Achilles

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Even before his launching into the maelstrom of combat, the greatness of Achilles is evoked through his very absence. Homer makes explicit that the greatness of all other heroes must be considered in relation to that of Achilles, and in so examining the actions of the other heroes, a more whole understanding of who Achilles is, how great, how powerful, is elicited through their relation to him. Yet, it is not merely the greatness of Achilles that can be inferred through an examination of the actions of other heroes; the facets of his character, of the nature of his heroism, and the patterns and causes of his actions are similarly implicitly elucidated through the analysis of other heroes, as often the patterns, causes and results of their actions …show more content…

Even an entirely superficial reading of the poem inevitably brings out just how deeply linked and tightly bound Achilles and Hector are in the narrative structure and thematic concerns of the poem; the initial line of the poem states the impetus for its plot, focus is forthrightly laid upon Achilles and his anger, "Rage, —Sing goddess!— that rage of Achilles Peleus' son".*1* Fifteen thousand lines later, the final line mundanely conveys the tragic consequence of that anger, "they gave the funeral rights for Hector, tamer-of-horses".*2* First and last line almost comprise a narrative and thematic cyclical microcosm of the Iliad: Achilles and Hector, war and its devastating effect upon the domestic sphere, the requirements of the heroic code and the inevitable consequences of its fulfilment. So, it is in the contrast of their characters and interplay of their actions that drives much of the narrative of the Iliad, —digressive episodes such as the aristeia of Diomedes spread across books V and VI, and the Doloneia of book X notwithstanding— and which culminates in their fateful duel in the view of the Scaean gates, yet also underlies many of the poem's thematic

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