Manliness

Thank you, Brad Pitt, for baring your sexy ass in one of Troy's opening scenes (a fact which a dear friend has told me was the actor's request). Of course your introductory scene as Achilles opens with an implied threesome—two gorgeous gals lying next to you on the tent floor. Reflections that follow are from the movie, Troy, not Homer's Iliad (source material). 

Achilles' perfect hair, hairless abs, and dirty-braided blonde hair make him irresistible eye candy—his go-to combat maneuver: the euro-step-jump combo ending in a sword thrust to the enemy's neck. His every movement poised and collected. His final battle with Hector showcases the best of his skills, and he needed them too, apparently, since he claims that Hector was the best fighter he ever fought. 

Hector, tamer of horses, is as far from Achilles as I am from Jason Momoa's body type. He's loyal, puts aside his feelings when a higher purpose calls, and fears things. Contrast that with Achilles nearly leaving the fight over a petty squabble, not fearing the retaliation of Greece's enemies who would perceive his retreat as a vulnerability to exploit. Odysseus keeps him fighting at Troy by giving him some unsolicited advice, "You don't fear anyone, that's your problem. Fear is useful." No one knows this better than Hector, who can't seem to get the proud Trojans to give two shits about the invading Greeks. They have far too much faith in their gods and high walls "which have never been breached" (*rolls eyes*).

Achilles might be sexier, but Hector displays another side of manliness that is perhaps equally important. Mark Manson's definition of vulnerability works for me: choosing not to hide your thoughts or emotions no matter the outcome. Achilles' heel, his only weak spot, is a great metaphor for Achilles' emotional lack of vulnerability. He never expresses his emotions in healthy ways. When Agammemnon steals his girl, he passive aggressively avoids the battlefield, costing the Greeks many lives—including that of his own cousin, Patroclus. 

Whether you choose to be vulnerable or lack vulnerability, you’re fucked in the end; and Homer was a real savage for letting us know this viscerally. Hector, before facing Achilles, talks about how he fears to fight him and had to work for all of his abilities. Unlike Achilles, Hector had no immortal goddess for a mother. He wasn’t special. There’s a great moment from the Iliad that really sears the chicken for me. Hector is all decked in armor (hot!), and picks up his little son, Astyanax (love the name), and his son starts to cry because his dad’s horse-haired helmet scares him. Hector laughs, takes it off, and kisses his son and wife before facing Achilles. Achilles proceeds to slay Hector, tie him to his chariot, and defile his body so he could never enter the afterlife. 

We all die in the end, whether we’re vulnerable or not. How we choose to live is all that’s in our power. All we really have is right in front of us.