Achilles is wrong to reject the embassy because what he wants in return is unreasonable, he lets his injured pride cloud his judgment, and he disregards and endangers the lives of others around him.
By rejecting the embassy, Achilles wants infeasible things in compensation: a complete humbling of Agamemnon and sense of superiority over him. Both Achilles and Agamemnon can be seen as superior in their own rights: Achilles with his physical prowess in battle and Agamemnon with his political authority. Thus, Achilles’ demand to somehow strip away Agamemnon’s authority is illogical. He cannot simply dethrone Agamemnon and remove him as a leader of troops as it would totally disrupt the existing order. Achilles’ own sense of superiority clashes …show more content…
When Agamemnon claims Briseis for himself, Achilles is rightfully upset, but he takes this offense to unreasonable proportions. Achilles fails to see that Agamemnon had done this as an act of retaliation. In publicly exposing Agamemnon in front of the troops, Achilles wronged him. Thus, in an attempt to regain some semblance of authority, Agamemnon chooses to take Achilles’ war bride in return (83). After this, Achilles feels shamed and decides to withdraw from the fight completely, denouncing his loyalty to Agamemnon (87). In doing so, Achilles wants to escape the perpetrator of his humiliation. However, he fails to realize that his reasoning his hypocritical. Achilles seems to think of himself as the sole victim of humiliation, when in reality, he had done the same to Agamemnon. When Agamemnon attempts to reconcile with Achilles, even offering to return Briseis, Achilles still remains angry. He still refuses to associate with Agamemnon and refuses to accept any sort of material compensation. When rebuffing Agamemnon’s act of charity, hedecides to sail home, effectively turning his back on the war …show more content…
He is their greatest warrior, and was undefeated in his battles throughout the nine years they were at war (cite?). With Achilles, the Trojans did not dare to cross the Greeks’ walls, but in his absence, they have started to overtake them (cite). To have him withdraw is a crushing blow for them, and the Trojans take full advantage of this, turning the tides of the war to their favor (cite). Achilles had willingly participated in the war, so suddenly dropping out lets those past nine years of bloodshed be for naught. In his anger, he even wishes for the very comrades he fought alongside with to die. Achilles’ inaction even causes his dear friend Patroclus to beg him to lend his armor. Patroclus knows Achilles will not fight and is driven to do anything to improve the dire situation (cite). As a result, he is killed and Achilles must live with the guilt of letting his beloved friend die whilst he had done
By rejecting the embassy, Achilles wants infeasible things in compensation: a complete humbling of Agamemnon and sense of superiority over him. Both Achilles and Agamemnon can be seen as superior in their own rights: Achilles with his physical prowess in battle and Agamemnon with his political authority. Thus, Achilles’ demand to somehow strip away Agamemnon’s authority is illogical. He cannot simply dethrone Agamemnon and remove him as a leader of troops as it would totally disrupt the existing order. Achilles’ own sense of superiority clashes …show more content…
When Agamemnon claims Briseis for himself, Achilles is rightfully upset, but he takes this offense to unreasonable proportions. Achilles fails to see that Agamemnon had done this as an act of retaliation. In publicly exposing Agamemnon in front of the troops, Achilles wronged him. Thus, in an attempt to regain some semblance of authority, Agamemnon chooses to take Achilles’ war bride in return (83). After this, Achilles feels shamed and decides to withdraw from the fight completely, denouncing his loyalty to Agamemnon (87). In doing so, Achilles wants to escape the perpetrator of his humiliation. However, he fails to realize that his reasoning his hypocritical. Achilles seems to think of himself as the sole victim of humiliation, when in reality, he had done the same to Agamemnon. When Agamemnon attempts to reconcile with Achilles, even offering to return Briseis, Achilles still remains angry. He still refuses to associate with Agamemnon and refuses to accept any sort of material compensation. When rebuffing Agamemnon’s act of charity, hedecides to sail home, effectively turning his back on the war …show more content…
He is their greatest warrior, and was undefeated in his battles throughout the nine years they were at war (cite?). With Achilles, the Trojans did not dare to cross the Greeks’ walls, but in his absence, they have started to overtake them (cite). To have him withdraw is a crushing blow for them, and the Trojans take full advantage of this, turning the tides of the war to their favor (cite). Achilles had willingly participated in the war, so suddenly dropping out lets those past nine years of bloodshed be for naught. In his anger, he even wishes for the very comrades he fought alongside with to die. Achilles’ inaction even causes his dear friend Patroclus to beg him to lend his armor. Patroclus knows Achilles will not fight and is driven to do anything to improve the dire situation (cite). As a result, he is killed and Achilles must live with the guilt of letting his beloved friend die whilst he had done