In studying different types of heroes this semester, we have come across several examples of heroes and heroines. From the Trojan War to the Italian renaissance, tragic heroes have been consistently present in the stories we have read this semester. In this essay I will expose the similarities and differences between tragic heroes that we have encountered in The Iliad (as recorded by Homer), The Aeneid (by Virgil), Oedipus the King (written by Sophocles), and in The Prince (written by Niccolo Machiavelli). Achilles is a great warrior and the central character of The Iliad. His traits were highly lauded by the Ancient Greeks. Achilles most apparent heroic traits are his courage, glory, wealth, lineage, and his camaraderie. Achilles’ largest tragic flaw is his pride. His pride causes him to turn his back on his allies in the midst of war after Agamemnon has dishonored him. (Iliad Book I) After being begged to return and as things become grim, Achilles’ close friend Patroclus decides to go in his stead. Killed by Hector, the death of Patroclus causes a change in the stubborn Achilles. His indignation at being dishonored is gone; he has lost a friend because of this pride. “Despite my anguish I will beat it down, the fury mounting inside me, down by force. But now I’ll go and meet that murderer head-on, that Hector who destroyed the dearest life I know. For my own death, I’ll meet it freely.” (Iliad Book XVIII 133-8) Despite a prophecy that he will die if he avenges his friend, Achilles returns to the front enraged and ready for battle. His downfall of losing his closest friend due to his stubbornness has wrought a change in Achilles and he now returns to the battle to avenge and honor his friend’s death. The cunnin... ... middle of paper ... ...ruth of what he had done. After discovering the truth, he sees what he has done, but no longer has physical sight. Cesare Borgia, a highly skillful strategist and sovereign, does not prepare for the damage that can befall him with the sudden loss of his father, the pope. Through the heroes we have covered this semester, we have had several tragic heroes. Achilles, Odysseus, and Oedipus fit a similar mold in their character traits, embodying classical virtues that were regarded as heroic in Classical Antiquity as well as today. Machiavelli finds Cesare Borgia to fit his own, but considerably different definition for hero. Achilles and Odysseus are strong warriors. Odysseus, Oedipus, and Cesare Borgia have their cleverness and cunning explicitly on display. Achilles, Oedipus, and Cesare Borgia all have some level of irony that comes out of their downfall.
hroughout the Iliad Achilles shows how the ego of a Kardashian is being portrayed and the emotional maturity of an eight-year-old because of the certain adult qualities he lacks, for example: he does not work well with others, he lacks the concept of forgiveness, he is selfish, thinks highly of his self without regard to others, being rude and unkind, aggressiveness when talking to others, and having too much pride and not thinking about the consequences of his actions and how it can affect not only him but others as well. Achilles does not like to work with others he prefers to be the one in charge of everybody and he likes for everyone to do as he says. In the Iliad Agamemnon says, "This man wants to be ahead of everyone else he wants to rule everyone and give orders to everyone" (1.302-303). Achilles and Agamemnon are having an argument amongst one another because no one wants to give Achilles the honor he feels that he deserves for being the best fighter in the war and for all the blood sweat and tears he shed while defeating the Trojans "he is a mighty bulwark in this evil war" as Nestor says.
Achilles, like most Greek epic heroes, was a demigod. The Nereid Thetis was Achilles’s mother, and his father was Peleus, the mortal king of the Myrmidons. Like most Greek demigods, Achilles has a very interesting childhood backstory. Soon after Achilles was born, his mother wished to make him immortal. Thetis took Achilles to the river Styx and immersed his body in the water. But Thetis was unsuccessful in her task and ultimately created a fatal flaw for Achilles. She neglected to immerse her son’s heel in the water and he is left mortally vulnerable to his enemies. Greek heroes always have a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to their death. Achilles is later shot in his heel with an arrow and dies almost instantly. Though his previous conquests were amazing, they did not exempt him from the power of his fatal flaw. Achilles was also strong, vengeful, and deeply loyal. When hector strikes down Achilles’s best friend during battle, Achilles makes it a point to get revenge on Hector. Eventually Achilles brutally kills Hector and drags his body behind his chariot. He wanted to humiliate his enemy even in death. Achilles was known to fly into a rage during battle. He was incapable of control his actions. Another unique quality that Greek heroes possess is their reliance of the Gods. Achilles had Athena to assist him in the fight with Hector. The Greek culture believed that a person could be favorited by the
Achilles may have been the hero of The Iliad, but it is clear he was prone to the weakness of anger from his honor being challenged. His pride causes him to make bad choices, but equally this same pride is necessary in the heroic code, one has to prove himself a hero. Despite this, in the end he is quite changed. The death of Patroclus and his isolation has caused him to see the heroic code he has been living by in different light. He even gives the Trojans time to have a proper funeral for Hector. Achilles in the end is a different Achilles from the beginning of the tale, he has slowly returned to a civilized state and a more developed character.
A true hero will rise to adversity and face a situation head on to conquer the problem or his foes; however, a tragic hero may do just the opposite. A tragic hero, through errors in judgment and personal flaws, combined with fate and forces often beyond their control, will fail and bring those around them down as well. No hero has ever been so tragic in literature as Marcus Brutus. Brutus, through persuasion of others, bad decisions, and his personal fears of those around him, meets a tragic end. When his beloved wife, Portia, kills herself, he later is compelled to do the same.
Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is clearly shown by the main character in the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Oedipus, the protagonist in this Greek tragedy, is exemplary of Aristotle’s idea of a “tragic hero.”
