Both of them were brave Greek warriors who fought in the Trojan war seeking glory. Where Odysseus was just a common man, Achilles was a God among men. His wrath knew no bounds as illustrated in the Illiad. Odysseus on the other hand was cunning and could defeat his enemies or escape danger merely using his intellect. We could say that the fact that Achilles knew his fate beforehand makes him capable of less emotions as he had only glory in mind.
Homer underlines that this behavior is foul, for Achilles allows his soldiers to wound the body and then bounds Hector’s feet to his chariot in order to harm the body. Although Hector asked him to give his body to his family, Achilles ignores the last will of the dying Trojan hero because he is still obsessed with his revenge. One should remember that the Greeks believed it was the issue of primary importance to bury a person’s body in a decent way so that their spirit would find the sanctuary. In other words, Achilles takes revenge in the most horrible way
Homer’s “The Iliad” uses Achilles, our epic hero, as a demonstration of the power rage has over men, and how that in turn affects fate. Achilles, though sometimes considered godlike in his sheer power, often succumbs to his overwhelming rage--eventually at the expense of his best friend’s life, and nearly his own honor. Although Achilles ultimately chooses to avenge Patroclus’ death and achieve his own kleos, his initial rage-fueled decision to withdraw his participation in the war leads to the death of many Achaean soldiers at the hands of the Trojan forces, thus demonstrating the power prideful rage has in determining fate. Achilles’ initial refusal to battle alongside Agammemnon, motivated by his fury at being publicly shamed, leads to
Eventually, he ended up completely disgracing Hector’s dead body in front of all of Troy, tying him up to a chariot and dragging him around, being “defiled in his own native land” (Iliad, Book 22, 449). His only redemption after this section is the fact that he allowed Hector’s parents to give him money in exchange for their son’s corpse so that he could be properly buried and sent off to Hades. All of this violence, especially the parts towards the already dead person, was not even acceptable towards the Greek. The comparison would be that with this level of brutality, most modern-day people would view Achilles more as a villain than a hero after this. His actions here provide no redemption in modern
Odysseus shows yet another time throughout his journey that he is willing to risk his life and the life of others to be remembered. Achilles is warned by his mother about what will happen if he goes to Troy to fight. “If you stay in Larissa, you will find peace. You will find a wonderful woman, and you will have sons and daughters, who will have children. And they'll all love you and remember your name.
It shows that no matter how extreme things can get, there is always something worth celebrating. Hephaistos decorates the shield with representation of the entire world to show that Achilles is not only fighting for himself, but also for the whole world. He is wearing the strength of the whole world on him. We know that Achilles is powerful, but now he has even more power. Not only in book 18, but throughout the whole text we are shown the polarities of human life; war and peace, city and country, and conflict and
Achilles battles Hector, and manages to shove his sword through Hector’s throat just barely missing his windpipe so Achilles can have one last conversation. Hector asks Achilles to bring his body back to the Archean’s, and Achilles refuses. Achilles destroys Hector’s body to avenge Patroclus. These two heroes have two different stories, but they both have some
Alongside Achilles’ responsibility for Patroclus’ fate, Hector also holds accountable too because in book 16, Hector talks to Patroclus about entering into the Trojan War; however, Patroclus fell gullible to Hector’s actions, and Hector turned out to be deceiving by stabbing him (being Patroclus) in the bowel and eventually killing him. Hector, and Achilles influenced fate among mortals, like Patroclus, so they could protect themselves until the end when Achilles frightens Hector with the dramatic irony, which seals his fate too. This paragraph defined the shape, which fate takes in the lives of other by peer influence created by characters who were considered high strength warriors followed by the backfiring of trying to keep them self alive. (This being Hector’s
In this story, the final years of the Trojan War are described and explained from different sides. The book’s main focus is on the Achaean side, specifically the character Achilles, in whom we can see correlations with Joseph Campbell’s Hero With A Thousand Faces and the Homeric Pattern. Achilles was seen as one of the biggest heroes of his day, however, some people today disagree. After examining Achilles’ actions and motivations throughout the story, it can be seen that he is not the hero his people believed him to be. Achilles is the son of the goddess Thetis, and therefore one of the strongest immortals.
Achilles is also described by his men as a power figure when the poem says “These were his words,/ and all Achaeans gave a roar of joy/ to hear the Prince abjure his rage.” (R 23-35). The Greeks hearing Achilles return, gain strength, will and perseverance to carry on the war. The responsibility that Achilles takes plays massive role, affecting the men 's actions throughout the