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Essays over the definition of a hero
Achilles' character in the iliad
Critical essays on the heroic quality of Achilles in the Iliad
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In the modern world, people, as a society, have always given themselves a goal or goals that they would like to attain at some point during their lifetime. Many people seek to attain riches, love, happiness or high stature within society. When we people set that goal, we tend to mold our lifestyles around it. As people work throughout their lives to achieve this ultimate goal, it becomes apparent to others what it is we are working so hard for. Just as this pattern is evident in modern society, it can also be seen in the times of Homer, particularly in the great Greek epic, the Iliad. This distinct pattern can be seen in Achilles, one of the most vital characters in the story. Achilles, being the ultimate most powerful warrior of all time, wishes for nothing in his life but to be the most glorious man alive, mortal or immortal. It is this profound desire for glory and honor, that in the end leads to his demise. Achilles speech, given while he is distraught over the death of his closest friend Patroklos, is an excellent example of Achilles’ desire (Iliad, 18.79).
Patroklos is slayed by Hektor, the Trojans greatest warrior and Achilles’ main rival. Hektor, takes the armor (given to him by Achilles’) off of his dead body, and puts it on himself. Hektor is described as “riding around in all its glory';. After word of Patroklos’ death, the Achaians are intensely dejected. To show just how disheartened the Greeks are, Homer describes the men as lamenting.
“(Then sighing heavily)… my dear companion has perished, Patroklos, whom I loved beyond all other companions, as well as my own life…Thetis spoke to him, letting tears fall'; (377, Iliad, 18.78).
It can be sensed that, although in deep mourning for his lost friend, Achilles is just as well upset because he sensed a slight degree of failure.
“Now, since I am not going back to the beloved land of my fathers, since I was no light of safety to Patroklos, nor to my other companions…';(378, Iliad, 18.101).
This failure in the sense that, Achilles being the greatest warrior in all the land able to kill hordes of men at will, was incapable of saving the person that mattered the most to him. This insecurity is the source of Achilles “duty'; to exact revenge upon Hektor, the assassin of Patroklos.
Achilles makes the decision to kill Hektor in spite of the fact that his fate will be to die.
Serve and Protect are common words associated with police officers, however some law enforcement officers taint the honor and integrity of the job. Police Corruption is a serious problem affecting nearly every city across the country and world. Curbing police corruption is a tall order; however, improving the recruitment and training process and internal controls can bring this issue to an abrupt stop.
From these lines we see that Achilles does not understand the importance of being a team and working together. He wants to be the boss and
The Iliad is full to the brim of epithets describing the many major and minor characters. These short descriptive titles contain themes that range from a person’s strengths to his family history. Many of the characters who receive these are only mentioned once, when they die. It lends a sense of sadness to these passings, which would have been insignificant if nothing had been known about them. In Book 4 this can be seen in the killing of a Trojan, the son of Anthemonian Simoeisios, by Aias. The scene of his death is described quite vividly as incredibly grotesque, but not until after Homer describes his family and how “he could not again render again the care of his dear parents, for he was shortlived.” Even...
... his country; since the spirit within does not drive me to go on living and be among men, except on condition Hektor first be beaten down under my spear, lose his life and pay the price for striping Patroklos, the son of Menoitios? (Homer 18.88). "Here in lies the crux of Achilles' dilemma, honor is more important than the man"(Burgess 39).
The Iliad and the Fate Of Patroclus Throughout The Iliad Of Homer, the constant theme of death is inherently. apparent. The snares are not. Each main character, either by a spear or merely a scratch from an arrow, was wounded or killed during the progression of the story. For Zeus' son, a king.
Throughout the Iliad, Homer portraits the extent to which honor plays a role in the lives of Greeks and the manner in which they are willing to sacrifice in order to reach their goals. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War, a particularly long and bloody war, fought not over boundary disagreements, and not over political conflicts, and not to protect the nation. Rather, it was a war fought to defend the personal honor. The possession of women was important to a man’s standing and honor. Paris’ theft of Helen struck a huge blow to the honor of Menelaus and becomes the initial cause of the Trojan War. Consequently, Menelaus, the Spartan ruler, called upon his brother Agamemnon to gather the Greek forces to launch the war against Paris demanding the return of Helen and reinstating the honor for the king. The war lasted for ten years and cost innumerable Greeks’ lives and brought incurable pain upon their families. To Greek heroes, honor is more important than their life as much as that life would be meaningless without it, and they even willingly sacrifice their lives in order...
