Essay on Achilles: The Tragic Hero of The Iliad

In the modern world, people, as a society, have always given themselves a goal or goals that they would like to attain at some point during their lifetime. Many people seek to attain riches, love, happiness or high stature within society. When we people set that goal, we tend to mold our lifestyles around it. As people work throughout their lives to achieve this ultimate goal, it becomes apparent to others what it is we are working so hard for. Just as this pattern is evident in modern society, it can also be seen in the times of Homer, particularly in the great Greek epic, the Iliad. This distinct pattern can be seen in Achilles, one of the most vital characters in the story. Achilles, being the ultimate most powerful warrior of all

In Aristotle’s Poetics, Aristotle gave definition of tragedy as well as a tragic hero. He defined the tragic hero as a man whose misfortunes were coming through his own mistakes, also known as hamartia, not through evils or external conflicts (Aristotle’s Tragic Terms). Ancient Greek tragic heroes were fated by the gods, and experienced their downfalls in different ways. Two classic tragic heroes are Oedipus and Achilles that both of them tied with Apollo’s oracles. Although Oedipus and Achilles have different backgrounds and identities, they both try to escape from their fates, but then prove the God’s

Achilles is the type of character that you love and hate at the same time. He’s the hero, but he also has deep flaws that causes him to do things that make you hate him -- such as, killing Hector and dragging his body behind his chariot. Achilles is a selfish, prideful warrior who is full of rage that he typically can’t control. But Achilles is also a dynamic character; he doesn’t stay the same selfish, prideful warrior from the start of the poem to the end of it. He learns lessons along his journey from the people and situations he encounters that changes him.

Hector has killed good Patroclus and many other friends. May such anger, which upsets the wisest, no longer affect the deathless gods and mortal men!” (145). All of these great qualities Achilles possesses both start two different behavior cycles that start at different times in the epic poem.

At the battle of Troy, Achilles chooses almost certain death in exchange for the honor of avenging Patroclus. As Socrates paraphrases, “when his mother said to him, as he was eager to slay Hector, ‘My son, if you avenge the death of your friend Patroclus and kill Hector, you yourself shall die; for straightway, after Hector, is death appointed unto you,” (The Apology, 28c). However, Socrates is relatively loose in his representation of Achilles. Homer’s Achilles is focused primarily on private affairs as seen when he only agrees to return to battle to avenge personal loss in the form of his “beloved” Patroclus (The Iliad, book 18, 120). Contrastingly, Socrates represents the Greek hero as being much more absorbed by the necessity of attaining honor and justice for both himself and his peers. Through this specific example, Socrates makes it apparent that, he, like Achilles before him, is both willing and able to die if that is what it takes to find truth. He will under no circumstances condemn any of his actions just to save his life.

Meanwhile, Hector was often pictured as a strong, valiant man who also had a gentler side, unlike Achilles. Even when facing attacking armies, Hector fought to protect his family from the invading forces and for the survival of his city. It should be noted that before Hector faced the tragedies of the upcoming Trojan War, he blessed his only son and asked Zeus, the god of all gods, to grant his son to be like him, the “first in glory among the Trojans” (340). Though Hector was a better man in a moral sense when compared to Achilles, he still had some flaws. While attempting to eliminate Achilles, Hector mistakenly killed one of Achilles’ closest men, Patroclus, who happened to be wearing Achilles’ armor. After Patroclus’ death, Hector, under the belief that he had defeated the great Achilles, removed the armor from the corpse and wore it, which defiled the warrior’s respect and honor. Also, in “Book 22” of the Iliad, Hector tainted his honor during the arrival of Achilles by leaving “the gates [of Troy] behind and [fleeing] in fear” (347). Even though he fled Achilles, Hector knew that in order to save his people, he must face the great runner, and he did so for Troy. Unfortunately for Hector, he was facing certain death. When Hector took his final stand, Achilles, with Athena’s assistance, dealt the final blow that killed the great Hector. Due to the infinite outrage of the death of Patroclus’ death still dwelling inside of him, Achilles refused to return

There is hope for a future, one where the hero can avoid what he deserves for his actions. Achilles is the one best described as the tragic hero. He is a great warrior, respected by his society, and yet, he repeatedly makes the same mistakes. His pride and arrogance get in the way of his ability to resolve conflicts peaceably. He is stubborn, at the expense of others’

On page 200, Priam goes to Achilles and asks him for Hector’s body, Achilles stubbornly refuses. Then after Priam talks to him, he is empathetic to the man and not only gives Priam the body, but also pauses the war for as long as the funeral needs to be. Achilles knows what it is like to lose a loved one, and didn’t want Priam to have to go through that if he didn’t have to. Letting Priam have Hector’s body lets Achilles finally accept that his best friend is dead and move

With the loss of his fellow comrades and Agamemnon, you really see no emotion or thought. Achilles really doesn't let anything hold him back. He puts his own loved ones on hold and lets his fury take him on his expedition. His constant dependence on rage allows us to see the many different stages he takes himself throughout life. With rage comes fire, which

Once Achilles decides to go after Hector to seek revenge for his fallen comrades death, he seals his fate of living a short life full of glory, rather than going back home to live a quiet, uneventful life in peace. This shows a dramatic reversal in Achilles character as his desire to defend his loved ones overcomes his pride from defying Agamemnon. In honor of Patroclus, Achilles comes out from the Achaean ships and

He agonizes over the death of his cousin, Patroclus. Patroclus leads the hunting group of companions of Achilles to war allowing Hector to kill Patroclus. Achilles falls into his abyss and goes out and kills Hector in the shadow. This battle between a good and evil is Achilles’ Fall which sinks him into a lower state of mind. He disrespects him and the city of Troy. He knows he has done wrong after his conversation with King Priam. He mends his wrongs by bringing Hector back to Troy for a proper burial. The loss of Patroclus makes Achilles go mad, but in the end he learns to savor the time he has with loved

In the epic poem, The Iliad by Homer, Achilles, the hero (appositive phrase), must suffer dangers and agonies regular people don’t. For example, when Patroclus is killed by Hector who also “stripped the giant armor off his back”, Achilles wants to get revenge but Thetis, “warning through her tears”, says “‘You [Achilles] are doomed a short life, my son, from all you say!’” (18.98-111). This shows that Achilles had to overcome agonies because his best friend has just died and he still has to fight for the greeks (infinitive phrase). This also shows that Achilles is willing to overcome dangers because he knows he will die if he rejoins the war to kill Hector but, he is willing to do that to get revenge for Patroclus. In addition to this,

Achilles’ insolent pride backfires on him when he becomes ultimately responsible for the death of his best friend Patroclus. Although Achilles still refuses to fight, he allows Patroclus to where his armor into battle. The sight of what the Trojans think is Achilles terrorizes them at first, but Apollo pushes him down and knocks off Patroclus’ armor. Hector sees the injured imposter on the ground and delivers a fatal wound. Only now, out of personal grief, does Achilles return to the battle.

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.

The Great Heros from Homer’s epics can be easily separated in their ways of emotional responses. Looking solely at emotional responses, one can see that the Iliad’s hero Achilles displays his’ emotions far stronger than Odyssey’s hero Odysseus. A perfectly illustrated example of how fiercely emotional Achilles is can be located on the first line of the Iliad, where it states “ the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures” (Iliad line 1). Achilles rage will send many a brave soul to Hades... The first line states the Achilles is unable to control his emotions at all. The first line almost suggests that Achilles is emotionally unstable. While Achilles is emotionally unstable the other Greek hero is almost in complete control of his emotions. This article named “Where does Odysseus show Emotion” and by