As a child, kids are taught by adults to think before they act. Although they are taught this, they are not expected to get this concept until they are in their teenage years. Unfortunately, some people fail this expectation. Achilles in The Iliad by homer, translated by Stanley Lombardo, is an example of this occurrence. Achilles possesses many qualities; such as strength, persistence, ambition, and compassion. He is even referred to as godlike many times throughout the epic. All these attributes that make him a hero are all trumped throughout the Iliad because of one downfall: his rage. Achilles’ rage births devious traits such as pride, greed and selfishness. His rage also influences making choices without thinking. These malicious traits
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Greeks in general have a problem with putting their pride aside for the greater good; Achilles is a great example of that. In book 9, Achilles is showered with many great gifts to entice him to join the fight in the Trojan War, but denies them because his pride has been tainted by Agamemnon. He shows that his pride is hurt by saying “…And now he thinks he’s going to win me back? He can forget it”3. This provides evidence that Achilles still has not grown up and learned to let a grudge go for the greater success of a larger cause. This also shows how rage can destroy strong friendships and provide no hope of bringing them back. Even though Achilles switches his reason for not fighting in the war from pride to fear of losing his life, he has been really hurt by Agamemnon’s actions and he voices his concern for that more than his life many more times throughout the rest of the epic. His refusal angers many of his comrades but one out of many stayed loyal to Achilles. That friend was …show more content…
Once when Patroclus died and once when Priam, Hector’s father, came to get his son’s body. These accounts are valid, but they lack actual evidence of Achilles making a smart decision. When Patroclus died, Achilles decided to fight, but when he did, he almost starved his own men, almost died trying to fight a river god, and killed 12 Trojan men who didn’t deserve to die. When Priam came to see Achilles, Achilles did become sympathetic but still refused to give Hector’s body to his dear father. There could’ve been major consequences for any of these actions, which in turn shows how Achilles is not fit to be called an
Greeks in general have a problem with putting their pride aside for the greater good; Achilles is a great example of that. In book 9, Achilles is showered with many great gifts to entice him to join the fight in the Trojan War, but denies them because his pride has been tainted by Agamemnon. He shows that his pride is hurt by saying “…And now he thinks he’s going to win me back? He can forget it”3. This provides evidence that Achilles still has not grown up and learned to let a grudge go for the greater success of a larger cause. This also shows how rage can destroy strong friendships and provide no hope of bringing them back. Even though Achilles switches his reason for not fighting in the war from pride to fear of losing his life, he has been really hurt by Agamemnon’s actions and he voices his concern for that more than his life many more times throughout the rest of the epic. His refusal angers many of his comrades but one out of many stayed loyal to Achilles. That friend was …show more content…
Once when Patroclus died and once when Priam, Hector’s father, came to get his son’s body. These accounts are valid, but they lack actual evidence of Achilles making a smart decision. When Patroclus died, Achilles decided to fight, but when he did, he almost starved his own men, almost died trying to fight a river god, and killed 12 Trojan men who didn’t deserve to die. When Priam came to see Achilles, Achilles did become sympathetic but still refused to give Hector’s body to his dear father. There could’ve been major consequences for any of these actions, which in turn shows how Achilles is not fit to be called an