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Compare the character of Achilles with that of Hector
The Iliad , The quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon
Achilles as a heroic character in iliad
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The Character of Achilles in Homer's Iliad
The story of Homer's Iliad actually centers around the "rage of Achilles, contrary to popular belief. At first thought or reading the epic poem seems like its main theme is utlimately the totality and gruesomness of war. In reality it is an ancient "Saving Private Ryan" in that it tells us of the raw details of war without any lack of description and information. However this ultimate devistation and emotion of the actual fighting and Trojan War is not the main focal point of this heroic tale. The real story centers on one awesome fighter, man, and hero--that man is Achilles.
Achilles shows the greatest military prowess of any of the Achaean ranks and has the greatest fighting ability of all of the warriors, Trojan or Achaean. At the beginning of Homer's tale Achilles becomes disenfranchised from the rest of his fellow warriors and chooses to retreat back to his own ships of Myrmidons and refuses to fight for the Achaean cause against the Trojans. Not only is Achilles plauged and troubled by problems with his fellow soldiers, but he ultimately must face the fact that he has chosen to live a short and glorious life, as opposed to his other option of a long and blase life. Achilles knows that he must ultimately die in the heat of battle and gain great fame for doing so--if he actually existed and the story is true in this respect then he certainly has ascertained immortal fame in the pages of Homer's tale.
Achilles eventually returns to fight on the side of the Achaeans, but not because of anything Agamemnon offers to him in order to get him to return to the fighting. Achilles' best friend and essential "soul-mate", Patroclus, is slain at the hands of the mighty Hector of Troy.
Achilles is hence distraught at this happening and therefore goes to wreak his own havoc with the life of Hector to gain revenge. He manages to eventually kill many Trojans and then finally after chasing Hector several times around the city of Troy, slays him and desecrates his body by dragging him excessively as somewhat of an artifice to get his stored up hate, anger, and fear out.
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...
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, the greatest of the Greek warriors, is portrayed as a hero in some ways but, on the other hand, performs some controversial acts in the Iliad. Throughout the entire Trojan war, Achilles spent most of his time pouting in his tent after Agamemnon kidnapped his prized maiden, Chryseis.
The first line of the Iliad describes a human emotion that leads to doom and destruction in Homer's poetic tale of the Trojan War. Achilles' rage is a major catalyst in the action in the Iliad. It is his rage that makes him both withdraw from and, later, rejoin the war with a fury. Why is Achilles enraged? Is his rage ignited solely by his human adversaries or do the gods destine him to the experience? Achilles' rage has many facets. His rage is a personal choice and, at times, is created by the gods.
Some people say that the love between a mother and her daughter is forever; but what about the understanding? In the case of Waverly Jong and her mother in the story “Rules of the Game,” by Amy Tan, there is much miscommunication and misunderstanding. The story is set in mid-1950’s Chinatown and as the story opens, it is Christmas time. “Rules of the Game” is the telling of how a little girl learns to be more independent but falls into conflict with her mother along the way and becomes a type of trophy. Amy Tan uses elements such as character, symbolism, and setting to portray the themes of struggle between two cultures and independence perfectly in “Rules of the Game.”
In Delphi the oracle Pythoness recommended him to make a home and to live at Tyrins and serve King Eurystheus for twelve years, doing whatever task or things that might beset him and he could not say no unless they were hugely ridiculous but he didn’t care he wanted to be forgiven and not feel so bad now; in return, he would be rewarded with immortality. This was priceless to him. He just needed to be forgiven of his dreadful deed by everyone.
Achilles agreed that Patrokolos should wear his armor into battle, this decision along with the fact Achilles was no longer fighting, ultimately caused Patrokolos’ death. When Patrokolos died at the hands of Hektor, two things happened. First, being distraught over his friend’s death, Achilles feels responsible/ Guilt ensues but is channeled to more anger. Hektor, the slayer of Patrokolos now becomes the target of Achilles rage. Achilles is ready to fight, but more accurately ready for revenge. Achilles said, “I will not live nor go about among mankind unless Hektor fall by my spear, and thus pay me for having slain Patrokolos son of Menoetius,” (The Iliad, Chapter 18, Lines 89-91). When Achilles decided to fight, the fate of Hektor was already decided. Also, because he decided to fight, many more Trojans died. His fury with all of Troy was unleashed. Achilles killed and killed. The carnage was
Throughout the book, Dickens portrays his objectivity between the classes through a series of graphic descriptions. For example, the horrid events that occur when the Marquis murders the child is a time when Dickens most definitely favors the rebels. Dickens’s attitude when Jacques kills the Marquis is that justice has been supplied. There is a definite tone of approval in his voice after these actions. On the other hand, Dickens’s attitude towards the mutineers is not always one of endorsement. When the activists nearly kill Gabelle and burn the Chateau, Dickens’s attitude changes from one of approval to one of disbelief. His disposition is almost one of sorrow for all the beauty being carelessly destroyed. As the reader can see, Dickens’s opinion varies greatly in accordance to the portion of the story the person is reading.
Like any journey, it is necessary to begin with a single step – the evolution of lighting in theatre began with the resources available to the ancient Roman and Greek societies; sunlight and candles. As such, performances and events were held at the height of the day, so as to allow the most natural light to fill the stage. While this method successfully brought the stage to life and made the actors and scenery visible, it did little to create dynamics, establish mood, or manipulate the audience’s perspective and emotion. Rather than a creative tool, lighting was viewed as a solution to a problem – a product born out of necessity. Innovative uses of light were limited to grand demonstrations that often became the centerpieces of Greek and Roman theatre. For example, large burned houses graced center stage, but any other indications of lighting were strictly two-dimensional, painted on the backdrop. While this forced the audience to focus their energy and attention on the players and the action, it also limited their experience – without lighting t...
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...
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...
The Iliad may be seen as an account of the circumstances that irrevocably alter the life of one man: Achilles, one of the greatest warriors. Throughout the course of the poem Achilles goes through many ordeals that change his character immensely. Starting with his quarrel with Agamemnon and withdrawal from battle, to the death of Patroklos, and with the slaying of Hektor. Achilles emotions and actions decide the fate of many warriors on both sides. Achilles struggles with anger, honor, pride, loyalty and love make the poem more that just a gruesome war story.
Roman theater was modified version of Greek architecture of theaters. It had Cavea, which was the auditorium, dedicated to the crowd. Scarnae was devoted to performances and acts purposes. This theater also included curtains, painting according to the theme to show the emotions of the drama or scene.
... lack of scenery, no lighting, and characters that look 3 and half inches tall, to something so much more amazing. However, perhaps the ancient theater involved more acting and more imagination. The benefits of both ancient and present day theaters are endless. But it’s all in the eye of the beholder, as many plays have to be, in order to be appreciated to the highest degree.