doesn't like Paris at all as a fellow soldier. Furthermore, as Andromache begs Hector to withdraw from the war before the Greeks overthrow him, she admits that she knows that “the day will come when sacred Troy must die, / Priam must die and all his people with him” (6.531-533) . . Hector understands that Troy will fall one day, and so he is not fighting to protect his beloved family, as he knows that they will surely die when the walls of Troy fall. Fighting against the Greeks, no matter how valiantly, will not save his beloved family from ultimate death. By holding a grudge against Paris and revealing his resignation that no matter what he does, Troy and everyone he loves will fall, Hector demonstrates that he is not fighting to save someone he loves. However, Hector receives the motivation to fight against the Greeks. fighting strictly according to the ancient heroic code, shaping his actions and behavior to conform to his goals of honor and glory. While conversing with his wife during a brief respite from battle, Hector remarks that he would "die of shame" to shy away from battle, and that he has learned that his goal is to "win [his] father great glory, [and] glory for [ himself]" (6.523, 6.529). Because he worries about what others may think of him and fears the shame of his fellow warriors, Hector has developed a basic instinct to enter battle. Instead of shying away from conflict, he strives to fight with such intrepidity and intensity that his comrades will bestow upon him prestige and glory, both cornerstones of the heroic code. Likewise, Hector issues a challenge to fight, declaring that he will slaughter any opponent and that one day someone will say that "'there is one of the brave who slew the glorious Hector." Hector also hopes to gain fame among all men by seeking an aristo, or by being the best he can be at fighting in battle. To achieve his infinite fame, he must slaughter as many men as possible to perform aristéia, or feats that will earn him prestige among his companions. He hopes that these achievements will catapult him to an immortality beyond that of all other mortals. Hector indicates that this heroic code, and glory, fame and, 1991.