The epic poem The Iliad by Homer depicts the Trojan War and its heroic heroes. Heroism is the quality of a person's character that makes them great. Two characters considered heroic, however, are Achilles and Hector; Hector is more heroic because he is decisive, through his perseverance and his personality. During the Trojan War, Paris, who started the war by stealing Helen from her husband Menelaus, challenged the Achaeans to single combat with any warrior. Paris is a Trojan warrior and prince while Menelaus is an Achaean or Greek warrior and king. However, when Paris saw Menelaus advancing, he retreated into the Trojan ranks; Hector chastised him for being a coward and Paris agreed to fight a duel with Menelaus. The terms of the fight were wealth and the return of Helen which would end the war. As the two fought a duel, an enraged Menelaus was determined to kill Paris, but the god, Aphrodite, took Paris back to the palace and summoned Helen to lie with Paris. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and also the reason why the war took place. Menelaus established that he had won the duel and asked Helen to return; they did not want to give it back, so efforts for a truce failed. While Paris and Helen were at the Palace, the war raged with Hector in the middle of the battle. Then Hector returned to the palace and told Paris to fight or bring Helen back instead of hiding because they were being massacred. Later in the war the Trojans began to advance and win, at which point Hector decided to visit his family. Hector's wife told him not to get involved in the war because he might not return. Despite his wife's efforts to prevent him from entering the war, he still fought. Even though Hector is just a mere mortal, his personality does not allow him to make interludes, he is rooted in the fight even if he knows that the Trojans are losing. Hector is decisive in giving Paris different ways to resolve the conflict between him and Menelaus, while Achilles who retains his rage against Agamemnon causing the death of many Achaeans and his friend. After the duel, Zeus declared that the war must be over, but Athena wanted the Trojans' total destruction because they had not returned Helen. Using her divine powers, she tricked a Trojan warrior into shooting his arrow at Menelaus and the montage began..