Rage of Achilles The most important words of the Iliad for me are the first few; “Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage.” (1.1-2) These first words are beyond powerful because of the amount of foreshadowing that Homer gives for the rest of the book. Achilles has immense rage in this book. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, rage is “violent and uncontrolled anger” or “an intense feeling” (Merriam-Webster). I did not realize how much rage Achilles actually possessed until looking further into certain instances and scenes in the book. The first instant of Achilles’ rage occurs when Agamemnon and Achilles are arguing about need to return Chryses’ daughter. Agamemnon and Achilles throw insults and criticism back and forth when Agamemnon refuses,
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Things must be bad to bring you here, The Greeks I love best, even in my rage.” (9. 201-202) Although in rage, Achilles respects xenia and feeds his friends and gives them wine to drink. He listens as Odysseus, Phoenix, and Big Ajax deliver their speeches and tell him of Agamemnon’s offer. The speeches even mention Achilles’ cruelty, selfishness, and rage. Achilles denies Agamemnon’s offer in his honor. When Patroclus dies, “a mist of black grief enveloped Achilles.” (18.23) Achilles mourns with his mother and the sea nymphs, who try to comfort Achilles by coddling him. Although his friend’s death is sad, Achilles overreacts and believes that he has no will to live. He decides he must kill Hector and realizes now is his time to fight. There is much rage because of the longing for revenge and the mourning of his friend’s death. Achilles caused the Trojans to be very scared of him because they know of the rage that had been building in him. Achilles even kills Lycaon, a friend, and tells him right before death, “You die too, friend. Don’t take it hard.” (21.111) This shows a lot of anger and sociopathic tendencies. He begins to kill many Trojans and during one part of this aristeia, he battles the river god, Xanthus because he is continually throwing bodies into the river. Xanthus begins to win the fight but Athena and Poseidon save Achilles from defeat. This specific scene shows that the best of all the Greeks has a limit to his
Things must be bad to bring you here, The Greeks I love best, even in my rage.” (9. 201-202) Although in rage, Achilles respects xenia and feeds his friends and gives them wine to drink. He listens as Odysseus, Phoenix, and Big Ajax deliver their speeches and tell him of Agamemnon’s offer. The speeches even mention Achilles’ cruelty, selfishness, and rage. Achilles denies Agamemnon’s offer in his honor. When Patroclus dies, “a mist of black grief enveloped Achilles.” (18.23) Achilles mourns with his mother and the sea nymphs, who try to comfort Achilles by coddling him. Although his friend’s death is sad, Achilles overreacts and believes that he has no will to live. He decides he must kill Hector and realizes now is his time to fight. There is much rage because of the longing for revenge and the mourning of his friend’s death. Achilles caused the Trojans to be very scared of him because they know of the rage that had been building in him. Achilles even kills Lycaon, a friend, and tells him right before death, “You die too, friend. Don’t take it hard.” (21.111) This shows a lot of anger and sociopathic tendencies. He begins to kill many Trojans and during one part of this aristeia, he battles the river god, Xanthus because he is continually throwing bodies into the river. Xanthus begins to win the fight but Athena and Poseidon save Achilles from defeat. This specific scene shows that the best of all the Greeks has a limit to his