Discuss the heroic code and the values of war in the Iliad with respect to Achilles and Hector.

The most important aspect of the heroic code is honor. For the Achaeans and Trojans alike, honor is won primarily on the field of battle, displayed in countless acts of physical courage. Achilles, the Achaeans' finest warrior, exemplifies this code more than anyone else. If anything, his taste for battle is too great, and he derives enormous satisfaction from hacking his opponents to pieces and reveling in their pitiless slaughter.
The actions of Achilles seem extraordinarily reckless; when he finally returns to battle after his lengthy sulk, he throws himself at the enemy without a moment's reflection, utterly heedless of the potential consequences. Honor can take many forms, but for Achilles it's strictly personal; he fights for his own honor, not the honor of the Achaeans, and that honor has been sorely offended by Hector's killing of Patroclus, Achilles's close friend and companion.
Hector's understanding of the heroic code has marked similarities to Achilles's, but there are important differences. For one thing, Hector fights primarily for the honor of his family and his city. He's every bit as brave as Achilles, but lacks his utter recklessness and disregard for human life. Saving the lives of his men is more important to Hector than winning personal glory. Hector kills Patroclus, along with many other Achaean warriors, but he kills them because he has to.
Unlike Achilles, his fidelity to the warrior code means that he feels himself bound to a higher law, a set of standards that should always determine his conduct. Achilles, on the other hand, is a law unto himself; the heroic code simply allows him the opportunity to indulge his taste for unrestrained violence and self-aggrandizement. In the respective figures of Achilles and Hector, we can see that the heroic warrior code of the Iliad has both individual and social dimensions.