Achilles, as describe by Homer, is a man who is quick to draw his sword and kill for his own glory. With this in mind, a trial Achilles faces is when he wants to strike down King Agamemnon but restrains himself because the goddess Athena asks him to put down his sword. Homer describes Odysseus to be a man excellent at deception. Odysseus uses this trait of his to overcome many of the trails he faces. For example, Odysseus deceives the suitors that are staying in his palace in order to kill them for plundering in his home. By the end of the Epic poems both Achilles and Odysseus overcome their trials and ultimately achieve their goals; however, both have to justify their methods of achieving those …show more content…
Throughout Odysseus’s journey he sleeps with a few women, because he is married this would be considered adultery. Odysseus justifies his sexual acts as necessary to his own survival. Although Achilles seems to be an aggressive straightforward guy, he is tactful in achieving his goals. In the beginning of the Iliad Achilles in a fit of rage and withdraws himself and his troops from the war; this act cost the Achaean army countless losses. Achilles justifies this act of, what most obviously seems to be, murder with the fact that Agamemnon took his prize girl. Justification by these two heroes shows their inability to make effective