Fame and pride drove the conflict.
Pride drives the plot of the Iliad. The Achaeans gather on the plain of Troy to wrest Helen from the Trojans. Though the majority of the Trojans would gladly return Helen to the Achaeans, they defer to the pride of Paris.Hector could have resolved the war diplomatically by negotiating Helen’s return to Menelaus. But his pride prevented them from negotiating and ending the war. Agamemnon’s pride sets forth a chain of events that leads him to take from Achilles, Briseis, the girl that he had originally given Achilles in return for his martial prowess. Due to this slight, Achilles refuses to fight.
If it weren’t for Achilles’ pride, Patroclus would be alive, if it weren’t for the Trojans’ pride, they would negotiate peace with the Greeks and the terms were too good to refuse. It was the return of Helen and the treasures.
There is the desire for fame and glory. This is what drives both Achilles and Hctor in war. Hetcor knows he is at risk, but he does not fight the war out of mere patriotism, but to gain fame. Just as Achilles chooses glory over a long, dark life.
by calypso_odyssey