In Greek myth, Sisyphus repeatedly rolls a giant boulder up a mountain only to have it roll off the top each time. He serves a sentence of eternal suffering for trying to escape Death and Hades. Like Sisyphus, the warriors of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey suffer consequences when they push the limits of human achievement. Men attempt to gain glory for their fathers, glory for their children, and, above all, glory for themselves (Iliad 6:529). They pursue power and omnipotence: an unattainable ultimate goal. Fathers garner honor and set difficult benchmarks, and their children strive to surpass them. This endless quest is at the heart of the father-son relationships involving the heroes Hector and Achilles of the Iliad. Similarly, in the Odyssey, Odysseus and his son Telemachus also face important responsibilities in a world that embraces lineage and recognizes a man's superiority in the honor accrued by his lineage. Fathers and sons undertake endless quests for glory. In the Sisyphean challenge to gain power and glory that underlies father-son interactions, Homer's two epics mirror each other and provide a greater understanding of the patriarchal society of ancient Greece. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to MI Finley in The World of Ulysses, the "perfect symbol" of power is the "father" (Finley 81). Patriarchates promote father rule as a social ideal; paternal relationships are not strictly biological but extend to all power dynamics. In The Limits of Heroism, Mark Buchan asserts that the macho, stratified, power-based structure of Homeric society makes a man's fatherhood status the cornerstone of "male identity" (Buchan 171). Status is the basis on which a man's worth is judged. Being a "father" inherently involves having a great influence on his son and men in general. A father works to realize his position as a hero in the eyes of his son. He earns his son's idolatry by earning the respect of the men around him, by earning honor for his strength, his wisdom, or his talents. His essential purpose is to become "the great tactician" or "the fast runner" (Iliad 10:173, 22:230). Being his son implies succeeding him. The accepted principle for all father-son relationships is that a father's world is perpetuated by his son. The son must correspond, for example, to the patronymic "Odysseus, royal son of Laertes" or "matchless son of Peleus" Achilles (The Odyssey 18:29, 11:630). Once a son reaches the age of majority, he is expected to live up to his lineage, protect his father's honor, and perform deeds that he himself can pass on. A son must strive for greatness: in chariot races, in war, in politics, in one form or another. Paradoxically, the expectations placed on father and son pose a problem. There is no limit to honor. How does a man conclude his search? A man accomplishes unimaginable feats, and even after becoming a hero among the people and a father of many children, he is still striving to achieve greater glory. It is a Sisyphus-like incessant struggle; generations of men - fathers, sons - climb an insurmountable cliff, hoping that their names will remain imprinted in history and power will be preserved in their bloodlines. Having power - "whether over things, or over men (by other men or by some god), or over men and gods together (by Zeus)" - is the main goal of both fathers and sons in the Iliad and of the Odyssey (Finley 81). In societyGreek patriarchal, the father is the head "with force" (Finley 81). The men of Homer's epic, hoping to fit in or one day take on the father figure, try to demonstrate their "power." Hector, for example, "betting everything" on his strength, tries to take on the role of father of Astyanax and son of King Priam (Iliad 22: 128). Hector pursues the complementary goals of being the glory-winning warrior and being a father and son. In the end, Hector does not fight the Achaeans out of social obligation; “the hero's honor is purely individual…fought only for himself and himself” (Finley 119). Since glory is transferred from generation to generation, fighting for one's sake is also fighting for the sake of his son and his father. Every father dreams of glory for his son "when he returns home from battle carrying with him the bloody equipment of the mortal enemy he has slain" (Iliad 6: 572-573). At the same time, each son hopes to have "the bravest fighter he could field, those stallion-taming Trojans" like his father (Iliad 6:548-549). The honor won by father and son will inevitably be compared and will make them both immortal. The Greek idea that internal value is reflected externally and that the duty of a son or father (in his prime) is to gain honor and power guides Hector. For Astyanax, for Priam and for himself, Hector faces Achilles and fate. When Hector dies, Priam laments to his surviving sons: "If only you had all been killed in the swift ships instead of my dear Hector" (Iliad 24:300-301). Priam's condemnation of his surviving sons as "good for nothing" embodies Hector as the ideal son, recognizing him for having fulfilled his role (Iliad 24:284). Through the character of Ettore, the destructive quality of the father-son relationship is evident. There are no limits to greatness – there is no limit to power – and men often find themselves in a Sisyphean quest. Hector is willing to die for Troy and his family, even if his death dooms them both. Similarly, the father-son relationship between Peleus and Achilles has a devastating impact on the "hard and merciless" warrior (Iliad 9:771). In Troy, Achilles' thoughts often turn to his old father in Phthia, "with no one there to defend him" (Iliad 24:573). Achilles cannot physically "defend" his father; however, he can protect his honor and that of his father. Since Peleus has no direct influence on Troy, an "adoptive" father illuminates Achilles' relationship with his father more clearly (Buchan 173). As Achilles' "adoptive" father, King Priam makes an appeal to Achilles: Remember your father, the great god-like Achilles, as old as I am, beyond the threshold of mortal old age! but at least he feels that you are still alive and his old heart rejoices, hoping day by day to see his beloved son come home from Troy. (Iliad 24: 570-576) With these words Priam draws a parallel between himself and Achilles' father, Peleus. Priam's situation resembles that of Peleus on a large scale. Hector is the bulwark of Troy; Achilles is the bulwark of Phthia. Furthermore, unbeknownst to Priam, Peleus will also never see his son alive again, as Achilles' fate is to die in Troy. “The old man's words arouse in Achilles 'the desire to mourn his father'. The murderer, for a brief moment, is a man again, burdened with childhood and death,” describes Rachel Bespaloff (Bespaloff 80). He is reminded of why he is willing to shed his blood: it is for glory for himself, for his father. The triangle formed by Priam, Peleus and Achilles reflects the tragedy that arose from a son's quest for greatness. Achilles is consumed like a wild animal by Sisyphus' struggle for.