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The character of Achilles
The character of Achilles
The character of Achilles
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The Trojan War Timeline
1. The Golden Apple Eris, the evil goddess of Discord, was angered because she wasn’t invited to the wedding of king Peleus and Thetis, the sea nymph. She responded to this by throwing a golden apple with "For the Fairest" written on it. Though all the goddesses wanted it, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite wanted it the most. When they asked Zeus to decide he said he didn’t want anything to do with this, instead he told them to go to Mount Ida, close to Troy, and find prince Paris. His father, the king of Troy, cast him away because he was warned the Paris would someday be the ruin of his country.
2. The Judgment of Troy As anyone else was, when Paris first saw the goddesses he was awestruck. Instead of picking the goddess
Her father begged him to let her go but he refused. Her father prayed to Apollo and he heard. Apollo then shot fiery poisonous arrows on the Greek army that caused many men to get sick and die. Achilles held a meeting in which they needed a way to charm Apollo so they could continue to fight Troy. The prophet Calchas said that Chryseis needed to be returned to her father. Everyone agreed but for she was his "prize of honor," Agamemnon didn’t. After they returned Chryseis, Agamemnon sent two of his men to take Briseis, Achilles’ prize, away from him. Achilles swore that Agamemnon will pay for it. That night, Achilles mother visited him. She was as angry as him and said to him that he had to stop fighting with the Greeks. Then she asked Zeus to let the Trojans win the war. Hesitating, Zeus agreed. Some gods and Hera didn't agree and thought the Greeks should win; and so began the war fought in
Hector went back to battle with high hopes. Remembering the promise he made to Achilles mother, Zeus ordered all the immortals to stay in Olympus. Zeus went down to help the Trojans. Hector led the Trojans so well that they pushed the Greeks almost back to their ships. This was a big victory in Troy that night.
7. Hera’s Plan
Hera didn't approve of Zeus helping the Trojans. She formulated a plan the would give favour back to the Greeks. She made herself look so stunning that he could not resist her. When Zeus held her, Hera would make him fall asleep and he’d forget about the Trojans. After she did this and Greece was in favour again. They pushed the Trojans back to Troy and if Zeus didn't wake up, it would have fallen that day. Zeus lectured Hera but she blamed it on Poseidon. Zeus then pulled Poseidon from battle. Then the Greeks were losing once again.
Patroclus Dies
When the Trojans were about to defeat the Greeks, Achilles’ best friend Patroclus, couldn’t stay away from the battle. He offered to go fight since Achilles was still caught up in his anger. He would wear Achilles’ armor so the Trojans would think it was Achilles and they give the Greeks some breathing room. Patroclus did this and fought like Achilles would and everyone thought it was him. But when he met Hector, knew it wasn't Achilles, so Hector speared him and he
The Trojan War is one of the most known battle or war in history, if not the most known. It was a very, very long war, but there was one main source or reason of conflict that drove it to last so long, it seemed endless. Paris, a Trojan prince, was promised a wife as fair as the goddess of beauty by Aphrodite herself. The particular woman she promised was already married to a Greek King by the name of Menelaus. This started not only tension between the Greeks and Trojans but also anger because they were recently married.Helen should have returned to the Greeks for a few reasons that could have led to a shorter war, or even no war.First off, Greek King Menelaus is her rightfully wedded husband. The war would have been totally prevented if a couple of decisions were better made. Finally, she never really was in love with Paris. It was all manipulated by Aphrodite.
...battle that Achilles’ ego needed. However, Hector tried to do the right thing by offering the deceased be returned to their respective camps after the battle was over. It is at this point that Achilles is beyond the common courtesies of war and flat out denied Hector’s request. This action by Achilles shows his arrogance and the bloodlust that was truly in his heart rather than the courage that so many people claim that he had.
When Patroclus asked Achilles for his armor, Achilles finally sided with Patroclus after a great deal of pondering because he wanted revenge over Agamemnon. In the armor of Achilles, Patroclus was killed by Hector. When he learned of the death of Patroclus, he would kill Hector knowing that it would lead to his own death. Achilles went back into war knowing he would go against his mother’s wishes. When the news of Hector’s death reached King Priam, he asked for the body of his Son of Achilles. The body was returned out of understanding the pain of losing a son. But in the end, that was the plan that finally destroyed the City of
And let me strap on my shoulders that armor of yours. That the zealous Trojans take me for you and quickly Withdraw from the fight." Because Achilles refused to help the Achaeans battle the Trojans, a discontented Patroclus took the matter into his own hands by requesting activation into battle disguised as Achilles in the hope of sending the Trojans. into a full retreat from the sight of him. It is apparent that Patroclus was willing to fight, although the odds were greatly against him.
A sea nymph, Thetis, was getting married to Peleus, a mortal. All of the gods and goddesses were invited to this great wedding, except Eris, a rather unpopular goddess. When Eris discovered that there was a wedding going on that she had not been invited to she decided to get back at all who went. She decided to roll an apple into the reception of the wedding, but she put an inscription on the apple that intended it for the most beautiful goddess at the wedding. When the apple rolled in and the inscription was read Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all felt that she, respectively, was the most beautiful and should get the apple. All three goddesses begged of the gathered gods to choose, but all of the gods refused to make an enemy of the other two that he did not choose. So finally, someone made the suggestion that the three goddesses should let a mortal choose; Priam's son, Paris, was designated to choose. The goddesses went to him and each begged him to choose her. Hera offered Paris, if he chose her, the chance at infinite wisdom; Athena offered to let him defeat the Achaeans if they went to war; and finally, Aphrodite offered Paris the love of the most beautiful woman in Greece, Helen.
