Hector and Achilles both show extravagant heroic qualities in The Iliad and the movie Troy. The character I admire most is Achilles considering he definitely knows how to express his mind and he knows what he wants. Achilles’ qualities include confidence, determination, and intelligence. Achilles may kill a numerous number of people, but he does show kindness and respect, he expresses himself, and cares deeply for his loved ones. Achilles conveys kindness and respect, particularly towards the end of the book and the movie, he was able to learn what those two words meant after Patroclus died. When Priam came to Achilles in the movie, he knew that it was honorable to give Hector’s body back to his father. Nevertheless, Priam was able to show Achilles that it would not be right to keep Hector’s …show more content…
The readers can obtain a chance to become acquainted with Achilles’ character. The readers have the opportunity to witness that he absolutely does not care for the war too much and he has not fought just for his town, he fights for himself. He yearns to kill people who have done wrong and deserve to die. Achilles embodies himself, not to seem selfish, (but because) that is just who he is and how his character’s unique personality. Achilles fights in these wars knowing that his people need him and he wants a war that all humanity, in millions of years will remember. As he talks to Odysseus, he asks why he should fight the war and Odysseus says he should fight for Greece knowing that Troy has insulted them. Achilles, at that instant, brings up an outstanding point saying “They insulted one Greek, a man who couldn 't hold on to his wife. What business is that of mine?” This shows he does not think highly of Grease therefore he will not fight for Greece until he has a reason. Any man should fight for the right reason and Achilles is one of the only ones in this war that understands that
When one reads the Iliad, they can see that Achilles had a lot of flaws about his character that really outweigh the good things about him. For example, two of Achilles’ major flaws are his anger and pride. One might wonder how pride can be a flaw in character, but in the Iliad, pride is what drives Achilles away from the war because he doesn’t get the respect he feels he deserves. Achilles deserting the Greek army is what starts his decline of a character. What further deteriorates his character is that he has questionable war ethics. For example, on page 139, Achilles says that his life is not worth losing in a war. Now any soldier in any war knows that he is risking his life for the sake of the war, and knows that his life is at risk. Also, he feels that in the end, it doesn’t matter if you are a hero or coward, you die either way. But in reality, if you die a hero, you will be remembered that way, if you die a coward, that is how you will be remembered, which is actually one of the main reasons why Hector decides not to stay hidden behind the walls from
The question "was Achilles' anger justified" brings up issues that seem to have little or no relevance to the war. In time of war I would expect the leaders to prioritize the groups interest for the sake of unity and cooperation rather than being entrenched in achieving their own personal goals. But my expectations are those of a modern day literature student, I'm inclined to think that the Greeks who first read this epic valued different things than myself. Another relevant question might be "were Achilles' actions justified". Anger can be easily justified, but the actions that anger might lead you to take are not as easily justified. Again I am not an ancient Greek and my opinions are irrelevant unless I open my mind to different viewpoints. Therefore I am striving to look into this issue through ancient Greek eyes where the principle of sacrificing ones own interests was apparently not valued, but maintaining ones honor, on the other hand, was greatly valued. In the following paragraphs I will attempt to answer these two aforementioned questions.
Achilles shows his moral inferiority in book one of The Iliad when Agamemnon supposedly deprives Achilles of his honor by taking his “prize.” Achilles responds to Agamemnon’s action by deciding to not fight in the war and he also prays against the Greeks by asking his mother, Thetis, to go to Zeus. When Thetis goes to Zeus she says “Zeus, out father, if ever I have helped you among the immortals either in word or in something I did, fulfill me this desire. Give honor to my son who, more than others, is born to a quick death. But as it is, now the king of men Agamemnon has not given him honor. He has taken away his prize. He holds it! But give him honor, O Olympian, counselor Zeus. Give power to the Trojans until the Achaeans honor my son and increase his honor” (I. Lines 491-99). When Achilles does this he is showing that he is selfish and only caring about himself. He is showing he does not care for his troops by praying having his mother ask Zeus to give the Trojans power until Achilles gets the honor he believes he deserves. Another reason in which demonstrates that Achilles is a selfish man is later in book seven-teen. Throughout most of the epic poem Achilles chooses not to fight just because Agamemnon didn’t give him the honor he thought he deserved. But finally, in book seven-teen, Achilles decides to join the battle again. But he doesn’t choose to fight because he knows it is the best things to do for his people or country. He fights because he wants his name to be remembered. But that isn’t the main reason. The real reason that Achilles made his decision to fight is because Hector killed his friend, Patroklos. This is proven to be the main reason Achilles decides to fight in book twenty-two when Achilles is telling Hector what he is going to do to him because Hector killed Patroklos. Achilles says “Don’t beg me, you dog, by my knees
In the book the Iliad, The Odyssey, and Works and days, there are many things that can be similar when talking about Greek heroes and the world of Greek poetry. The stories and topics are describing similar events during this time of the eighth and seventh century B.C. In the end, however, they do have some differences in some parts when describing or explaining certain situations and ideas. The world of Greek heroes is written like a story; or Epic Poetry. That is what The Iliad and The Odyssey are; Epic Poetries. They are telling a story of a great hero and their adventures. On the other hand, the more realistic Greek World that is being described in Works and days is a Didactic poem, which tells more of a moral or message to the reader.