The Ancient Greeks admired their heroes and tried to learn from both their achievements and their mistakes. They believed that most great leaders and warriors followed a predictable behavior cycle, which often ended tragically. In Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, Achilles is a great warrior who traces the stages of the behavior cycle twice, from arete to hubris to ate and then to nemesis. Achilles is a highly skilled warrior and a great leader who becomes a narcissist and an arrogant person, which leads to selfish and childish behavior resulting in the death of his best friend. Following Patroclus’ death, Achilles repeats the behavior cycle by regaining his courage and motivation, and goes back to battle against Hector. The pride he feels in killing Hector and his overpowering hatred for him, leads Achilles to another bad decision: disrespecting the body of his enemy. This foolish choice leads directly to Achilles death. Although The Iliad is mainly known as a story about the Trojan War, it is understood as a story about Achilles and his struggle to be a hero.
Over time, history has given society many to whom we call true heroes. There are many reasons these heroes have been looked up to such as: bravery, dedication, confidence, and inspiration. However, a tragic hero requires a few different qualities. Aristotle describes a tragic hero as a “member of royalty,” someone who “must fall from tremendous good fortune,” and someone who creates pity for him or herself (“Connections: A Theory” 2000). In Greek drama, Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea both contain several possible tragic heroes including Medea, Jason, and Creon. More specifically, in Antigone Creon exemplifies the qualities of a tragic hero best due to his prominent power as king of Thebes, the way he holds strong to his stubborn pride, and the sympathy felt for him in his tragic downfall.
Another tragic hero is Julius Caesar from “The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar is a tragic hero because he is stubborn, and thinks he is untouchable because he is so popular. Brutus, Julius’s close friend, was talked into stopping Julius Caesar from gaining absolute power. Cassius, the man who convinced Brutus to stop Caesar, was gathering more conspirators so they could assassinate Caesar.
Marcus Brutus is the only main character, the most self-conflicted, the most admired by society, and above all, the most tragic hero. He fits all the categories of what constitutes a tragic hero so well.
At its core, the epic poem, The Iliad of Homer, is a story about a hero’s rage and how it affects the war that is taking place around him. This hero is Achilles and he shapes the epic through both his actions and inactions during the Trojan War. Achilles is the most powerful warrior among the Achaians and this is shown during his battles. In fact, his power becomes so great at times that he abuses it and wreaks havoc unjustly. This is the case with Achilles’s murder and subsequent treatment of the likewise powerful warrior Hector.
Any analysis of the Heroic Life of certain men and women makes for a complex and challenging psychological inquiry. We will delve into this subject, by looking into at least three main aspects of the heroic character. First we will discuss the nature of the singularity of the hero; second, his social significance at the time he lives; and third the interaction between fate or destiny and the hero’s own known attributes and defects which may bring him success or failure. Let us use three examples to illustrate these three points: Homer’s Achilles, Sophocles’ King Oedipus and finally G.B. Shaw’s Saint Joan.
In his classic work "Poetics" Aristotle provided a model of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is more admirable than the average person. This results in the tragic hero being admired by the audience. For the audience to accept a tragic ending as just, it is crucial that the tragic hero be responsible for their undoing. At the same time though, they must remain admired and respected. This is achieved by the tragic hero having a fatal flaw that leads to their undoing. One of literature's examples of the tragic hero is Achilles from Homer's The Iliad. However, Achilles is different from the classic tragic hero in one major way - his story does not end tragically. Unlike the usual tragic hero, Achilles is able to change, reverse his downfall, and actually prove himself as a true hero.
The Iliad, the Greek epic documented by Homer that describes the battles and events of the ten year siege on Troy by the Greek army. Both Trojans and Greeks had their fair share of heroes and warriors, but none could match the skill and strength of the swift runner, Achilles. Achilles had the attributes of a perfect warrior with his god-like speed and combat abilities. However, even though he was Greek’s greatest warrior, he still possessed several flaws that made him fit the role of the Tragic Hero impeccably. Defined by Aristotle, a Tragic Hero is someone who possesses a high status of nobility and greatness, but must have imperfections so that mere mortals cannot relate to the hero. Lastly, the Tragic Hero’s downfall must be partially their own fault through personal choice rather than by an evil act, while also appearing to be not entirely deserved of their unfortunate fate. Achilles is a true Tragic Hero because he withholds all of these traits. Achilles proves to be a good man that puts his loved ones first, reveals his tragic flaws of pride and anger, shows dynamic qualities as a character when his flaws are challenged, and has a moment of clarity at the end of his rage. Achilles truly exemplifies the qualities of a Tragic Hero.
The Iliad may be seen as an account of the circumstances that irrevocably alter the life of one man: Achilles, one of the greatest warriors. Throughout the course of the poem Achilles goes through many ordeals that change his character immensely. Starting with his quarrel with Agamemnon and withdrawal from battle, to the death of Patroklos, and with the slaying of Hektor. Achilles emotions and actions decide the fate of many warriors on both sides. Achilles struggles with anger, honor, pride, loyalty and love make the poem more that just a gruesome war story.
Because he embodied Greek ideals, was ‘immortalized’ through his actions and glorious death, and was courageous, Achilles was an epic hero. Honor was of the utmost importance to both him and the entire Greek society, he chose to die a hero in battle, and he avenged the death of Patroclus even through mourning; Achilles is the true hero of the Iliad.