Forgive and Forget Essay

Patroclus’ death drives Achilles to seek revenge and Achilles rejoins the battle, vowing to kill everyone related to Hector. The Greek Army, led by Achilles fight their way to Troy, where ultimately Achilles and Hector find themselves alone. Hector, backed into a corner, vows to fight, but loses his nerve as he faces the greatest

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.

The epic The Iliad by Homer argues that Achilles reaction in many situations is rage. Achilles choice to respond in such a way is very significant. It shows that this emotion is very influential in his day-to-day life. However, there has been much discussion as to whether Achilles’s rage is a virtue or a vice. Other characters throughout The Iliad have commented on his rage, such as Athena, who says, “I came to see if I could check this temper of yours,” (Homer, 235) in a discussion she has with Achilles about his quarrel with Agamemnon. Athena’s comment suggests that it takes a lot of effort to put Achilles’s rage into check. Achilles seemingly uncontrollable rages creates a man throughout The Iliad who “like[s] fighting and war” (234). Most men in this epic longed to end the war; Achilles on the other hand yearned for more battle. Achilles drive for battle makes it evident that his rage and the manifestation of it in other characters as seen throughout The Iliad is not a virtue, but a vice.

Hector’s pride caused him to be clouded with negative thoughts in his quest for revenge as he brutally slaughtered the Trojans and excessively tortured Hector. Nevertheless, Priam’s sorrow causes Achilles to empathize since he could imagine what it would be like if his father had to go through a similar situation like Priam. This change of heart causes Achilles to forgo hatred in exchange for compassion. Although Achilles shows flaws in his character, his heroism even in the brink of death along with this transformative change as a person demonstrates the cultural expectations of strong leadership in terms of taking physical and emotional qualities into strong consideration.

It is interesting to note then, that the argument between Agamemnon and Achilles finds a parallel right at the end of the same book in the fight between Zeus and his wife Hera. This produces a somewhat suprising effect, the first chapter of an epic that is originally about a foreign military campaign is bookended by scenes of internal conflict: dissent within the ranks of the Greek army and a domestic dispute among the immortals. Even

During that entire time, Achilles’ justification for wallowing in self-pity is that he has been “dishonored”. This argument becomes null and void when Agamemnon offers lavish compensation for the affront. In addition to returning Briseis, Agamemnon offers Achilles seven unfired tripods, ten gold bars, twenty burnished cauldrons, a dozen horses, seven beautiful women from Lesbos, twenty Trojan women, his daughters’ hand in marriage along with a rich dowry, and the ownership of seven populous cities. Any reasonable person would have taken the offer but not prideful, bitter Achilles. Instead he continues on with the same old rhetoric and refuses to fight. As if standing idly by while his countrymen were being killed was not enough, Achilles has his mother call in a favor to Zeus asking him to help the Trojans so that even more Greeks would die during his absence. Not only did he abandon his comrades, he actually prayed for them to die because his pride had been hurt.

From the discussion about book nine of the Iliad, the reasoning behind Achilles’ actions was discussed and the theme of freedom vs. fate was discovered. Book nine is considered to be the climax of the Iliad because it is a turning point in the war and the Greeks realize that they need Achilles. Agamemnon offers a multitude of gifts and gives a rather lame apology in the hopes of Achilles returning, however Achilles refuses the gifts. The Greeks all questioned Achilles’ mindset for they did not understand why he would refuse the gifts and glory offered to him. Considering how in these times, the Greeks associate honor with material objects, Achilles has just denied himself an opportunity to receive honor and a legacy. He became an outsider among

When the men of Agamemnon come to take Briseis, Achilles gives her up without a fight, despite how heavy his heart is at the thought of losing her. Once she is gone, Achilles withdraws from his companions and sobs, praying to his mother to understand why he is treated the way he is, why he isn’t treated with respect. His mother, hearing his laments, comes to console him, telling him that she will visit Zeus and try to sway him towards helping the Trojans and destroying the Achaeans, to make them pay for disrespecting the son of Thetis.