The suspected start of the war- over the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta- was caused entirely by a godly conflict over who was the most beautiful- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was selected to judge. He chose Aphro...
The Greek gods were not only intimately involved in the action of the Trojan War, they were also the impetus for the war. Although the overt cause of the war was Paris' abduction of Helen, this act was the result of quarrelling goddesses. The Trojan prince Paris was forced to choose the fairest amongst the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. Each goddess attempted to sway Paris with offerings, and Aphrodite's temptation was Helen; this leads to the war and the immortal alliances that overshadow its mortal activities. The story that the poem implicitly addresses is of the Achaen king Agamemnon and his daughter Iphigenia. The Achaen forces have gathered at Aulis before mounting their attack on Troy when one of Artemis' stags is killed; this, coupled with Agamemnon's boasting of the act, is why "Artemis is offended" (51). In retaliation, the goddess imprisons the troops at Aulis by preventing the wind from powering their fleet. In order to appease the goddess and begin the war, Agamemnon sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia as "the child" who will become "the victim of Aulis." Although Artemis intervenes and makes Iphigenia one of her priestesses, only the goddess knows that Iphigenia escaped death.
Along side with Hera and Poseiden, Athena tended to help the Greek side during the war. With the help from others Athena comes up with the idea of a Trojan horse and that the warriors hide inside the horse and that the horse would be brought into the city and given as a gift. A Classics website states that “The Trojan Horse The latter, a worthy son of his father, slays the a last ally of the Trojans, the Eurypylus, the brave son of Telephus; and Philoctetes, with one of the arrows of Heracles, kills Paris. Even when the last condition of the capture of Troy, the removal of a small statue of Athena, called the Palladium, from the temple of Athena on the citadel, has been successfully fulfilled by Diomedes and Odysseus, the town can only be taken by treachery. On the advice of Athena, Epeius, son of Panopeus, builds a gigantic wooden horse, in the belly of which the bravest Greek warriors conceal themselves under the direction of Odysseus.” In all Athena in the Illiad shows the many roles that she seems to display thoughout the books.Athena goes from the typical goddess to the women that is on the battle field provocking someone kill someone with an
It does not seem to be rooted in his own belief that his brother Paris' actions are worthy of defense, or that Helen is a prize absolutely worth fighting for. In fact, although he feels fraternal affection for his brother, he reviles Paris several times for his selfishness and womanizing that has brought such grief to Troy. To Hecuba, he says "A great curse Olympian Zeus let live and grow in him [Paris], for Troy and high-hearted Priam and all his sons." (VI.334-5) He is angry at Paris, not only for the taking of Helen, but for his hiding from battle, allowing the other men of Troy to die for the trophy that Paris keeps in his bed. "You'd be the first to lash out at another -- anywhere -- you saw hanging back from this, this hateful war. Up with you -- before all Troy is torched to a cinder here and now!" he berates Paris (VI.389-90). And later, in the heat of battle, he cries again: "Paris, appalling Paris! Our prince of beauty -- mad for women, you lure them all to ruin!" (XIII.888-9)
First off, Achilles talks about how sad he is about the death of Patroclus. Achilles groaned and answered, 'Mother, Olympian Zeus has indeed vouchsafed me the fulfillment of my prayer, but what pleasure is it to me, seeing that my dear comrade Patroclus has fallen—he whom I valued more than all others, and loved as dearly as my own life?
the Trojan War on the side of Agamemnon. Of all the heroes who return from
...h Agamemnon and wishes that ‘strife could die from the lives of gods and men’… Not to avenge Patroclus by killing Hector would be a renunciation of all that he stands for and has lived by”. Even though “sorrow fell on Achilles like a cloud” (216), he went back out to the battlefield and killed Hector. It took a great deal of bravery for Achilles to face the man who killed his best friend but Achilles, being the hero that he was, got back into battle and killed him because he couldn’t let Patroclus’ death go unavenged.
The heroes of ancient Greece were tall, terrible figures of herculean strength and superhuman power. They weren’t thought of as heroes for their personality or character, but for the massive number of soldiers slain in war or one-on-one duels won for their countries. A perfect personification of the ancient hero is Achilles, the protagonist of Homer’s The Iliad. As described in the manuscript, Achilles was the greatest fighter and warrior among the Achaeans. He is an exceptional warrior, and The Iliad is filled with accounts of his victories in battle. Not only that, but he defeats Hector, the leader of the Trojan arm...
Achilles stand firm against Priam but Priam reminds Achilles of the love that he has for his own dead father. Achilles is moved to tears by the memories of home and of his parents. He accepts Priam 's ransom for Hector 's body, and the two men, each having his own sorrow, cry together. After the reconciliation, Achilles has a dinner prepared for Priam and they eat together as equals. Achilles even supervises the preparations of Hector 's body and grants the Trojans twelve days to conduct Hector 's funeral rites, during which the Greeks will not attack. 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
The gods agree that Hector deserves a proper burial. Zeus sends the god Hermes to escort King Priam, Hector’s father and the ruler of Troy, into the Greek camp. Priam begs Achilles to take pity on a father mourning his son and return Hector’s body. He invokes the memory of Achilles’ own father, Peleus. Achilles finally relents and returns Hector’s corpse to the Trojans. Both sides agree to a temporary truce, and Hector receives a hero’s funeral.