Achilles

Literature plays an essential role in enhancing our knowledge about a civilization’s core values and cultural beliefs. Myths, written works, and oral stories are all different forms of literature. Two central themes in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, provide us with many insights to ancient Greece as a civilization. Throughout The Iliad, the glorious pursuit of war preeminently serves as a driving force behind the whole poem. The poem’s heavy emphasis on pride, honor, and bravery illustrates that…

“Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, black and murderous, that cost the Greeks incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark, And left their bodies to rot as feasts for dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will be done” (1:1-8). These are the first few lines of the book and we are already given dark imagery such as “black and murderous” and “incalculable pain” to explain the war to come. This remains a constant theme throughout the story which signals the act of war, and the death it…

war already going on. The girl’s father is begging for his daughters return. But Agamemnon refused, so the guy prayed to his god. His god sent bad times for them. So Agamemnon sent his chick back and took Achilles girl. This made Achilles mad and made him want to go back home. In chapter 22 Achilles chase hector around and finally kills him and drags him around troy. Homer: The Odyssey This story starts about 10 years after the war and everyone is home except Odysseus. His wife and his son…

This is the same river that was included in Achilles myth, where his whole body was put into the river except for his heel the part that he was held by. He had no vulnerabilities at all until he was shot by an arrow in his heel, and died, the term Achilles heel was coined from the situation in this novel. Charon, an old ferry man takes all the dead into the underworld via the River Styx, and there…

of conversation that the characters, Achilles and Homer have with the gods. In the first instance Homer is witnessed as summoning the poetry goddess so as to sing out the anger of Achilles. In summoning the goddess of poetry, Homer tells the goddess to sing the anger of the son of Peleus that has resulted into myriad problems, devastations and ills on the Achaean population. As a contrasting response to the call made by Homer to the goddess of poetry, Achilles becomes angry with Homer and…

people did not glorify the gods their fate would be atrocious. The people in greek tales honored the bold and strong, the humans that show characteristics not known to man and impossible. In The Iliad Achilles was glorified by many, he had his own group of men to fight separated from the king. Why? Achilles was bold and strong, even gods were scared of his power. Glorification in in the greek tales was not simply given but…

Johnathan Shay’s book Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character compares the Vietnam soldier’s experience of war with Achilles experience in Homer’s Iliad. Shay's argument is that "the nature of catastrophic war experiences not only cause lifelong disabling psychiatric symptoms but can ruin a good character." Both the Vietnam War and Trojan War changed the psyche of the soldiers that had experienced traumatic events. These soldiers from two distinct time periods…

The allusion of Achilles’ heel that used in many literatures and medias, originated from Greek mythology. The origin of this allusion is that in Greek mythology, it was foretold that he would die in a young age when he was a baby. So his mother, Thetis, who wanted Achilles to be immortal, took Achilles to the River Styx, which gives power of invulnerability. She dipped Achilles into the river, holding him by his heel. Only his heel was left unprotected and vulnerable.. Achilles grew up to be a…

English IV- 1 Hour 18 September 2016 Beowulf or Achilles? Beowulf and The Iliad are to great stories told by thousands of people, but many people debate on who is the greater hero. I think that Beowulf is the better modern day hero because he does not let his pride get the best of him. Beowulf is about a young man that fights many monsters that soon he becomes king, Beowulf is translated by Burton Raffel. The Iliad is about a man named Achilles who kills on a count of revenge, its translated…

in the war alongside his army by using his war given honor, but never abuses this power because he is kind and loving to his brother despite his errors. He also shows his true honor by never giving up on the war no matter the circumstances, unlike Achilles did when Agamemnon took his woman. Hektor truly is a man of high moral standards because of his feeling of liability and fidelity towards his city-state, Troy, and his continued humbleness through his victories. Achilleus and Agamemnon both…