As we all know, Hollywood isn’t exactly accurate when it comes to the historical accuracy of movies. Although the Iliad is a myth, the movie Troy doesn’t follow the story quite as accurately as it could have. One major difference is the concept of time. In the Iliad, the battle spanned over a ten year period while in the movie, the battle only lasted about 17 days. However, it does have many similarities to the poem. Both the movie and the poem have similar plots as well as the feud of Achilles and Agamemnon, fall of Troy, the death of Patroclus, Achilles avenging the death of Patroclus and the supplication of Priam to Achilles. Other similarities include Thetis telling Achilles that if he is to stay home and refrain from fighting he will be forgotten. However, if he is to fight in the battle of Troy, he will be remembered forever. Another similarity can be found when Agamemnon confiscates Briseis from Achilles. There are many details in the movie that deviate from the epic poem as well. Some differences between the movie and the poem include the deaths of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, the portrayal of some of the characters and the role of the Gods in the plot. Also, according to the film, the capture of Troy seems to be the subject of the entire movie whereas in the epic poem, the subject is the wrath of Achilles. Also, the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a little different. In the movie, Achilles and Patroclus are cousins and Patroclus is younger than Achilles. In the Iliad, Achilles and Patroclus are best friends. Patroclus is older than Achilles and acts as the advisor for Achilles. According to the epic poem, Achilles much more angry and violent than how he is portray...
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
Hector is the true hero of Homer's Iliad. Although Achilles and Hector are both leaders of men, Hector leads with a mature sense that gives his men reason to respect him. In turn, Hector respects his men which gives fulfillment to both parties. Hector is not a man to sit around and mull over strategies and ideas - Hector is a man of action. His men are inspired to fight because they see their captain fighting as well.
The Iliad and the Odyssey are two classic stories told by Homer. Within these two stories the roles of the gods are very important to the story line and how they affect the characters throughout. In the Iliad, more gods are involved with the characters whereas in the Odyssey there are only two major gods that affect two major characters. The roles of the gods in the Iliad are through two different stances of immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal. The roles of the gods in the Odyssey are through two major gods and they affect the plot as Poseidon versus Odysseus and Athena versus Telemachus.
The first reason Achilles is an epic hero is because he embodied the characteristics of the ideal Greek citizen at the time Homer wrote; he is in a position of power and regards honor highly. “O my mother! I was born to die young, it is true, but honour I was to have from Zeus, Olympian, thunderer on high! And now he has not given me one little bit! Yes, my lord king Agamemnon has insulted me! He has taken my prize and keeps it, he has robbed me myself” (page 17), Achilles cried to his mother. Agamemnon stole Achilles’ prize, Briseis, so Achilles is begging his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, to help him regain his honor. In Greece, honor was crucial and by taking Achilles’ prize, Agamemnon has stripped him not only of his hard-won prize but of his honor as well. Such a double loss would have been catastrophic for a Greek citizen. Classicist Ian Johnston highlights the significance of his loss, suggesting that “the greatest harm that can occur to a particular warrior is shame, the community’s public recognition that he has let the group down or failed to live up to its shared rules.”Being shamed, in this case, by Agamemnon, would cause the Achaeans to lose respect for Achilles, and as one of their leaders, this would be a tragedy for him. Achilles’ desire to regain his honor sho...
It is more than a scholastically studied work; it expresses the individual as a hero; something that is still examined and edifies humanity today. In the Iliad, readers glean the most transcultural ideologies from the character Achilles. Prophecies say that Troy will fall, but it isn’t until Achilles, the strongest of the Achaeans reenters the war and engages in combat that this begins to take shape. Without his return, the Greeks would have continued to struggle in the war against Troy. His first heroic battle is with Hector, the strongest of the Trojans. The bravery Achilles displays for fighting such a mighty warrior is admirable and is the keystone in developing the theme of the individual as a hero both in the book and in
According the Iliad by Homer, Hector and Achilles are the main characters that have many different, but also they have some similarity.They both have the different in personalities and life. Also, they have the different about leadership and relationship with their family. Both are the two strong warriors and heroes. Achilles is in Greek side, Hector is in the Trojans side , and they both want to win the battle . Both characteristics believed that their fate is to die on the battle as the warrior, but approach war differently. However, they all have the advantage and disadvantage. Also, They have the different reasons to fight the battle that hector fight for his homeland and his family's honor and Achilles fight for Helen , also because he is the best warrior that he want people to respected him.
Homer makes it clear that Achilles is a man mainly driven by his hunger for glory. Achilles has all the traits of a superhuman from his strength to his incredible ability to fight on the battlefield. Even with these great abilities, it is hard for many readers to perceive him as a hero because of the way he acts. Homer takes this brief time period out of this whole ten-year war just to demonstrate how Achilles cannot control himself when he goes into a rage. In todays world Achilles would not last long as a soldier in any army because he would be court marshaled for insubordination. Achilles ye...
In the poem, Iliad, Achilles and Hector both show relative heroism in their own different ways. Achilles may have been the more popular hero, but Hector had great heroism as well. Each of these characters possess their own different strengths and weaknesses. These two characters both have pride as being one of their main weaknesses. Hector seems as if he would suit best in the modern world, but there are a few different reasons as to why the ancients may have chose Achilles. Hector and Achilles both lost a lot by letting their pride get in the way of their heroism. Both of these characters were their country’s best warrior. Achilles and Hector have very different personalities, and very different ways of approaching situations.
Can two things ever truly be exactly the same? When it comes to epic heroes, I’m not sure. In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, the journey of two epic heroes are depicted for us. Achilles, hero of the book The Iliad, is fighting in the Trojan War. Odysseus, hero of the book The Odyssey, is simply fighting to get home. Although both the epic heroes are put through some of the same very tough and difficult situations, it doesn’t mean they are quite the same person. An analysis of The Iliad and The Odyssey will show three similarities and three differences between Achilles and Odysseus.
Achilles is the son of Peleus and the goddess Thetis. It is evident that he loves his father and holds him dearly in the scene of Priam’s speech. Priam appeals to him as a father, and reminds Achilles of his own father: