Who is Heroic? Achilles vs. Hector in Homer's "Iliad"

Seriously Achilles stop being such an emo. Ugh.

The Iliad portrays both Achilles and Hector as heroes with both admirable and faulty characteristics.  each represents his side of war: Achilles is the greatest warrior on the Greeks' side, Hector on the Trojan's. 

Despite the fact that both exhibit heroism and cowardice in this poem, it's always been my opinion that Hector represents the superior type of heroism. Sure, one could argue that Achilles is brave in that he does not really have a vested interest in war, and volunteers of his own volition.  But Hector is one of the few warriors on the losing side, and he fights bravely for his family and country.  Instead of giving up when things don't go well for him, he perseveres. This is in direct contrast with Achilles, who withdraws from war when he's insulted over petty matters of pride. In fact, Achilles is only drawn out of sulking in his tent by the death of his friend at Hector's hands, and returns to battle not for any greater cause than to carry out a personal vendetta of revenge against Hector.

Another difference that illustrates Hector's superior heroism over Achilles is that while Achilles is in it for glory and the mere sake of fighting, Hector is protecting his country and family. The Iliad is essentially all the fault of Hector's long lost brother, Paris, who stole away Helen. Nevertheless, Hector is loyal to his brother. It's hard to be faithful to someone as foolish as Paris, and so while tactically it's a foolish decision on Hector's part, it's also another form of courage.

To me, Achilles has always come across as self-centered in Homer's epic. He's a good fighter, but he's also melodramatic and a mama's boy. Even in fighting he's not at that great of a risk, since he's invulnerable except for one little area on his heel. It's easy to be brave when you're unable to be hurt.  Achilles is also unsympathetic in that he lets his best friend go out and die in his place rather than forego his pouting--and then he blames Hector for his friend's death! In this, not only does Achilles cause his loved ones to be put in danger, but he also doesn't take responsibility for the consequences.  Meanwhile Hector tries to protect his wife and son even when it's hopeless.

Up to the point of their climactic battle, Achilles and Hector are basically equal in their exhibitions of heroism--as well as their not-so-heroic acts that mark them as all-too-human characters. Achilles sulks, Hector runs away, but the deciding factor in which is the more heroic is what they fight for, and why they fight.