Achilles criticizes the “heroic code” in the Iliad. Achilles has an unusual double fate: he knows that if he goes home from Troy, he will have a long life without glory. If he stays, he will win great glory but his life will be cut short. One measure of the extraordinary experience Achilles is going through emerges from his refusal to abide by the customary rules of status, when he rejects Agamemnon’s offer in Book Nine. Both characters in the myth are fighting because Agamemnon has taken charge of Achilles’ Trojan slave named Briseis, claiming her as his property. Achilles has feelings for Briseis, which drives the plot in The Iliad. Achilles already despises Agamemnon, so this final act of disrespect causes Achilles…
Even though The Odyssey is 1000 of years old, the use of human flaws serves the same purpose of defending readers against lousy feelings.…
However, each one displayed their pride in different ways. Achilles did so to a fault when he first refused to fight for Agamemnon. Achilles’ pride got in the way over the fact that Breisis was taken away from him by Agamemnon. Achilles knew the state would be better served if he joined the war, but pride initially kept him out of it. He then overcomes that pride to help lead his state into victory. Hector shows his pride in his country immediately even though he also has great pride in his family. Hector is aware of his duty to his country and does not let his pride get in the way of compromising his service. Instead, he fights as a representative of Troy and it is pride that permits him to make that choice. Hector explains this by saying “All this weighs on my mind too, dear woman. But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan women trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward” (6.…
Achilles was called a tragic hero because his flaw was to be selfish. A selfish person lacked consideration for others and was concerned with their own pleasure. In the Iliad, Achilles mostly cared about himself. For example, Agamemnon stole Achilles’ prize possession. For this reason, Achilles refused to join the war because he was angry with Agamemnon. Achilles stated, “But listen while I tell you exactly how I want things to be: ‘I want you to win me great honor and glory in the eyes of all Greeks, so that they give my lovely women back to me and…
In Homer’s book The Iliad, Homer tells the story of the Trojan War with Achilles, the best Greek warrior. However, Achilles does not like Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, because he took Briseis (Briseis was a woman that Achilles had received as a war prize). This is the reason why Achilles was raged at Agamemnon. In a rage, Achilles wants to kill all of the Trojans, especially Hector, the best Trojan warrior. Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend goes out to the battle field as Achilles (wearing his armor), trying to kill Hector but instead Hector kills Patroclus thinking he has killed Achilles. When Achilles finds out about this, he is very mad and goes out to kill Hector himself. When he kills Hector, he is very arrogant about it. Only after this happens does Achilles get Briseis back from Agamemnon.…
Throughout the Oedipus trilogy by Sophocles, the Greek concept of hubris is a prominent cause of the constant disastrous results. Most characters who show great pride and self-confidence have disastrous consequences. The character most represented by this shortcoming is none other than Oedipus. Oedipus constantly shows his weakness of excessive pride.…
Hubris represents the extreme pride and arrogance of a character that often leads to his or her downfall. This foolish pride or confidence describes both the attitude and the often-violent behavior of many characters in classical mythology. Despite the individual nature of this trait, hubris often creates lasting consequences for any group in which the offender takes part, as a result of the wrongful action. In many cases, hubris represents the overconfidence of these individuals in their accomplishments and capabilities, especially when mortal characters go so far as to compare themselves with the gods, which indicates a loss of touch with reality. As Aristotle wrote in Rhetoric, “Hubris consists in…
Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, to some it can be a valuable character trait,…
In Homer’s epic, The Iliad, every character deals with some form of hubris, whether they are the main character or if they show up for one book. Throughout the epic Homer shows how people are blinded by hubris. Only through a loss of something dear will one purge themselves of hubris.…
The despair that iconic characters like Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Oedipus, Adam, and Eve experienced exemplified the dangers of excessive pride, self-confidence, and vying for godlike qualities such as seeking omniscience or attempting to control one’s predetermined fate. However, these characters’ downfalls (and the downfall of humanity as a whole in the case of Adam and Eve) were not ineradicable, as people may have come to believe about the effects of hubris in literature. What could this unexpectedly hopeful trend in ancient literature mean in terms of the authors’ true message, if they were also trying to convey that hubris has awful consequences? Perhaps it is simply an indication of humanity’s hope that mistakes like hubristic actions do not define us. We may all have character flaws, but it’s how we present ourselves that really…
In Homer’s book, The Iliad, epic similes are used throughout the book, by exploring one of these similes, Homer reveals ,in the simile, that men of war can transform into an animal and take on their characteristics.…
Every hero has a hamartia. A hamartia is a fatal flaw that eventually leads to the demise of a hero. Achilles’ hamartia, or his fatal flaw, was a characteristic trait: his pride. His pride caused him to withdraw himself from the fight, which caused…
A tragic hero is an honourable protagonist (or any literary character) with a tragic flaw, also known as fatal flaw, which eventually leads to his death or decease or downfall. A tragic hero usually has the following sequence of "Great, Good, Flaw, Downfall." and more often than not dies at some point in the story. Tragic heroes appear in the dramatic works of Shakespeare, Seneca, Marlowe, Webster, Strindberg, and many other writers.…
Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, has yet again consumed two major protagonists in American Literature. It can often run undetected by the individual until faced with the repercussions of the flaw. Sophocles and Shakespeare both approach the issue in each of their plays. The characters are both distinguished and honorable men, yet their tragic flaw of pride will destroy them both. Oedipus and Othello and their true character as tragic heroes is then unmasked when they confront the disastrous repercussions of pride.…
Arête can be viewed as a captivating quality that can light a fire of patriotism under the hearts of many, while hubris can destroy the reputation of a person and destroy the determination of a rising power. As seen in the Iliad, arête is the main social value of Greek life and is the first spark of patriotism for a civilization that is only beginning. In the Iliad, the rage of Achilles is a perfect example of hubris in early Greek civilization. When Achilles says, “I will not return until Trojans set fire to the ships” (Homer 9.667-78), Achilles is making an attempt to take what he has not yet earned. His aristos has gone to his head and he is no longer thinking of the excellence he might be earning in battle, but the power he could gain over another person or group.…