Achilles: His Thirst for Glory

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“A hundred years cannot repair a moment's loss of honor” -Proverb. Honor is valuable throughout the world and is one of the human core values. Honor builds trust, respect, and virtue within one person or a family. However, honor can be lost in an instant by a discreditable action or decision. In the epic poem The Iliad by Homer, Achilles, one of the renowned warriors, defined glory and felt strongly about pursuing it in the conduct of war. However, Achilles’ reaction to being dishonored made an influential impact on the story. The events that had a major effect was when Briseis was taken away from him, when he decided to leave the Achaean army, and when he received the news of his friend, Patroclos, dead. These three events presented Achilles’ emotions and their importance in the growth of the story.
The first event was when Briseis, Achilles’ war prize, was taken away from him when Agamemnon had to give up his own war prize, Chryseis, to her father Chryses who was the Priest of Apollo. Achilles was beyond outraged by Agamemnon’s arrogance that he insulted Agamemnon’s capabilities as a leader, and withdrew from the troop. “You drunkard, with eyes like a bitch and heart like a fawn! You never arm yourself with your men…so truly a time will come where Achilles will be missed…” (Homer 15). Achilles’ hot temper is an example of his reaction to being dishonored. In Achilles’ eyes, Briseis was more than a war prize. He saw her as a token and felt affronted that his honor and pride was taken from him. Consequently, leaving the Achaean army made a huge effect in the story.
When Achilles left the army, he was so infuriated that he pled to his mother, Thetis, to ask Zeus to favor the Trojans, in which Zeus agreed to. The Trojans began t...

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...s a different side of Achilles. Besides the grief he developed, Achilles seems to have felt a great sense of humiliation for not going into battle himself and having sent Patroclos instead. Determined for revenge, Achilles decided upon himself to return to battle. This can be perceived that not only does Achilles want vengeance, but also for the chance to redeem his honor and glory.
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.

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