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Quarrel between achilles and agamemnon
Critical analysis of achilles
Critical analysis of achilles
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The most important acts of Achilles are his argument with Agamemnon and consequent refusal to fight; his decision to send the Myrmidons to battle; his rout of the Trojans after the death of Patroclus; and the killing of Hector and mutilation of his corpse.
In the conflict with Agamemnon over Briseïs, Achilles argued for individual rights and for reward by merit while Agamemnon clung to his higher rank. Achilles appears to be in the right but there are other considerations. Church teachings provide a perspective:
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.
In Book 21, Achilles kills a hostage at his mercy, whose life he has sparred in the past. By the end of Book 21, Achilles has killed so many Trojan’s that the river is clogged with the bodies of his victims. Achilles behaves without a care for human life, as well as his treatment toward Hector before and after he kills him. As stated in Blucher’s article, Achilles is found to go berserk, committing atrocities to both living and dead. This, for Shay, is the story of the Iliad and also as Shay goes on to demonstrate, the story of many Vietnam combat veterans”. (Blucher). Before their battle Hector begs Achilles to honor his corpse if he is killed in war, and Achilles refuse, saying, “Don’t try to cut any deals with me, Hector. Do lions make peace treaties with men? Do wolves and lambs agree to get along? No, they hate each other to the core, And that’s how it is between you and me, No talk of agreements until one of us Falls and gluts Ares with his blood” (Homer). His statement of intent to dishonor Hector’s corpse and to damage the body after his enemy’s death, shows that he had anger towards his superiors. The most disturbing portrayal from Achilles is his behavior, when Hector’s father Priam meets with him to ask for Hector’s body. This show Achilles’ anger is driven by rage towards other superior officers in the
Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors, is portrayed as a hero in some ways but, on the other hand, performs some controversial acts in the Iliad. Throughout the entire Trojan war, Achilles spent most of his time pouting in his tent after Agamemnon kidnapped his prized maiden, Chryseis.
The war changed Achilles behaviour.Achilles is a halfgod who everyone looks up to as a hero due to that war is important to Achilles because Achilles doesn’t want to fade into obscurity as the greatest warrior he has a reputation to live up to and fight to prove himself worthy of such a prestigious title. But it all changes due to the
Achilles was the greatest warrior the Achaean army has ever seen. Throughout the epic he is described and closely compared to a god. In the beginning of the epic it is described that there is much tension between Agamemnon and Achillies after the battle when Agamemenon uses his power at his own advantage. They begin to argue and Achilles finally speaks his mind on how self-centered Agamemnon is after he threatens to take his prize after the return of his. Achilles mentions Menelaus, Agamemnon’s brother for whom the battle of Troy is for seeking to recover his wife who had run off with the son of Priam. Achilles tells him that he has to do all of the “dirty work” and when the battle is over Agamemnon takes the “lions share” and he has nothing but the worn ones that have no strength from the war. He states that he “sweated” for what the Greek gave him and that he never receives and equal prize to him. He goes on by saying that he would rather go home with his curved ships than stay and “unhonored myself and piling up a fortune for you” (111). After reading Book I of the Iliad and Achilles
Achilles rejects Agamemnon’s plea to return to the war effort, despite the luring of the myriad of prizes and rewards that Agamemnon is willing to give to him. With the Greek forces suffering major losses, neither Odysseus, Great Ajax or Phoenix can persuade the fierce warrior. Achilles argues in defense of his decision not to accept Agamemnon’s
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...
