Achilles Heroism Essay

As soon as we are exposed to Achilles in battle, it is obvious why he is the hero of the Achaeans. He is very devoted, and even the heat of battle does not faze him, as he mows down rows and rows of his opponents. His devotion in battle is suitably shown when he is talking of battle:

Socrates’ primary motivation for comparing himself to Achilles, the best of all the classic heroes, is to convince the jury of his Achillean heroism. One attribute of a hero according to the events of the Iliad is that one must either kill or be killed in the pursuit of honor. Correspondingly, the Iliad chronicles Achilles’ life and death on the natural path to heroism. Despite the

Achilles’ sinful desire for glory ended up killing him, his comrades, and his reputation. Achilles spent the majority of the battle withdrawn from the fight and moping, so when he eventually ended up dying there was nothing particularly noble or glorious about it. If, however, Achilles had gone out heroically and risked his life at the beginning of the battle as he fought alongside his comrades, he could have died in battle and had people remember him as one of the greatest Greek heroes that ever lived. Achilles had three main faults in his personality that ruined his chance at glory. First, because of his selfishness, Achilles kept making choices that benefited himself and nobody else, which is in stark contrast with the selfless mindset required of a hero. Second, because of his pride, Achilles withdrew from the battle and stubbornly refused to fight, which resulted in the deaths of countless comrades. Finally, Achilles’ anger towards Agamemnon kept Achilles from fighting, allowing the Trojans to win many battles. When Achilles finally died in The Odyssey, he was merely making up for his wrong attitude earlier in the war. He was not fighting in order that he might protect and save his comrades. That, therefore, is why it was not at all noble of him to want to die for glory.

Warriors of ancient Greece were considered heroes by following the Heroic Code of excellence. They achieved this by acquiring a kleos; establishing fame, glory and a positive reputation. It was not an easy task to become a Grecian hero. Building and maintaining kleos meant that a warrior must be brave and strong, be “a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.” The solider had to protect his friends and harm his enemies, respect the gods and his elders, and most of all value his honor over his life. To die in battle, and be spoken of after death was the most important act of honor for a hero. The Greek tragedy, Iliad, attributed to Homer, portrays Achilles as the most gallant hero of the Athenian army. The story tells of Achilles, who develops into the greatest hero of the Trojan War. While the end of the end of the poem does portray Achilles as the solider that the story foretells throughout the poem he does not act like that. Many times in the story Achilles actions are perceived as unheroic but ultimately they shape the course of the few weeks of the Trojan Wars described in the Iliad, the Achaean’s final victory at Troy and his emergence as a hero.

All of these facts add up to Achilles having a clear-cut advantage over the opposition. Another smaller reason for Achilles heroism is his sense of responsibility. A prime example of that is when Patroclus dies. He takes immediate responsibility for Patroclus’ death, and instantly vows to take revenge on Hector for it. When you put all these details together it adds up to the heroism of Achilles throughout the entire epic.

The Song of Achilles, a book written by Madeline Miller. This book is a version of the Iliad, but with Achilles and Patroclus clearly stated as lovers (this has historically been debated). The themes of the novel are love, war, and destiny (challenging prophecies).

Achilles can be described as a Tragic Hero in many ways. He was brave and had great strength but, he was also prideful and lacked control with his emotions, and in all the label of a tragic hero fits him. A Tragic hero is “a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy” (“Tragic Hero”). To many men Achilles was god-like, and immortal, the epitome of a hero to the Greeks, he was strong, brave in the face of war, and of noble birth because he was the son of a goddess. In the Iliad, Achilles, driven by anger seeks revenge on Hector for killing his “dearest comrade” (“The Heroic Age”), Patroclus, whom he claims to have valued more than his own life. He

     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,

Achilles is one of the greatest heroes in The Iliad. For example, he has a high social status. Thorough The Iliad, Achilles is the strongest warrior in the Greek army. As the strongest warrior, he has a high social status. Furthermore, he fought in the Trojan war which was the most important war in the book. Although he had not participated all throughout the war when he appeared there were many important happenings. Lastly, he was an honorable individual as stated in the text. Many times Achilles is referred to as honorable by other characters, making him heroic.

Additionally, Achilles was the only hero who fought solely for his own heroics, and he was the only one who had a real love for battle and the glory of winning in war. Achilles’ love of war was on par with the love that many other Greeks expressed for their wives and

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

The Ancient Greeks idealized and worshiped their heroes, this is portrayed in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. To become a hero in ancient Greece, one would have to live and die in pursuit of glory and honor. Both Achilles and Hector seek victory in battle to become the “true hero.” Although both characters possess many hero-like qualities, Hector proved to be the genuine hero.

Throughout the entire Trojan war, Achilles spent most of his time pouting in his tent after Agamemnon kidnapped his prized maiden, Chryseis. He also lets his best friend, Patroclus, go into battle alone only to die when Hector kills him with his spear. Achilles joins the war when he hears of Patrclus death, but it was not out of bravery; out of guilt, revenge and anger, when he hears of his friend's death. When Achilles kills Hector, he binds his feet to his chariot and drags his body around the walls of Troy. In my opinion this was not an act of heroism. But in the Iliad the Greeks loved Achilles. Achilles was considered half mortal and half God. Achilles has all the characteristics of a heroic warrior on a grand scale, and he possesses more than a common measure of all the merits and all the faults of a hero (Bowra 193). All of Achilles traits and glory are won primarily in battle, which sets Achilles apart from Hector because Achilles knows little about home and family. He has no wife: his father he has not seen in years; his mother, even though she helps him but he cannot help her and she isn't even a human being (Bowra 194).

Not everybody is perfect, and in Achilles’ case, this is definitely true. Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of the epic hero is having an epic flaw. While Achilles may be near perfect in combat, his personality is most definitely flawed. His pride leads him to overconfidence, his

The fact that Achilles had bravery in times of adversity shows that he should be given glory as a hero. In spite of the fact that Patroclus had died, and it was immensely hard for him to accept the loss of his friend, Achilles decided that Patroclus would have wanted him to be courageous. Achilles rejoined the war, resolved to kill those that had killed his beloved friend. He was not afraid of dying or being badly wounded, but he wanted to make up for his impulsive absence in the war.