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Comparison of Achilles and Odyssey
Achilles strengths and weaknesses
Comparison of Achilles and Odyssey
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Achilles was the greatest Greek hero during the Trojan War. He portrays the nature of myth theory from the fact that he was close to gods and that his body was invulnerable to injuries except his heels. His character also explains the social charter theory in the ancient times. Achilles grief and pride negatively and positively impacted the two military institutions that were at war: the Achaean and Trojan. Achilles also represents the ritual as his death explains how funeral rituals were done in the ancient times. This paper critically analyzes Achilles’ story in three theoretical contexts: nature of myth, social charter theory, and ritual theory.
In the Greek Etiology, Achilles was the greatest hero throughout the Trojan War. He was the central character in Iliad. His mother was the sprite Thetis and his father was called Peleus, who was also the king of Myrmidons. The notable achievement of Achilles during the Trojan War occurred when he slayed Hector, the Trojan Hero, outside Troy’s gate. Even though Iliad does not show the death of Achilles, he was shot with an
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Even though Achilles has superhuman strength and close connection to gods, he portrays himself as less than a hero. He possesses all traits of a great warrior and proves to be the greatest soldier in the Achaean army. Nevertheless, he has innate character flows that constantly obstruct his ability to act with integrity and nobility. Achilles was not able to control his anger when someone injured his pride. This trait acts as an obsession to an extent that he abandons his fellow soldiers and wished that the Trojan army slaughtered all of them. He did all these because he was insulted in front of his commander, Agamemnon. Achilles was controlled by his crave for power and glory. Although part of him wanted to live a long and easy life, Achilles knew that his fate forced him to choose between the two
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.
This pagan ideology affects Achilles’ sense of moral code and values because it was the “religion” at that time period which determined between right and wrong. From this pagan belief he separates even more from Sir Gawain in his representation of the warrior-like masculinity. Achilles is described as the ultimate warrior that shows no mercy on the battlefield, which gives him the credit of his high achieving alpha male status. His merciless attitude is shown when he kills the Trojan Hector and drags his body around to display is to the public going against all signs of respect for the deceased. The Greek gets his masculinity from acting almost as a savage off the battlegrounds as well. He plunders and pillages villages while taking any woman that he wants. His ultimate male achievement is also through his strong sexual will that no one can stop. Achilles seems to feel that with sex he can assert his dominance as a man over all. This warrior masculinity is also a look into the tribal mentality of the past. Achilles’ main purpose for fighting is for
To Achilles this prize Brises represents something more than just a prize; she is a symbol of status, of acceptance. His way of obtaining honor which he (Achilles) has to figh...
Achilles’ true nature is that of a warrior. The son of Peleus must fight. When he denounces Agamemnon and the Achaeans, he does not go home. His ship is last in line, near Troy. Subconsciously, he has already made the choice of accepting a short life filled with glory. Subconsciously, he wants to go back to war. He needs to. However, he also needs to insure his possession of glory and honor. But what kind of glory, what kind of honor? He already possesses the honor of the gods. He says, “my honor lies in the great decree of Zeus…” (IX.741.p.272). By book IX, material wealth is no longer what Achilles wants. He spurns Agamemnon’s offers. The typical mortal concepts of heroism no longer concern him; his ideals differ from those of his peers. Phoenix’s Meleager is no example to him. However, at this point Achilles still does not know what he wants. Pride and stubbornness still supplement his rage, but now his anger appears to be a manifestation of his fear and confusion—“Stop confusing my fixed resolve with this…” (IX.745-746.p.272). Achilles knows that he wants honor and glory, but in what form?
Achilles’ behavior starts out with arete, or someone’s great qualities. Achilles is a highly gifted warrior who is a combination of strength, skill, courage, and determination. Achilles earned his prize of honor, Briseis, for being a great warrior and leader. Achilles explains, “my prize of honor, which I earned and which the Greeks gave to me”(129). Many people know Achilles for these qualities and look up to him for that reason. Later after Patroclus’ death, Achilles goes through the behavior cycle for the second time, starting with arete, summoning his anger and courage, and gets back on the battlefield. Achilles explains his reason for going back to war by saying, “I now ...
