Achilles

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, “A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall”. This applies to the hero Achilles in the movie Troy, based off of Homer’s The Iliad. As long as the hierarchy has existed, there have been different tiers of power. A king, then a person in charge of the military, sometimes a great warrior, so on and so forth. Achilles was a great war hero, he was practically invisible. One of his flaws was his vulnerable heel that his mother neglected…

multiple gods/goddesses such as Achilles from Homer’s epic narrative The Iliad. While on the other hand, our modern day superheroes often hide behind their alter egos to maintain a slimmer of a “normal” life. They are also not helped in any form by the gods, instead it…

the Iliad, there is a young soldier named Achilles. Achilles was a Greek warrior who after getting his prize of honor taken from him decided to leave the Greek army to defend for themselves. This decision led to his best friend Patroclus to be slain by the hands of a Trojan warrior Hector. In the Iliad Antilochus informs Achilles. As said in the Iliad “A mist of black grief enveloped Achilles” ( Iliad book XVIII, 159, 23). Due to this incident Achilles is faced with the ultimate dilemma,…

Achilles was a very handsome and heroic man. He had a lot of scars from all of his battles that he has had. He was very tall around 6’4”. He wanted nothing but to kill hector and to leave him there to be eaten by the dogs and birds. He went to kill Hector and nothing was going to change his mind he was ready and very prepared. He had his reasons for wanting to kill Hector and Hector knew that. My thoughts were that Achilles had been holding onto this feeling for a very…

For this activity, I selected two gods and a hero: Zeus, Hera, and Achilles. Zeus and Hera are principal actors in the Olympian thread of the plot, and inseparable in their entanglements, both with each other and with mortals. I felt that I would understand the Iliad itself better if I understood these supreme gods better. Achilles is, of course, the hero of the Iliad and is the axis of the entire storyline. I will present, in order, the biographies of these three characters. Then I will explain…

Achilles is frequently referred to as one of the greatest heros in Homeric culture, but is he the hero we are led to believe he is? It is easy to regard Achilles as a hero when he is essentially invincible, however don't confuse unrestrained power with heroism. Even though his skill and prowess on the battlefield is second to none, he fails to be a hero because of his unrestrained recklessness, barbaric nature, absence of self control, and his narcissistic and dishonorable actions. Although…

realizes her son is in need of her help, Thetis does everything she can to provide Achilles with what he needs. In this instance, it includes traveling to Hephaestus to have custom armour made. Thetis comments, “I am on my way to Olympus heights, to the famous Smith Hephaestus- I pray he’ll give my son some fabulous armor full of the god’s great fire!” (P. 472) As a loving mother, Thetis wants only what is best for Achilles; however, helping her son is also a consolation prize for showing what…

has fallen to the hands of Achilles, and his body is now under the control of his killer. Hector’s father, Prium, goes to Achilles’ tent to ransom the body of his prized son in order to have him return to Troy to grieve his death properly. Prium shows an abundance of courage and distress in the scene when he visits Achilles’ tent. Prium, king of Troy, exemplifies great courage to go near his sons’ killer. As soon as he enters Achilles’ tent, Prium “stood close to Achilles” and touched his…

Beowulf and Achilles from classic literature. Beowulf…

The quoted passage from Book Twenty-one of The Iliad is an excerpt of Achilles’ speech in rejection to Trojan prince Lykaon’s plea for life when he has finally resumed in the war. In this passage, Achilles contrasts the former and present way in which he treats the Trojans and states the reason of his change. By doing a close-reading of this passage, I hope to address the major shift in Achilles’ outlook on fate and death that is reflected in his change of attitude towards the Trojans.…