Role Of Agamemnon In The Iliad

At heart, Agamemnon is little more than a confused and self-centered child. The Achaean king refuses to acknowledge let alone accept that the authority-type position he finds himself in requires responsibility and that his desires and personal whims should be secondary to the needs of his community. We can see that, even in the beginning of The Iliad, Agamemnon often allows his emotions to govern major, country-altering decisions. Multiple times he refused to return Chryseis to her father. He does not choose to deny this man his daughter because of her benefits to his society, nor for her beauty, but for his honor. In the society of the Achaeans, after an army had defeated another, the ransacking their city was considered to be traditional. However, it was not for mere physical possessions, but for the gain of preeminence over other members in society. So to …show more content…
He still is not a great leader, but better than what he was at the beginning of Book 1. His desperation to win the war and his refusal to go home in shame forces him to the question. The question of whether or not he is going to maintain his honor or if he is willing to drop a few levels and ask for the forgiveness of Achilles. He blames his “blindness” on Zeus, refusing to actually admit that he himself actually messed up. Agamemnon eventually chooses to ask for the help of Achilles however he calls in a special counsel to go to Achilles for him, because even though he has chosen to ask for the help, he still cannot face his problem. He offers many wonderful prizes in exchange for the help of Achilles with one of the most prominent being the return of Briseïs, “unharmed.” The fact that Agamemnon not once shared a bed with Briseïs further demonstrates the point that his taking her was only for the gain of