Prevalent Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi once said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”. A strong, respected leader must be forgiving. However, advancement in society is founded upon politically motivated decisions. In the Iliad, Homer shows that although hierarchical societies rely on self-interested actions, compassion and forgiveness are essential for respected leadership.
The imagery of the wolves symbolizes the hierarchy that is present in the society of the Greeks and Trojans. When describing Achilles’ ranks of Myrmidon fighters ready for battle, they are depicted as “Hungry as wolves that rend and bolt raw flesh, hearts filled with battle-frenzy that never dies- off on the cliffs, ripping apart some …show more content…
When offered all the treasure Agamemnon could possibly give him, Achilles rejects it declaring “I hate that man like the very Gates of Death who says one thing but hides another in his heart” (9. 378-379). To Achilles, death is something that can’t be fought off, for his death is sealed in fate. This is cause for irritation, as he is someone who is typically honored for his ability to control his situation and others, yet has no power over this important event in his life. This is also how Achilles sees Agamemnon; he’s an irritation, an annoyance, the unavoidable. The comparison between Agamemnon and the Gates of Death also represents Agamemnon’s failed leadership. As King, it is Agamemnon’s job to protect the views of society with his life, but he has only led his subjects into their own doom. Agamemnon can be seen as the Gates of Death because by leading his subjects poorly he has caused a massive amount of deaths in their society, almost as if fighting with him is the very thing that determined whether or not they lived or died. These characteristics of Agamemnon’s make it easy to understand why Achilles would not forgive him for all the money in the
The imagery of the wolves symbolizes the hierarchy that is present in the society of the Greeks and Trojans. When describing Achilles’ ranks of Myrmidon fighters ready for battle, they are depicted as “Hungry as wolves that rend and bolt raw flesh, hearts filled with battle-frenzy that never dies- off on the cliffs, ripping apart some …show more content…
When offered all the treasure Agamemnon could possibly give him, Achilles rejects it declaring “I hate that man like the very Gates of Death who says one thing but hides another in his heart” (9. 378-379). To Achilles, death is something that can’t be fought off, for his death is sealed in fate. This is cause for irritation, as he is someone who is typically honored for his ability to control his situation and others, yet has no power over this important event in his life. This is also how Achilles sees Agamemnon; he’s an irritation, an annoyance, the unavoidable. The comparison between Agamemnon and the Gates of Death also represents Agamemnon’s failed leadership. As King, it is Agamemnon’s job to protect the views of society with his life, but he has only led his subjects into their own doom. Agamemnon can be seen as the Gates of Death because by leading his subjects poorly he has caused a massive amount of deaths in their society, almost as if fighting with him is the very thing that determined whether or not they lived or died. These characteristics of Agamemnon’s make it easy to understand why Achilles would not forgive him for all the money in the