Achilles may have been a hero in Greek mythology, but he was also kind of a douchebag*. Hector of Troy/Ilium, on the other hand, acted more like an actual hero, to my knowledge...and, in the poem Orlando Furioso, is mentioned as the original owner of Durendal. I'm guessing that the guys at Bungie weren't aware of that poem; otherwise I feel that they'd have gladly jumped on it.
Also, related art, among unrelated art.
* yeah yeah, Bungie liked to encourage players to torment the BoBs, but canonically it's suggested that the Security Officer doesn't do that.