Achilles questions himself, "Should he draw the long sharp sword slung at his hip, thrust through the ranks and kill Agamemnon now?--or check his rage and beat his fury down?" (108). Here, Hera has Athena intervene to keep Achilles from killing Agamemnon, which shows how the gods control Achilles' destiny. The argument between Achilles and Agamemnon clearly shows that the two men have different opinions about the power of the gods, what is holy or unholy, and what is proper treatment of other men. These differences are one source of Achilles' rage.

Priam invokes a pity in Achilles that insights the end of the gods plan for Achilles, which the gods construct. Apollo states to Priam, “You go in and clasp his knees, and beseech him in the name of his father and mother and his son, to touch his heart” (Homer 358). In this simple action, Achilles connects to Priam on an emotional level. This human connection allows Achilles to realize the blindness of his anger, so Hector was able to go home. As Achilles’ rage passes, Achilles’ fate becomes finalized. The finalization of Achilles; fate solely occurs due to the influential actions of the gods and their creation of an emotional ploy to make Achilles relate to Priam and give up his

The Iliad: Book I, is about the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon in the beginning of the Trojan War. It shows how vigorous Achilles’ rage was and that he is no one to mess with. The book states “Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed”. This shows his fury in just a few words. Achilles was a Greek hero who was the son of a Goddess named Thetis. He was an incredible solder; brave, violent and godlike. However, Agamemnon was the commander of the Achaean Army. He was greedy, aggressive and selfish. He was described as “the most grasping man alive”. He absolutely hated Achilles. I feel that he was jealous of how respected Achilles was among the ranks in the army because of his superior skills in the field of battle. Agamemnon claimed Chryseis as his prize, after sacking a Trojan town. Chryseis was a daughter of a Priest of Apollo, Chryses. He offered an enormous ransom to get his daughter back. At first Agamemnon didn’t want it but the people round him persuaded him that it would be best to let her go so they could be released from the plague that Apollo put on them. Agamemnon then poised to Achilles that he is going to steal Achilles prize, Briseis. This is when Achilles’ rage shows at its best. He nearly draws his sword to kill Agamemnon but he is stopped by the goddess, Athena.

He then returns the body to Priam and feels guilty about his friend. “Feel no anger at me, Patroclus, if you learn--- even there in the House of Death--- I let his father have Prince Hector back” (Homer). Achilles wants his friend to forgive him and once again has succumbed to the intense emotions he feel that are out of his control. These emotions have Achilles act on rage and impulse.

Achilles knew that the Achaians could not win the war without him. His alienation was the catalyst for the destruction awaiting the Achaians. He was aware of this, but, because of his pride, he did nothing to stop it. When Priam visited Achilles to redeem the body of his son Hektor, Achilles showed a more humane side of himself. “So [Priam] spoke, and stirred in [Achilles] a passion of grieving for his own father” (488; bk.24, ln.507). Priam appealed to Achilles’ human emotions by speaking of his father; he provoked sympathy in Achilles. Achilles had integrated himself with humanity once more and had begun to see life from a mortal point of

“Remind him of that, now, go and sit beside hime, grasp his knees... see how mad he was to disgrace Achilles, the best of the Achaean” (1, 484-490). This pacifies Achilles’ rage briefly while he goes back to the ships and refuses to help the struggling Achaeans on the battlefield because Agamemnon hurt his pride. Another instance that highlights Achilles flaw of anger is when the great Trojan warrior, Hector, kills Achilles close comrade Patroclus. Achilles bursts from his sulking attitude out of the Achaean ships in a rage of passionate fury that even his pride cannot overcome. “My dear comrade’s dead... Hector’s battered down by my spear and gasps away his life, the blood-price for Patroclus, Menotius’ gallant son he’s killed and stripped” (18, 94-109). This signifies Achilles’ zenith of anger and represents the turning point in the epic, along with the transition into his dramatic reversal as a character.

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.