Achilles as Tragic Hero In his classic work "Poetics" Aristotle provided a model of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is more admirable than the average person. This results in the tragic hero being admired by the audience. For the audience to accept a tragic ending as just, it is crucial that the tragic hero be responsible for their undoing. At the same time though, they must remain admired and respected. This is achieved by the tragic hero having a fatal flaw that leads to their undoing. One of literature's examples of the tragic hero is Achilles from Homer's The Iliad. However, Achilles is different from the classic tragic hero in one major way - his story does not end tragically. Unlike the usual tragic hero, Achilles is able to change, reverse his downfall, and actually prove himself as a true hero. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...es in himself. Overall, this shows how a fatal flaw can be preventing from becoming fatal. Overall, it has been seen that Achilles meets the major requirements of a tragic hero. He is more admirable than the average person. He also has a fatal flaw that leads to his own undoing. However, unlike the normal tragic hero, Achilles is able to address his own flaw and prevent his downfall from spiralling to the point where his life ends tragically. Ultimately, Achilles is an almost-tragic hero who saves himself from tragedy. Ultimately, The Iliad is an almost-tragedy with hope, where the audience can see the tragic ending that had been narrowly avoided. Works Cited Aristotle. "Poetics." In The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. Ed. David H. Richter. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990. Homer. The Iliad. New York: Penguin, 1998.
A tragic hero is an individual who possesses a fatal flaw in their character that will bring about their own destruction or suffering. Aristotle believed that “A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall. (Aristotle #1)” This Ancient Greek philosopher also believed that each tragic hero has four characteristics. The first of these characteristics is that a tragic hero is born with either wisdom or high integrity, and in some cases both.
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.
As once said by Aristotle, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall". A tragic hero is often seen as someone with great stature who is noble yet imperfect, and experiences suffering due a moral flaw. In Sophocles’ Ancient Greek play The Oedipus Cycle, Creon represents the true tragic hero when his flawed actions and excessive pride create the path towards his demise.
The Ancient Greeks admired their heroes and tried to learn from both their achievements and their mistakes. They believed that most great leaders and warriors followed a predictable behavior cycle, which often ended tragically. In Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, Achilles is a great warrior who traces the stages of the behavior cycle twice, from arete to hubris to ate and then to nemesis. Achilles is a highly skilled warrior and a great leader who becomes a narcissist and an arrogant person, which leads to selfish and childish behavior resulting in the death of his best friend. Following Patroclus’ death, Achilles repeats the behavior cycle by regaining his courage and motivation, and goes back to battle against Hector. The pride he feels in killing Hector and his overpowering hatred for him, leads Achilles to another bad decision: disrespecting the body of his enemy. This foolish choice leads directly to Achilles death. Although The Iliad is mainly known as a story about the Trojan War, it is understood as a story about Achilles and his struggle to be a hero.
What would you do if someone told you you would end up killing your father and marrying your mother when you grow up? You would do anything to keep that from happening, wouldn’t you? Oedipus did in Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Unfortunately, Oedipus fails in avoiding his fate. Faced with a choice between pursuing the truth which everyone tells him would lead to his destruction or accepting a life without knowing any better, Oedipus chooses self-knowledge over self-deception. This makes Oedipus a perfect example of a tragic hero. In Greek drama, a tragic hero is a protagonist of a noble birth who possesses a tragic flaw that leads to his down fall but shows the courage to accept responsibility for his own actions.
...s body back to Priam, and demonstrates respect to Agamemnon’s couriers when they take Briseis away from him; but, his relevance to modern society is limited. Being physically strong is not important to a modern hero, because it is not a necessary trait in order to make a difference in the world. Athletes are not looked up to because they are strong and fast, but because of their willingness to succeed and their work ethic. When Achilles acts honorably, he is not making hard decisions that affect his and others lives; he is just giving into his conscience. Also, being respectful is expected from everyone in today’s world; the President is not rude to a citizen just because he has the power to be, because our constitution fights for our rights. Perhaps the only thing valuable that Achilles brings into the modern world is his intelligence, which will always be valued.
Achilles can be described as a tragic hero in many ways. He was a courageous and had great power, but he was full of himself and had no control over his emotions. A tragic hero is an entity that makes a fault in their judgment, or has a mortal defect that, combined with chance and external forces, brings on a tragedy. He has all the qualities of tragic hero. To lots of people Achilles was like a god. In the Iliad he is driven by anger, and seeks revenge on Hector for killing his closest friend Patroclus.
Aristoteles, Samuel Henry Butcher, and Francis Fergusson. Aristotle's Poetics. New York: Hill and Wang, 1994. Print.
Butcher, S.H. The Poetics of Aristotle trans. Pennsylvania State University: The Electronic Classic Series, Copyright 2000-2013. Web. 24 February 2014.
Aristotle. "The Poetics." The Rhetoric and the Poetics of Aristotle. Ed. Ingram Bywater. New York: McGraw Hill, 1984. 223-66.
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...
A tragic heros is someone who faces adversity and has courage and they have similar characteristics throughout different literature. A hero often times experience a downfall, but confronts the situation in a way that causes them to be given the title of a tragic hero. Aristotle once stated about tragic heroes and recited “A man doesn’t become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” Aristotle also came up with six characteristics that all tragic heroes have. Romeo is a prime example of a tragic hero by the quick judgements he makes due to his love for Juliet. He decides to attempt suicide when he sees Juliet faking her death, this shows his character falls in love too fast and too hard. The way he loves Juliet is Romeo’s downfall
Because he embodied Greek ideals, was ‘immortalized’ through his actions and glorious death, and was courageous, Achilles was an epic hero. Honor was of the utmost importance to both him and the entire Greek society, he chose to die a hero in battle, and he avenged the death of Patroclus even through mourning; Achilles is the true hero of the Iliad.
It is more than a scholastically studied work; it expresses the individual as a hero; something that is still examined and edifies humanity today. In the Iliad, readers glean the most transcultural ideologies from the character Achilles. Prophecies say that Troy will fall, but it isn’t until Achilles, the strongest of the Achaeans reenters the war and engages in combat that this begins to take shape. Without his return, the Greeks would have continued to struggle in the war against Troy. His first heroic battle is with Hector, the strongest of the Trojans. The bravery Achilles displays for fighting such a mighty warrior is admirable and is the keystone in developing the theme of the individual as a hero both in the book and in
Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Trans. S. H. Butcher. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000. Print.