Achilles agreed that Patrokolos should wear his armor into battle, this decision along with the fact Achilles was no longer fighting, ultimately caused Patrokolos’ death. When Patrokolos died at the hands of Hektor, two things happened. First, being distraught over his friend’s death, Achilles feels responsible/ Guilt ensues but is channeled to more anger. Hektor, the slayer of Patrokolos now becomes the target of Achilles rage. Achilles is ready to fight, but more accurately ready for revenge. Achilles said, “I will not live nor go about among mankind unless Hektor fall by my spear, and thus pay me for having slain Patrokolos son of Menoetius,” (The Iliad, Chapter 18, Lines 89-91). When Achilles decided to fight, the fate of Hektor was already decided. Also, because he decided to fight, many more Trojans died. His fury with all of Troy was unleashed. Achilles killed and killed. The carnage was
Corruption in policing is viewed as the misuse of authority by a police officer acting officially to fulfill his/her personal needs or wants. There are two distinct elements of corruption; 1) misuse of authority, 2) personal attainment. The occupational subculture of policing is a major factor in both creating police corruption, by initiating officers into corrupt activities, and sustaining it, by covering up corrupt activities by other officers. Police corruption is a complex phenomenon, which does not readily submit to simple analysis. It is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all, whether we are civilians or law enforcement officers. Since its beginnings, many aspects of policing have changed; however, one aspect that has remained relatively unchanged is the existence of corruption. Police corruption has increased dramatically with the illegal cocaine trade, and the officer acting alone or in-groups to steal money from dealer and/or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police officers have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, Dc, and Los Angeles. Corruption within police departments falls into two basic categories; internal corruption, involving relationships among the police within the works of the police department (ex: promotions or favored assignments, usually purchased with bribes) and external corruption, which involves police contact with the public. There are many different forms of corruption; gratuity, involving free meals, free dry cleaning and discounts; bribery, involving the exchange of money or something of value between the police and wrong doer (this is very common among narcotics officers); theft and Burglary, involving office...
One may ask themselves, if law enforcement officers are working to protect the public, why would they commit corruption like they do? As it is described above, corruption is a big part in the law enforcement sector of society. The entire concept is quite complex although it may seem self explanatory to many people. Learning the many types of corruption and misconduct is only the beginning, then, to understand why the officers commit the conduct for which they do. With all this, it becomes apparent to the certain measures that need to be taken to rid society and police departments of the conduct that is constantly present.
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...
Achilles is introduced into The Iliad getting into a debacle with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, during the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles starts a quarrel with Agamemnon because he has demanded possession of Achilles’ woman, Briseis, in consolation for having to give up his woman, Chryseis, so that the gods will end their plague upon the Greek soldiers. Achilles does all he can to get his loved one back, but he knows that nothing will waver Agamemnon’s decision. This is when Achil...
First off, Achilles talks about how sad he is about the death of Patroclus. Achilles groaned and answered, 'Mother, Olympian Zeus has indeed vouchsafed me the fulfillment of my prayer, but what pleasure is it to me, seeing that my dear comrade Patroclus has fallen—he whom I valued more than all others, and loved as dearly as my own life?
...h Agamemnon and wishes that ‘strife could die from the lives of gods and men’… Not to avenge Patroclus by killing Hector would be a renunciation of all that he stands for and has lived by”. Even though “sorrow fell on Achilles like a cloud” (216), he went back out to the battlefield and killed Hector. It took a great deal of bravery for Achilles to face the man who killed his best friend but Achilles, being the hero that he was, got back into battle and killed him because he couldn’t let Patroclus’ death go unavenged.
Corruption in law enforcement has been a nationwide problem for many years. Not only is corruption held in one level of law enforcement, but throughout the three levels including the state, local and federal. The formation of the first police departments were the model by the early english society. The early years of policing began to contribute various forms of misconduct from police officers. Soon thereafter, Sir Robert peel established early modern policing which influenced the colonial america policing to the english society. Yet, even after following the model of other countries of law enforcement, Colonial America corruption still continued. In the mid 1800's, corruption continued to widely affect society as a whole. It was until August Vollmer, who marked the contribution of professionalism to policing, that a notable difference began to diminish corruption. Misconduct occurs at all policing levels and continues to spread worldwide. The most common types of corruption are bribes, kickbacks, shakedowns, opportunistic theft, physical abuse, protection of illegal activities and physical abuse. These types of corruption are seen throughout all levels of law enforcement. Corruption is more prominent among higher ranking officers. Not only is misconduct found among those holding higher positions, but it is also seen in rookies who are just entering law enforcement. Corruption is induced not only from individual corrupt officers or chiefs, but occurs as a result of inadequate leadership structures and administrative policies. Eliminating reducing misconduct must be done by demonstrating integrity, better organization within the policies, stricter recruitment and training.
The death of Patroklos touched Achilles in many ways that changed and shaped his character. Many emotions were a result of his death such as love, loss, anger, and sadness. Patroklos was a dear friend to Achilles and when a mix of divine intervention and Hektor cut Patroklos down grief and the desire to avenge his dear friends death consumed Achilles. This switched his anger from King Agamemnon to Hektor, the man who slew his dear friend. This anger drew Achilles to avenge the death of his friend, to kill Hektor.