9/3 Iliad #1b

Greek Gods
The gods play the roles of dictators over the humans. Humans in the Iliad overall showed honorable characteristics. Hector, one of the main characters, was painted as a hero. He fought bravely, unselfishly, and with all his might against Achilles, a god, and come close to defeating him. Hector fought for the honor of Troy and his family. Upon his death, Hector's father begged first with Achilles, then Zeus for his body to honor his son for his sacrifice. Achilles, however, took pride in and overly celebrated his kill of Hector by stabbing his body many times with a spear. Also, Achilles refused to give back his body to Hector's family until Zeus stepped in. Zeus demanded a bounty be paid to appease the pride of Achilles, Apollos, and the majority of the gods. The gods showed that they were to be obeyed and that their desires were based on greed, pride, and personal satisfaction. In most decisions, the gods were at odds with each other and Zeus had to settle many of arguments, as he did with Hector.

Achilles
At the beginning of this story, Achilles was portrayed as strong, prideful, and not merciful in order to win the fight with Hector. After Hector is killed, Achilles revels in his victory and his pride turns to arrogance as he desecrates Hector's body. Achilles is unwilling to change his mind when Hector's father and several other gods ask him to return Hector's body. He finally relents when Zeus asks him to in return for a large gift from Hector's father. He still threatens Hector's father with not returning the body should he upset him. Achilles is most defined by his arrogance, which only gives way when a greater power, such as Zeus or Apollo, demands him to.