Who is more heroic, Achilles or Hector, and why?

Paper Topic: 
 Homer’s Iliad, written in the 8th century BCE, has as its main characters many men who can be described as heroes, e.g. Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, Paris, Hector, etc. Often the decisions that these heroes make are guided by a common heroic code. The goal of this paper is to get you to think about the values of the Homeric hero (that is, what makes a hero a hero in the 8th century BCE?), by answering the question below. 
 Using ONLY the excerpts from the Iliad in your course packet (pp. 21-38), answer the following question: 
 Who is more heroic, Achilles or Hector, and why? Format: Failure to follow the requirements below will result in deductions in your grade. 
 * Font: Times or Times New Roman * Font Size: 12 for the text * Margins: all should be 1 inch. Your computer automatically sets margins at 1.25’’. Change them to 1’’. * Page numbers on every page * Spacing: double-spaced with NO extra spaces between paragraphs, except for footnotes and long quotations (these are to be single-spaced). * Length: 5-6 pages. This means your paper should be a full 5-pages long. * On the top left corner, single-spaced, you should have your name and date. The paper should also be stapled in the top left corner. * Your paper should include a title, centered in bold below the section with your name and date. You should NOT include a title page or a works cited page. 
 Basic Paper Structure: Your paper needs to begin with an introductory paragraph (maximum ½-page long) that states the topic of your paper and perhaps provides a brief outline of what you plan to accomplish. Do not over-generalize in the introduction. Statements such as “Throughout history,” “throughout space and time,” etc., do not contribute anything to your paper and, in general, are false. History is specific and nothing has ever happened “throughout history.” You need to communicate to your reader that you will be addressing something specific. Your introduction should contain a thesis statement. This is typically the last sentence of your introductory paragraph. A good thesis statement should be a single sentence, should contain a limited topic. It should be contestable and should take a position or draw a conclusion about your topic based on the evidence (not your opinions). 
 Subsequent paragraphs should develop your thesis with supporting arguments. You will need to articulate your own analysis to show how the primary sources defend your larger argument. Each paragraph should be approximately ½-page long. If you find that you are writing 1+ page paragraphs, you should be concerned that you are not breaking down your ideas clearly. Each paragraph should adequately develop its unique topic. The purpose/goal of the paragraph should be clear to the reader at the beginning of the paragraph. This can be achieved with a good topic sentence, in which you state what the topic of the paragraph is and clearly link it back to the thesis statement. You should follow this with supporting sentences that discuss, elaborate, or analyze the point made in the topic sentence, and end with a concluding sentence (not a citation or quoted passage). Sufficient transitions should help guide your reader between sentences within a paragraph and also provide guideposts between the paragraphs to alert your reader to your organization. Indent each paragraph by beginning with the tab key. 
 Your paper should include a conclusion where you revisit your thesis and briefly summarize your arguments. Remember that a concluding paragraph ends the paper. Do not include new material not previously discussed in your paper. Instructions on Citations Your paper must always include concrete evidence to support each of the points you wish to make, in order to support your overall argument. This means that you must cite specific passages that support your ideas. This typically should happen only in the main body paragraphs of your papers, but not in your introduction or conclusion. You should provide citations whenever you refer to, summarize, or quote something from the primary sources. These citations should be in parenthetical form. To cite a passage, provide in parentheses after your quote or paraphrase the book number followed by a period and then the line numbers: For example: Athena returns to Achilles his spear (22.275-6). Punctuation always comes after the parenthetical citation. 
 How to use Quotations Effectively: 1. Avoid beginning a paragraph with quotations. You should begin them with topic sentences. 
 2. Avoid ending a paragraph with quotations. Quotations should be used as supporting evidence and thus require analysis to show their relevance to the main point you are trying to make. 
 3. Before you quote a passage, provide the context and explain how it relates to the point you want to make: * Introduce the quote with a sentence or a phrase that explains what the quote is and why it might be relevant (ie, why are you choosing to quote the text?) * The quoted passage should not stand alone as a sentence! Instead, it should be incorporated in a sentence and the whole sentence, including the test of the quoted passage, should be grammatically correct. * Follow the quote with an explanation of what it demonstrates. * If your sentence ends with a quote, the punctuation mark always goes inside the final quotation mark. You should follow the quotation with your own analysis that discusses what the quotation shows in terms of your argument. 
 4. Keep any quotations from the text short. Avoid long quotations. When you use long quotations you are giving up space in your essay to someone else. Do not let that speaker take away the spotlight from your own writing. Part of your grade is based on how well you can present your argument. This means that the paper should be based mostly on your own writing, rather than quotations or summaries from the text. Besides, long quotations often contain material that is not necessary for you to make your point. It is almost always more effective to use shorter quotations, which help highlight the exact words you feel are most important; the same important words can be obscured if presented as part of a long quotation. If you choose to use a quotation longer than 4 lines, then it should be offset and indented. The entire quotation should be indented 2 tabs from the left margin. The right margins do not change. Do not put quotation marks around indented quotes. Indented quotes should be single-spaced. 
 Academic Tone: Use a neutral tone. Your arguments should be framed in an analytical rather than personal way. Avoid value judgements. It is NOT appropriate to begin sentences with “I think…,” “I believe…,” or “I feel…” etc. Rely on evidence over feeling. Avoid the use of personal pronouns; use instead impersonal constructions. Your paper should be as objective as possible, not subjective. Avoid contractions.