The Iliad features the great warrior Achilles. Achilles is born by a mother who was a god and a mortal man which makes him a demi god. Being a demi god Achilles had great strength and character but he is not immortal. He is also the best Greek solider. The king of the Greeks is Agamemnon. Agamemnon and Achilles are constantly causing problems for one another. These problems are just a distraction because they are already fighting the city of Troy. Agamemnon annoys Achilles extremely when he wants Achilles to provide for him his lady Briseis, whom Achilles cherished deeply. Achilles withdraws from the fight realizing that the Greek armed forces can't win without his help. This enraged Achilles and brings out one of his biggest flaws which is trying to contain his anger and pride. This cause Achilles to be too proud and deny the apologies from Agamemnon for taking his lady Briseis. (ENotes.com)
Heroism can be defined as the pursuit of good through warfare. Achilles is more heroic than Hector because more action occurs by the time Achilles engages in battle. Achilles is audacious because his recklessness drives him to the point of seeing the destructions of every last Achaean. Hector is audacious because despite the difficulties he faces, he still fights. While Achilles is holding the story back, Hector moves it forward. Achilles’s allegiance to Patroclus makes him great because Achilles realizes the only way to avenge Patrocolus’s death was to join the battle. Hector’s allegiance is also as well important because even though he knows the Trojans are losing, he fights. Achilles becomes compassionate when the King of Troy kneels before Achilles begging for Hector’s defiled body. Hector shows compassion towards his family by telling Achilles before his combat to return his body to Troy.
In the beginning we are told that Apollo sent a great plague throughout Agamemnon’s army because he wouldn’t return Chryses’ daughter. Chryses begged the army, but more importantly the two commanders, to accept his gifts and return his daughter. The army replied that they respect the priest, but then harshly rejected the priests offer. After this happened Chryses prayed to Apollo that he might cast a great plague so Apollo shot arrows of despair first at their dogs and mules, but then the men themselves, taking them down in droves for a total of nine days. After facing defeat due to the plague, Achilles stood and began talk of retreat, but before such actions were taken he called for a seer
Achilles is called out of hiding by Agamemnon to fight in the Trojan War because he was such an outstanding warrior. Nothing could kill him because his mother had dipped him in the river Styx when he was a baby so he would be immortal. He was in hiding because he was told that he would die if he ever returned to battle; despite his efforts, however, he returned to battle with the Achaeans in the Great War at the walls of Troy. Achilles traveled to Troy to fight not because he was invested in the cause, but because it was his duty. However, once he got to the battle, Agamemnon and he got in a fight over some girls and Achilles withdrew from battle. Odysseus went to the tent of Achilles and tried to convince him to continue fighting. To these attempts Achilles responded, “But why must the Argives fight the Trojans? Why did Atreus' son assemble and bring us? Wasn't ...
The Trojan War had many heroes and warriors that participate in combat during the war. All of the characters were all very proud characters which led to a lot of conflict between some of the characters in the war effort. Achilles is such a proud man that he allowed his pride to get in the way of his better judgment and ends up costing the life of one of his dear friends, Patroclus. His pride and ego which many would consider to be a vice that makes Achilles unlikable to some is actually what makes him likeable. This is a warrior who has his honor and his pride hurt by characters and the consequences of his honor and pride being hurt is harming the Greeks effort to win the war, as well as causing the death of his good friend Patroclus. Achilles is a likable character despite his prideful attitude and is a relatable character to the readers.
Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War, was an inspiration to many people both past and present. While he was a hero in terms of his strength in battle, he also proves that he is heroic when it comes to morals. Achilles’ accomplishments as commander and conqueror in the Trojan War alone are enough to prove his heroics (That’s Greece, N.D.). Being born a demigod, he exemplifies the power and leadership of the gods before him (The History Channel, 2014). Of course, he also shows leadership in his moral decisions during the war against the Trojans. This is shown by his sense of grief and mercy when he is faced with the Trojan king, Priam (Fiero, 84). Achilles is also very moral in the way that he strictly follows the rules of the gods. While his story occurred so many years ago, his legacy has come to influence many people in today’s age. His decisions as a leader and a fighter both show just how heroic he is.
Living in a difficult age full of war and death, Achilles tried to hold dear to the time he still had with his loved ones by remembering to treat them with an honorable attitude. During the Trojan War, having glory and honor was looked upon with great respect, so he would try to grasp this glory and honor with his honorable approach to his friends and family. At one point, for example, Agamemnon stole aw...