Achilles Vs Greek

“This will be the greatest war the world has ever seen. We need the greatest warrior.” King Agamemnon is informed of this during preparations for war in the movie adaptation of the famous Trojan War. Trojan princes, Paris and Hector, arrive in Sparta to begin peace talks, yet the young prince Paris falls in love with the beautiful Queen of Sparta. Helen reveals her disdain for the King and agrees to flee leave with Paris to Troy, despite the war such an action would bring. Her disappearance is discovered by King Menelaus, of Sparta, and he goes to his brother to request aid in destroying Troy. At this request, King Agamemnon is overjoyed with the chance. King Agamemnon calls for all the leaders of Greece along with the greatest warrior, Achilles.

Instead, the Greek myth of Achilles and his skill take center focus, however, Hollywood puts its’ own edge in this modern remake. Changes to the classic poem are instantly noticed when the viewer is introduced to the hero of the movie, Achilles. According to Greek mythology, Achilles was the son of Peleus, the Myrmidon leader, and Thetis. Thetis became afraid for the mortality of her baby, therefore she did whatever was necessary to make him immortal. This included: burning him over a fire nightly, dressing the wounds with ambrosial ointment, and finally dipping him into the river Styx. Yet, she held his heel tightly, therefore the water never touched his heel and left a weak spot (History.., par. 1, 2). However, in the film, Achilles is portrayed as purely mundane rather than an ethereal being with special immortality- he is simply human. Pre War, Achilles is described as, “A man who fights for no flag. A man loyal to no country,” by Agamemnon and seen as an arrogant womanizer. However, after the raid at Apollo’s temple on the shores of Troy, a cousin of the Trojan princes,

While the changes to the hero, Achilles, are many, they do not detract from the story. The new Achilles creates a character that can be empathized with, believed, and eventually loved. Achilles goes from a womanizer who fights for the fame to a man who dies trying to protect a woman he loves. However, the real connection is created by the actors and the way they portray their characters. Mr. O’Toole creates sparks throughout the film with his style of acting. Therefore making Priam a character that someone cannot help but love, feel bad for, and connect with. While epic fight scenes are a trademark of war films, Troy, could have done well without them. Contrastingly, the individual scenes created the suspense and gripping feeling that was lacking in the battle scenes. Despite the magnitude of changes, the film stuck with much of the mythology and created a successful retelling that even taught a lesson through Achilles. Achilles displays that there is no such thing as an immortal warrior and that love can sometimes become a person’s Achilles