To conclude, the desire of wanting honor and admiration made Achilles deliberate about every action and decision he made. After he was dishonored, his emotions in the events throughout The Iliad played a key role in the upbringing of the whole story. To when Agamemnon took Briseis away from Achilles, to when Achilles left the army and refused to fight, and to when the death of his best friend Patroclos occurred, it all led up to the turning point of Achilles repossessing heroism.
Achilles and Socrates achieve excellence under drastically different conditions, showing the strength and versatility of human nature. Achilles is consistently referred to throughout The Iliad as the bes...
Achilles was a demigod. Thetis (his mother) was a Nereid and his father (Peleus) was the mortal king of the Myrmidons. Thetis was overly concerned with Achilles mortality and dipped him into the River Styx to make sure her son stayed mortal forever. Although she dipped him into the river, she held him by his heel, thus resulting in Achilles having one spot on his body deemed as immortal. Achilles was always in battle, showing great success and always coming out of the battles victorious. Showing his true heroism by risking his life for
In the process, he is going to selfishly put his honor above the well-being of his fellow troops and friends. Achilles is a "man born and shaped for battle, who values life, his own included, as nothing (35). " When he is insulted, he draws his sword and contemplates killing Agamemnon at that very instant, but is stopped by Athena who assures him that his honor will be restored. At this point, it can be seen that Achilles is willing to chance a long peaceful life for honor's sake. He asks his mother for the Trojans to gain power so that he will be called upon for his great worrier skills.
The honor of a warrior was to be held in high regard. Honor was important, which was why Achilles friends: Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax partially understood Achilles ire, and refusal to return to battle. They do insist though that he “control [his] proud spirit,” in order to have the...
Achilles is a name that lives on, he is known as a Greek hero in his time. The term hero is defined slightly different in modern time then what it was defined in the Greek time period. Yes, I would consider Achilles a hero of his time, but not of modern time. In Greek a hero is someone who has great courage and is strong.
In the introduction of the Essential Illiad given by Sheila Murnaghan, Achilles is labeled as “the greatest of the Greek heroes”. In classic mythology a hero is a person of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits and is often the offspring of a mortal and a god. Achilles was the greatest fighter among the Greeks or Trojans and feared no man in battle. He was also the offspring of a mortal and a god so by classic mythology definition, Achilles was indeed a hero. A hero is defined by the present day Websters Dictionary as: “one who inspires through manners and actions; an individual who leads through personal example and accomplishments requiring bravery, skill, determination, and other admirable qualities.” Achilles, in no manner, fits this definition. By contemporary standards, he is instead a pathetic villain. Aside from being a kidnapper, rapist and murderer, Achilles proves to be emotionally weak, selfish, and malicious. Many times throughout the Illiad, Achilles is also referred to as “godlike”. The gods of Greek mythology were subject to the same emotions and character flaws as humans, and though privileged to some foresight, the gods had similar mental capacities as humans. What really set the gods apart were their powers (controlling the elements, changing their appearance, etc.), great strength, and immortality. Because of his great strength and apparent invincibility, it is easy to see why Achilles would...
Achilles, from Homer’s The Iliad, is a tragic hero. Achilles’s quick rage coincides with a key characteristic of a tragic hero. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae takes Briseis, Achilles’s prize, or woman. This act is an insult to him, as it is betraying Agamemnon as a more powerful figure, which makes Achilles seem like less of a man. Achilles is enraged by this act of self-righteousness; Homer writes, “Should he draw sharp sword at his hip, thrust though the ranks and kill Agamemnon now? - or check his rage and beat his own fury down?” (371) Achilles’s rage, or hamartia, is very apparent within his thoughts. Just being told that his prize was taken brought out a monstrous rage in him, a rage that contemplated killing Agamemnon because it made Achilles seem helpless. His arrogant temper, his tragic flaw, per Aristotle’s Poetics, can classify him as a tragic hero. Another factor of a tragic heroism that is present in Achilles is his noble stature. His mother, the sea goddess Thetis, has gone to Olympia on the behalf of Achilles to persuade Zeus, the king of the gods, to help the Trojans defeat the Achaeans. Achilles’s demigod standing is revealed when Homer writes, ...
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...
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...