Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Contrast Hector and Achilles
Achilles literary analysis heroism
Character of achilles in homer's iliad
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Contrast Hector and Achilles
Hector and Achilles both display extravagant heroic qualities in The Iliad and the movie Troy. The character I admire most is Achilles considering he certainly knows how to express his mind and he knows what he wants. Achilles’ qualities include confidence, determination, and intelligence. Achilles may kill a numerous number of people, but he does show kindness and respect, he expresses himself, and cares deeply for his loved ones.
Achilles conveys kindness and respect, particularly towards the end of the book and the movie, he was able to learn what those two words meant after Patroclus died. When Priam came to Achilles in the movie, he knew that it was honorable to give Hector’s corpse back to his father. Nevertheless, Priam was able
…show more content…
They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything 's more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.” (Troy, Achilles) This shows that he may appear heartless, but deep down he is truly filled with respect and kindness even when it comes to difficult …show more content…
The readers can obtain a chance to become acquainted with Achilles’ character. The readers have the opportunity to witness that he absolutely does not care for the war too much and he has not fought just for his town, he fights for himself, yearning to kill people who have done wrong and deserve to die. Embodying himself, endeavoring to not seem selfish, even though that is how his character has a unique personality. Achilles battles in these wars knowing that his common people need him and he wants a war that all humanity, in millions of years will remember. As he talks to Odysseus, he asks why he should fight the war and Odysseus says he should fight for Greece knowing that Troy has insulted them. Achilles, at that instant, brings up an outstanding point saying “They insulted one Greek, a man who couldn 't hold on to his wife. What business is that of mine?” (Troy, Achilles) This shows he does not think highly of Grease therefore he will not fight for Greece until he has a reason. Any man should fight for the right reason and Achilles is one of the only ones in this war that understands that
Phoenix’s paradigm narrative fails to persuade Achilles to rejoin the war because the specifics of that narrative fail to align with Achilles’ specific concerns. In particular, Phoenix neglects the pernicious effects of Agamemnon’s actions on Achilles’ notions of honor and pride. The old man discounts Achilles’ ability to act solely on the account of his dangerously inflated pride, which proves to be detrimental not only to the Greeks but also those whom Achilles cares about, most notably Patroclus. Additionally, Phoenix’s anecdote draws incorrectly upon the role and relationship of Achilles’ parental figures, lessening the efficacy of the speech as a whole. Phoenix’s terminal mistake was confusing the desires of Achilles with that of Meleager, assuming that the warrior values his fellow Greeks over himself (Homer’s Iliad 9.607-611).
Much of what we know today of Greek culture was passed on through history via The Iliad by Homer. The Greeks, one of the earliest recorded civilizations that our species is aware of, had a large influence on the Roman Empire and by extension most of the civilizations of our known history. Through history and different cultures, there are various stories of heroes and heroism, and it seems that the definition of heroism has changed frequently since classical antiquity. “Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’s son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses.”(The Iliad I.1-2) So opens The Iliad, a story of the Trojan War and the flawed hero, Achilles. Achilles, an example of the Greeks ideal hero, is not without his flaws. His anger while understandable during the earlier parts of the poem begins to appear irrational during book IX. The Greeks, who aspired to embody the qualities they valued in their heroes, treated the story of The Iliad with great reverence.
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.
In Homer’s The Iliad, Achilles is often referred to as a very courageous Greek hero but a further look into the epic will reveal a man that is more arrogant than courageous. It was truly his arrogance that made his name famous and not his courage. Achilles was a narcissistic, self-serving man who was not concerned with his fellow country man. His actions of courage can easily be revealed as selfishness instead of what most people believe.
The question "was Achilles' anger justified" brings up issues that seem to have little or no relevance to the war. In time of war I would expect the leaders to prioritize the groups interest for the sake of unity and cooperation rather than being entrenched in achieving their own personal goals. But my expectations are those of a modern day literature student, I'm inclined to think that the Greeks who first read this epic valued different things than myself. Another relevant question might be "were Achilles' actions justified". Anger can be easily justified, but the actions that anger might lead you to take are not as easily justified. Again I am not an ancient Greek and my opinions are irrelevant unless I open my mind to different viewpoints. Therefore I am striving to look into this issue through ancient Greek eyes where the principle of sacrificing ones own interests was apparently not valued, but maintaining ones honor, on the other hand, was greatly valued. In the following paragraphs I will attempt to answer these two aforementioned questions.
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 ...
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.
First off, Achilles has a few heroic characteristics. I don’t want to compare him to any other heroes I’ve studied because I don’t like him, but I’d say Odysseus, because they fought for the same goal in the Trojan War. But personally, I think he is a sissy for not fighting throughout the entire Trojan War until things got personal because Hector killed his friend. But hey, killing Hector in his blind rage helped the cause, and thusly his people. So he isn’t all that bad. Then, as N.S. Gill will write, Achilles does this. “An enraged Achilles kills Hector and then dishonors the body by dragging it around tied to the back of a chariot for 9 days.” So, yeah, Achilles is kind of a prick. But then again, Achilles reflects the moral codes of the culture that bore him, so in a strange way, he is the embodiment of a hero. To them at least. To me, he seems to have good ...
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...
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.
Priam thanks Achilles and leaves with Hector’s body before the sun rises. Once again Achilles’ rage is ended by reconciliation and Achilles is show to be not just a violent warrior, but is also a noble
Even though The Iliad is a Greek epic poem Homer is really getting at how Hector was a better hero than Achilles or even the Hero of The Iliad. Homer shows Achilles as a selfish, disgraceful warrior that does not care about the lives of his fellow countrymen and even wish for their deaths. Achilles is put in a repulsive light while Hector is seen in a captivating way. He is a family that puts his life down for his family and City. Homer actually made Hector the real hero in The Iliad.
Hector and Achilles, two outstanding warriors on opposing sides in a conflict, show that there is more to people than what meets the eye. Although they are seen as ultimately heroic and powerful, their weaknesses and inner conflicts are unmistakable. Their differences are larger and more significant than their similarities, and to think of them as interchangeable warriors diminishes their significance. Achilles is portrayed as a fierce fighter who is harsh on the battlefield, but cares about the ones he loves very deeply, whereas Achilles is shown as a strong fighter with a more sensitive heart and compassion for all people.
According the Iliad by Homer, Hector and Achilles are the main characters that have many different, but also they have some similarity.They both have the different in personalities and life. Also, they have the different about leadership and relationship with their family. Both are the two strong warriors and heroes. Achilles is in Greek side, Hector is in the Trojans side , and they both want to win the battle . Both characteristics believed that their fate is to die on the battle as the warrior, but approach war differently. However, they all have the advantage and disadvantage. Also, They have the different reasons to fight the battle that hector fight for his homeland and his family's honor and Achilles fight for Helen , also because he is the best warrior that he want people to respected him.
In the poem, Iliad, Achilles and Hector both show relative heroism in their own different ways. Achilles may have been the more popular hero, but Hector had great heroism as well. Each of these characters possess their own different strengths and weaknesses. These two characters both have pride as being one of their main weaknesses. Hector seems as if he would suit best in the modern world, but there are a few different reasons as to why the ancients may have chose Achilles. Hector and Achilles both lost a lot by letting their pride get in the way of their heroism. Both of these characters were their country’s best warrior. Achilles and Hector have very different personalities, and very different ways of approaching situations.