Essay On Achilles In The Iliad

Achilles, angered that Agamemnon is claiming his war prize, Briseis, can barely restrain his rage. He threatens to leave the war knowing that he is very well responsible for their success in it. At this point in the book, the Gods haven't entirely grown angry with Achilles and Athena even goes out of her way to guide Achilles to not attack Agamemnon. The scene is essentially a power struggle where Achilles is unable to look past his own pride. He cannot stand to feel less powerful than Agamemnon, thus like a child he stomps off and with him, his elite group of skilled warriors, the Myrmidons.

It is his rage that makes him both withdraw from and, later, rejoin the war with a fury. His rage is a personal choice and, at times, is created by the gods. Homer uses Achilles’ rage towards Agamemnon to show how counterproductive rage can be to both the overall goals of the Greeks and to Achilles himself. The book opens in medias rest, meaning the reader is introduced to the battle of Troy at the height of the cities siege. The idea of Rage is introduced at its most extreme due to the first instance of rage being depicted in this epic is an example of the wrath of a God.

Hector feels this same arrogance after murdering Patroklos, although he receives the assistance of two gods before he is able to complete this simple task. In the end Achilles anger and pride which drove most of the book forward caused Patroklos untimely

After the slaughter of the suitors Eupeithes is outraged when he hears the news of his son, Antinous’ death. He leads an angry mob towards Laertes, Odysseus’ father’s, house. This is where Penelope, Telemachus and Odysseus have decided to lay low until the parents of the suitors have calmed down. Athena then inspires Laertes which gives him strength to kill Eupeithes. After the death of Eupeithes, Odysseus and Telemachus charge into battle planning to attack the rest of the angry mob, but Athena stops them and forces them to make peace.

Achilles is so possessed by this furor that he mutilates Trojan bodies, takes on the river god Xanthas and, as stated, kills Hector and desecrates his corpse, known to the audience when it is said that 'Jove had now delivered him into the hands of his foes to do him outrage in his own land.' The Iliad makes it clear that his rage and furor is menin, a Greek term used to describe the 'rage of gods' and incomparable to human rage. His furor is also exemplified when he agrees to return Hector's body to his father, at which point, Achilles weeps for him. This culmination of exaggerated emotions makes Achilles a unique hero as he is not entirely perfect, he too has weaknesses and flaws. However he is still more godly than anything, it would be hard to relate to such a hero given his near

Achilles is maddened and appeals to his goddess mother saying, “If I am to die soon, shouldn’t I have what I want?” Feeling only sorrow for her son, Thetis requests Zeus to cause to Greeks to lose until Achilles fights again. Slowly the Greeks are pushed back farther and Agamemnon pleads with Achilles, offering Briseis back. Achilles declines due to his pride and the Trojans come close to burn the Greek ships. Even when a ship was burning, Achilles refused to fight and instead sends out Patroclus.

Beowulf is even tempered and is willing to sacrifice his men to win any battle that comes his way. While Achilles has a short temper, and is offended by the losses of his men during battle. For example, Beowulf is not effected by the loss of all the men that Grendel has killed over the past twelve years, while Achilles cries for his men who are lost in battle. This shows one difference between Beowulf and Achilles’s personality. Achilles has a short temper, therefore when Hector kills Patroclus, Achilles is heartbroken, but it also very angry and wants revenge.

He is Hamlet’s love interest’s brother who implicates Hamlet’s success through conflict. Hamlet sparks the rivalry between the two families by killing some of the family members. By executing Laertes father and Polonius, this causes Polonius’ son, Laertes, to seek vengeance for his father. Consequently, Hamlet’s family goes against him and his love, Ophelia, kills herself. This demonstrates that family ties, even if not blood related, have serious impacts on Hamlet’s life which causes misery to overwhelm his life; this misery prohibits his success.

In Iliad, the first revenge action was made by Menelaus, the king of Sparta. He enraged and decided to take a revenge from the Trojans, because of loss of his wife, Helen. When he went to war, plenty of his companions joined him, such as Achilles, the leader of the Myrmidons, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, Ajax the Greater, the king of Salamis, etc. After that, in book 16, Achilles lends Patroclus his armor, sends him off with a stern admonition to not to pursue the Trojans. However, Patroclus ignoring Achilles’ command, pursues and reaches the gates of Troy and is killed by Hector.

The Greenwood Companion 772). After realizing how horrible he has become, Othello kills himself. His jealousy blinds him to all reality. Othello’s emotions are uncontrollable and they destroy every aspect of his life (“Othello” Shakespeare for Students: Book One 448).

In the Iliad, Achilles confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his responsibilities. When Agamemnon steals Achilles war-prize, Briseis, Achilles quits the war. He is passionate about the idea that he deserves Briseis, which conflicts with his responsibilities in war. Achilles hubris’ overpowers his role in battle; he chooses his war-prize over helping lead the Greeks to victory.

Achilles anger increase with the death of patrocles by him wanting to kill all of the Trojans. Achilles started to throw their bodies in the river which displayed that he showed no remorse or compassion for them. Achilles treated Hector’s body as if he wasn’t a person. He dragged him and kept torturing him for twelve days even thought he was already dead. The burial of hector is a symbol of how Achilles anger is calming down.

The Four Great Themes are found in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. The themes; coming of age, fate, “hospitality” and women are all portrayed in some way throughout both Epics. Coming of Age is the main theme of the “Telemachy” but there are many other episodes to be noted throughout the Iliad and the Odyssey. One episode in the Iliad of Coming of Age occurs between Achilles and Thetis. Starting on page 161, line 117, Achilles states, “Yes, the warlord Agamemnon angered me.

Achilles was sometimes a great warrior, but could be seen as very selfish. He could be seen this way by his family, peers, and fellow soldiers fighting with him. Achilles was not fully selfish, because he had a few accomplishments that made him a person to look up to. Achilles was a great Greek hero, but no warrior is ever perfect. In book one of the Iliad, the Greek King of Mycenae, Agamemnon, took a woman named Chryseis, angering Achilles.