Achilles Research Paper

When you read the Iliad you really can notice the contrast between Hector and Achilles. Hector is a man who loves his child and wife and who can forget war when a little child cries. Andromache and Hector are instantly humanized in a way that no other character is in the Iliad except Achilles throughout and Priam at the very end. Their personalities and how they live their

The stories of heroes have been at the axis of nearly all cultures throughout history. Each different type of religion or culture has their own heroes or legends, each one of them having their differences to go along with the beliefs at hand. On the other hand, each and every hero also has their similarities, which therefore makes them the hero. The setting, events, and characters in each and every story may change, but the characteristics of the hero remain basically the same. Each person is usually made into a hero in a somewhat similar fashion. For example, many heroes begin as imperfect characters, and then begin some sort of quest which leads to them becoming a leader of what they are doing, and then the character goes through a

Although Achilles and Hector are both leaders of men, Hector leads with a mature sense that gives his men reason to respect him. In turn, Hector respects his men which gives fulfillment to both parties. Hector is not a man to sit around and mull over strategies and ideas - Hector is a man of action.

Through further research, I have learned that this vase “depicts the heroes Achilles and Ajax playing a board game” (Two-Handled Jar with Achilles and Ajax).

How would you determine if some one was a hero or not? What characteristics would

A true hero will go through immeasurable lengths to benefit not him or herself, but the people around them. Heroes are neither selfish nor uncaring. They seek every opportunity they get to help those in need. One must have also gone through the entire hero’s journey to be deemed a hero. He must start off naïve and inept and through his challenges, transform into someone worth calling a hero. Most importantly, a hero is not perfect. He must listen to other’s ideas and utilize them. However, in The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus disrespects his crew men and the gods’ advice, lets hubris interfere with his men’s lives, and is unfaithful to his wife Penelope.

Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles re-tells the classic tale of The Iliad through the romantic relationship highly speculated between Achilles and Patroclus. In a diachronic approach to historical queer narratives, I will analyze queer identities and representation within literature with an emphasis on contemporary queer narratives. Queer narratives are especially important stories to perpetuate and recognize both historically and contemporarily, as they impose, perpetuate, or upset notions of normalcy. The Song of Achilles solidifies historical queer identities and experiences that have otherwise been absent, overlooked, or erased in the Iliad (and other historical texts). Accurate queer representation is important for understanding the historical past, giving voice, visibility, and validation to queer identities, and recreating identity in the present.

Throughout history, different cultures have created heroes as representations of the ideals that these cultures value. Often times these heroes have very little or no flaws, such is the case with the Hindu hero Rama. On the other hand, some heroes have many virtuous attributes to them, while still containing flaws, creating a more realistic and achievable hero, such as with Odysseus. Both of these heroes represent the principles that were valued from their respective cultures of origin; therefore, the heroes themselves are representations of the society during the time of their (the heroes) creation. These heroes serve as guides to how the people of their respective cultures try to lead their lives, which makes Perfect heroes problematic for people who try to follow their actions.

A hero needs to be brave enough to attack for what is right. When Odysseus and his men were lead by his curiosity to the Cyclops’ cave they ended up getting trapped and some were eaten. Then Odysseus came up with the plan to blind the Cyclops but not kill him since he was the only way for them to get out. The Cyclops was larger than him and stronger than him, yet he proceeded to blind him. Also, when he and the few men he had left had to travel by the Sirens he faced his challenges head on. He did not have to travel beside them but he went anyways.

The term hero is can mean many different things in just as many different cultures. For example, modern day Americans would refer to a hero as someone who sacrifices oneself in order to protect and save others. While this current definition of hero is similar to that of the past, the first generation of heroes certainly had their differences. Two unique examples of these heroes are Gilgamesh and Rama. Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk in the Middle East who ruled as a tyrant, while Rama was the king Ayodhya who ruled with compassion. While these two individuals are clearly heroes, they couldn’t be more dissimilar.

A hero is something that society has formed an idea about the characteristic it should posses from history. Through the stories told from the past a hero is developed through their qualities and characteristics they value. When one views a hero from a different culture they can form an opinion on what matters to that culture. One will notice that through all these different heroes that they all share common features. In ancient Hebrew culture Moses represents a hero and for ancient Greek culture Odysseus represents heroic figures.

Throughout the history of epic literature, heroes have been an integral part of many different cultures. Some of these heroes are fierce and powerful, renowned for their skill in battle, while some others and clever and cunning, able to talk their way out of any difficult situation. These traits usually emphasize the values of the cultural from which the hero came, and depending on the culture,traits viewed as heroic may drastically differ. Although there exists a plethora of traits any one hero may have, there are three core characteristic that, in my opinion, a hero must have to be considered a hero: the courage to face hardships, the willingness to make major self-sacrifices for the benefit of others, and most importantly, the dedication to do what it takes to reach their goal.

Rama and Achilles were seen as a Hindu and a Homeric hero respectively. The idea of heroism in Hindu culture is markedly different to Homeric ones. The stories of the Ramayana and the Iliad influence society a lot, as both characters are considered as heroes. Rama is heroic in Indian culture because he obeys his father and loyal to dharma. This is associated with the beliefs of the ancient Indian culture at that time. Hindu heroes must follow Dharma and have an ideal model behavior in

In the book The Iliad, by Homer, the main character, Achilles, is a Greek warrior who is part divine and part human. During the story, Achilles undergoes the steps in becoming a hero. Each of these steps prepares him for the final moment, when he becomes a hero. Achilles is a hero because he goes through many of the steps necessary in the path to becoming a hero.

Humanity has always strived for greatness, and is destined to continue this attempt till the world stops spinning. Through the art of storytelling, and literature, we have weaved images of what the ideal human should be. Countless works of literature depict such humans as “heroes”, due to the inspiration they stir within our imperfect souls. Truly epic heroes shape future stories, and remain influential despite the weathering of time. Two heroes of epic proportions can be found in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, through the grand tales of Achilles and Odysseus. How are these two men heroes? Better yet, what makes each unique in their