Achilleus Flaws In The Iliad

In The Iliad, Homer displays the essence of Achilleus' unchanging spirit by emphasizing his flaws. Achilleus symbolizes disorder; therefore, evil and chaos derive from his decisions, making him the greatest force of devastation that the Achaians have. In addition, his immortal view blinds him from proper conduct while his mortal flaws influence his actions. Achilleus' failure to recognize the repercussions of his actions before chaos ensues correlates with the destructive warfare. Achilleus' pride, anger, and lack of pity cause him to make impetuous decisions that wreck havoc upon his life as well as others, which leads to collateral damage on both sides of the war. Book One opens amidst the conflict between Achilleus and Agamemnon in which they fight over the correct course of action to take in order to appease Apollo: Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus and it's devastation, which puts pain thousandfold upon the Achaians, hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of …show more content…
Achilleus refuses to fight until fire comes to the ships. Phoenix reproaches him for not doing the right thing at the right time and warns him that he will lose his honor if he waits. He ignores Phoenix's plea and attempts to persuade Phoenix into his delusion that they can choose to leave the fighting. After more bloodshed and the four great leaders are wounded, Patrokolos asks Achilleus to fight and accuses him of orchestrating the Achaian's destruction. Achilleus continues to lie about the supplication and allows Patrokolos to take his armor onto the battlefield. As a preemptive measure, Achilleus asks Zeus to protect Patrokolos and save the ships from destruction, assuming that Zeus will grant his prayer. Achilleus' pride and anger prevents him from taking action, which leads to the death of innocent