Even though Achilles is being wronged by agamlmnon, Achilles should do better if she could try to control his anger and respect his king. Achilles stubbornness in thinking that things should be fair and equals what often spurs his anger. Achilles often sees the lies and injusticensess in his society which causes him to defy social norms. Despite his god-like exterior, on the inside, Achilles battles mortal weaknesses hat are dangerous to his relationships and his troops.…
At the beginning of the war Achilles is not on good terms with Agamemnon because Agamemnon does not have respect towards Achilles. Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles when Achilles is gone. When Achilles returns he is angered with what Agamemnon did. He says that he will no…
In the Iliad, the characters of Hector and Achilles carry similar traits, although a deeper investigation into each character will show some stark contrasts between the two. Victory and defeat is not the most telling sign as to which is the greater hero of the two. There are flaws within each character and each one fights to overcome them throughout the story. By the end, it is clear which one emerges as the most appropriate symbol of a hero. The character of Achilles is greater than the character of Hector because he was able to overcome more of his character flaws to become a more realistic portrayal of what a heroic character should be.…
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.…
Achilles shows various forms of commitment in the Iliad. This god does not appear as often as others do, but when he does he appears with a bang. He and Agamemnon have ongoing beef, and because of this he resides from the Achaen army. The Achaens need his help to defeat Troy but he is so committed to his hatred for Agamemnon that he refuses to help. “never again, he’ll never rob me blind with his twistsul words again. Once is enough for him. Die and be damned for all I care” (9, 455-457). The beef begins when Agamemnon steals Achilles’ wife from him, whom he cherished very dearly. In the text it is very clear that Achilles is committed to his love for this woman, which isn’t common for the gods to do. “…anguish gripped Achilles. The heart…
“Now I am going to clarify my position … pay attention” This also shows a hint of conciliatory again yet it is not quite an apology to Achilles. As well as this Agamemnon is showing his authority over the other Greek soldiers and Achilles as well, he is on the defensive side, to show he has nothing to prove and cannot be made to say something he doesn’t want to say. He may be showing everyone around him that he can be the bigger man and almost apologise for what he has done, however he wants Achilles to know it more, as he is the one who went against him first (in his own opinion).…
Achilles is a character from one of my favorite books by Homer, The Iliad and the Odyssey. He has no care for the authority of King Agamemnon. Achilles says, “You shameless, cunning man! How is any Greek willing to obey you? I did not come here because the Trojans had injured me. They have never bothered my…
Over time there have been many men and women who have received the title “hero.” They likely have been named by their bravery, strength, and willingness to give up their own comfort, if not their own life, to benefit the wellbeing of others. Every hero differs in many ways. Each one of them has his own story of heroism. The tragic hero survives in our literature.…
When Agamemnon is forced to return his own slave back he also makes Achilles give up his own slave, Briseis, just because Agamemnon feels jealous. Achilles stands up to the king and refuses to fight in the war anymore and especially not for king Agamemnon. Achilles also states that he and his men are doing all the work in the war while the king just sits on his throne and reaps the rewards. This is a clear example of speaking the truth to power because the power is represented by King Agamemnon and the injustice is that he is forcing Achilles to give back his slave out of pure jealousy and Achilles decides to speak the truth by standing up to himself and refusing to fight for his army. He also speaks the truth by proclaiming that the King is not actually doing anything, it is Achilles and his troops that are doing all the work and King Agamemnon gets all the credit for their hard…
Achilles is a pure icon for greatness. Ever since Achilles was born, he was fated for greatness. It is said that almighty Achilles was granted the gift of invulnerability when his mother Thetis dipped young Achilles in the river of Styx. Unfortunately, Thetis didn’t dip his heel in the river, leaving his feet the only part on his body that was vulnerable. Achilles display of hubris comes solely from his invulnerability. An excellent example of Achilles hubris is when Agamemnon strips Achilles of his maiden Brisies. The enraged and prideful Achilles refuses to fight for Agamemnon. As a potent warrior, the Greeks viewed Achilles as a symbol of victory and unity. Therefore, when Achilles refuses to fight for Agamemnon, the Greeks lose that sense of victory and unity, thus leading to many deaths on the Greek…
The immaturity of Achilles is the reason for his pride. He was sent into battle around the age of fifteen and has been the best Argive warrior for several years. He has been looked up to like a god. He is fed up with storming cities and risking his life for Agamemnon for nothing. Since Achilles is so immature, taking Briseis away is like taking a toy away from a little kid. They’ll start pouting until they get their way, even if it means the death of thousands. In this case Achilles knows his mother can sway Zeus against the Argives, so he can bask in glory. His hubris blinds him so much he’s not willing to share any glory with his best friend:…
The conflict began because Agamemnon was unwilling to give up his treasure, Chryseis, and believed that he should be “owed another prize” so he “wouldn't be the only Argive left without a gift” (Homer, Iliad 1. 126-127). Tensions began to rise between Achilles and Agamemnon as each of the powerful men voiced their opinions about the fairness of Agamemnon's demands. Eventually, the argument got to a breaking point when Achilles decided to “return home now to Phthia…” because he didn't “fancy staying here unvalued, to pile up riches, treasures just for you [Agamemnon]” (Homer, Iliad 1. 185-188). Achilles attempted to deliver revenge on the king for his disrespectful behavior by refusing to fight for him. His refusal to fight reinforces the importance of combat in Greek society and how not choosing to fight is seen as a big deal. Pride wounded by Achilles’ act of defiance, Agamemnon lashed out one last time by claiming to “take your [Achilles’] prize, fair-cheeked Briseis” (Homer, Iliad 1. 200-201). By wounding man’s pride, the need to get revenge was established through the dialogue exchanged between the two rival…
Achilles does not give up. As a soldier does when he is shipped to war, he will achieve his goal of killing the enemy and bringing safety to those back home. As Patroclus was killed in war while wearing the armor of Achilles, Achilles changed his mind about the war and went back in. He was determined to find Hector. He did, wielding a spear and the armor of his enemy. As this was taunting and malicious behavior, it was also a death trap. The only person who knew the openings in the armor was Achilles. Coincidentally that was the…
This image describes and symbolizes a struggle between two opposing mythical warriors. Both from different worlds and ways of life, both attempting to conquer the other in battle. The first being in the image (the one on the right that is about to slay his enemy) is a great mythological warrior, the son of Peleus, named Achilles. Achilles is a famous Greek hero that many Greek citizens, at that time, could relate themselves too. He had characteristics that almost any Greek male wanted to imitate.…