Achilles In The Iliad

In Homer’s poem, The Iliad, the demi-god protagonist, Achilles, displays immense wrath against his fellow Achaian countrymen. Despite being angry at only Agamemnon, the army’s commander, moments beforehand, Achilles ultimately turns his resentment against all the Greek army and demands divine intervention against the Achaian troops. Initially, Agamemnon and his followers stripped away what was rightfully his, similarly to how Achilles’ believes his divine fate was taken by being born to a mortal man. Achilles’ conversation with Athena sparked his god-like anger, because the goddess’ promise of grand rewards reminded Achilles of his perceived lost godly position. Honor, glory, and fame on a god-like scale play into the reasons Achilles feels
The underlying theme to the fight with Agamemnon is the fact that the army commander is insulting the demi-god’s honor. Both men see the captive women as property but also as signs of honor and status. Agamemnon taking the prize, is therefore seen as the army commander suggesting he is more important and more deserving compared to Achilles. It is important to know that in ancient times, when polis city-states dominated the geography, honor and respect built loyalty and public recognition. Those attributes then in turn created the conditions necessary to obtain immortal fame. The removal of one of the qualities would be devastating to someone like Achilles who so desperately longed for undying recognition. Consequently, by remaining silent the Achaians unofficially support Agamemnon in the conflict. Therefore, in Achilles’ eyes he has lost the support of the people and must take drastic actions to become famous among the Greeks once again. Achilles wanting revenge on all the Achaian army may seem severe but this concept is common among the time period. The city of Troy is threatened by destruction because its residents housed Paris, the instigator of the Trojan War, instead of throwing him out for defiling the host-guest
However, Achilles still does view himself as a human counterpart to the gods and even certain divine beings treat him as such. This can be seen when Athena intervenes. Achilles begins the conversation by questioning “why have you come now… once more?” an action never done by a normal human who would instead only listen to the god’s advice (Book 1 Line 201-202). Athena reciprocates the perception of Achilles being an equal to the gods by asking the demi-god if “[he] will obey [her]” (Book 1 Line 207). This interaction is approached in a sense of familiarity as one friend asking a favor of another. Normally, humans and even demi-gods would not have that relationship with a divine being. Athena then comments should Achilles head her wisdom he will receive “some day three times over such shinning gifts… by reason of this outrage” (Book 1 Line 213-214). Achilles continues to act like a god when he imitates Apollo, the god who had “in anger at the king [driven] the foul pestilence along the host” (Book 1 Line 9-10). This is noteworthy because Achilles does the same thing as Apollo. The king, Agamemnon, has deeply offended Achilles but instead of punishing only the perpetrator he chooses to unleash his righteous indignation on all of the Achaian troops. By doing this, the reader can clearly see that Achilles believes he ranks