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The definition of a hero
Achilles as a heroic character
Achilles as a heroic character
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Achilles, having been a famed and valiant soldier, was sought after and loved by all, except his adversary Agamemnon. He was a prominent warrior known for his great strength that actually caused the Acheans to win many battles. But what was it that caused Achilles to be such a hero? Consider the definition for the word, “hero.” A hero is “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” This gallant warrior is all three of these points in the definition, plus more. Achilles’ honorable attitude for his loved ones, bravery in times of adversity, and as the definition states, “outstanding achievements” make him a hero beyond recognition.
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...
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...
While Phoenix and Meleager seemed to have issues with their respective parents, Achilles has none of the same issues. Achilles has a loving mother as well as a father and Phoenix, a father figure. Achilles and Phoenix are so close that Phoenix claims, “I made you what you are, my godlike Achilles, And loved you from my heart” (Homer’s Iliad 9.498-499). In contrast, the relationships depicted through Phoenix’s story are filled with rage and promises of death. The importance of structuring symmetrical relationships when invoking an emotional argument is imperative, and this paradigm fails to pick appropriate examples. Though Achilles may feel pity, he isn’t able to wholeheartedly empathize with the narrative laid before him. Without empathy, there can be no universal bonds in which others can be held accountable for each other. The dearth of empathetic material in Phoenix’s speech is largely proportional to Achilles’ acute refusal as well as a broader representation of the tragedy of the Trojan war on the
The subject of Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, is very clearly stated--it is “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.” The reader remains continually aware of the extent of Achilles’ rage, yet is never told the reason why Achilles remains angry and unreconciled. There is no definitive answer to this question. Achilles is not a static character. He is constantly changing; thus the question of why he remains angry solicits different answers at various stages throughout the poem. To find an answer, the reader must carefully examine Achilles’ ever-changing dilemma involving the concepts of mortality and honor. At its simplest, Achilles’ dilemma is that if he goes to war, he will die. But he will die with glory.
While fighting the Trojans, Achilles and Agamemnon came to blows in a show of superiority. Agamemnon, the Greek warlord, put Achilles in his place by reminding him that he controlled what actually went on and took Briseis, Achilles’ war prize, for himself. This angered Achilles and from that point he no longer would fight alongside his fellow countrymen against the Trojans and even to pout as a child would (Puchner, , and et al 238-239). During this act Achilles showed that if he could have his toys then he would no longer play with his friends. His refusal to participate in the war hurt the Greeks horribly and many men were lost. Achilles could have cared less about the loss of his p...
He feels that his honor was besmirched when Agamemnon demands that Achilles relinquish his war prize, Brises "Are you ordering to give this girl back? Either the great hearted Achaians shall give me a new prize chosen according to my desires to atone for the girl loss, or else if they will not hive me I myself shall take her, your own prize?(Homer 1.134).
In the Iliad, Achilles is the main protagonist. He is a demi-god and is the son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus who was the King of the Myrmidons. He was a Greek hero of the Trojan War. He falls in love with a battle prize called Briseis. He is to portray, “as a brave, loyal, cocky, intelligent and even superhuman soldier. In Achilles ' case, the word "superhuman" is literal; he is the result of a union between a god and a mortal.”(Harvard 1)
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.
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 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...
The Iliad, the Greek epic documented by Homer that describes the battles and events of the ten year siege on Troy by the Greek army. Both Trojans and Greeks had their fair share of heroes and warriors, but none could match the skill and strength of the swift runner, Achilles. Achilles had the attributes of a perfect warrior with his god-like speed and combat abilities. However, even though he was Greek’s greatest warrior, he still possessed several flaws that made him fit the role of the Tragic Hero impeccably. Defined by Aristotle, a Tragic Hero is someone who possesses a high status of nobility and greatness, but must have imperfections so that mere mortals cannot relate to the hero. Lastly, the Tragic Hero’s downfall must be partially their own fault through personal choice rather than by an evil act, while also appearing to be not entirely deserved of their unfortunate fate. Achilles is a true Tragic Hero because he withholds all of these traits. Achilles proves to be a good man that puts his loved ones first, reveals his tragic flaws of pride and anger, shows dynamic qualities as a character when his flaws are challenged, and has a moment of clarity at the end of his rage. Achilles truly exemplifies the qualities of a Tragic Hero.
For the Homeric hero, honour was a code to live by, won on the battlefield, achieved through oratory discourse and attained via athletic ability. However, to understand why honour was an important theme in Homer’s Iliad, we need to look at how the heroes of the epic poem, such as Agamemnon and Achilles lived by this code, observing their behaviour and how they treated others throughout the story. With this in mind, we can establish the ideal conduct that warrants honour and the reality of what living by such a code meant to everyone involved.
Representing the struggle between his dominant, selfish, and Dionysian nature as an epic hero and his hidden empathetic Apollonian core, Achilles reveals the mythos of the Iliad which states that war degrades mankind into objects and only the pursuit of Apollonian regard for others renews their humanity. Early on in the Iliad, readers realize that Achilles is primarily a Dionysian man in nature who often acts on his impulses to strive for glory and seek revenge. The three things men want most—power, possession, glory—are the primary motivations for Achilles’ impulsive actions. When describing his anger after the taking of Bryseis, he states that she is “a prize [Achilles] sweated for and soldiers gave [him]” (Homer 1.189). The praxis of Achilles illustrated in this quote shows his inner desire for glory, a trait that is often associated with that of a Dionysian because it deals with inner passions and the impulsive nature of man.
Hector’ willingness to switch up his fighting strategy, something warriors pride themselves on, demonstrates once again how he is a selfless leader, setting aside his pride to benefit his army. In comparison, when Agamemnon hurts Achilles’ pride after he steals Achilles’ girlfriend Briseis, Achilles responds by saying, “ j chb31dcbli3bci3bco1b” Achilles’ decision to leave his army, deeply hurts their chances in battle as he is considered to be the greatest warrior. It’s Achilles’ clear lack of care for his army, that exposes his selfishness. A second example of how Achilles lets his pride detriment his Achaean army, is when Odysseus, Phoinix and Aias visit Achilles, and ask him if he would be willing to return to battle, as the Achaeans were
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.
The fact that the opening lines of the epic are about Achilles’ power and the people he has killed as a soldier on the Greek side show the huge importance given to him and his power. In his confrontation with Agamemnon regarding Chryseis, he tells Agamemnon that the Greek people want him to give Chryseis back to her father, the priest. This is an example of his great status among his people – he represents them, the one that lets Agamemnon hear their voice.