Achilles and Hector of Troy - legends killed by their own blood!

Yesterday I was watching Troy. That was not the first time and I believe that will not be the last time either. I'm one of those people that believe there is a lot to learn from our past, be it the mistakes or the best decisions that had changed the course of human history.

I have not read the book but the director, Wolfgang Petersen, had done an awesome job with Troy. The opulence and magnificence of yesteryears was vividly captured in the movie.

Everytime I watched the movie, there was always something new that hit my eyes. This time was no different. The legendary Achilles and the prince of Troy, Hector, I realised, were killed by their own blood! Achilles was single handedly killed by his own mother while Hector's killing was a collective achievement of his father, wife, brother, commander and the least you expect, Hector himself!

I know! If you had read the book or watched the movie, you would say, 'No! Achilles killed Hector and Paris killed Achilles. Wait! Hear me out!

When Achilles was invited for the war, he goes to his mom for advice and this is what she had to tell him; if you stay back, you will have a happy family and a loving wife; you will have children and they will love you; they will have children and they will praise you; they will have children and in turn they will have children of their own; you will be forgotten slowly. On the other hand, if you leave, you will never come back, but the world will sing your praise; you will be remembered forever! Going by the almost-gayish intimacy shown between Achilles and his cousin, the 'marrying-a-girl' part must have had beaten the s--t out of Achilles! So he decides to leave for the war and his mom kisses him goodbye. What a mom! And what a lousy way to start a lifetime mission! In the end, he does not seem to participate in the war happily. He dies a sad man. Of all the people, the mighty Achilles had to be killed by the weakling, Paris.

The other sad story was that of Hector. When Achilles calls Hector for the ill-fated fight, none of Hector's relatives believe or at least pretend that he will come back alive, including his wife! As if that is not enough, Hector himself strongly believes that he will not survive. I would have been surprised, if he came back alive after all these ill preparations. What a far cry from today's Stephen Covey, Robin Sharma, Robert Kiyosaki and a host of other authors and their money-minting books on positive thinking and self-hypnotism for success!

Having said that, it was no surprise that the weakling, Paris, kills the mighty Achilles, because Hector tells him, you are the prince of Troy now, my brother, I know you will make me proud! Helen, with a face that launched a thousand ships, tells him, I love you for what you are! You are more man than my ex-husband.

It is a wonder what positive words can do and negative words can undo!