Prior to the Greek arrival at Troy, Achilles was introduced as a young teenager who was skilled on the lyre and enjoyed his free time with Patroclus. The narrator would frequently refer to Achilles as the aristos achaion but never provided any further information as to the extent of his skills. Patroclus has always been so fond of Achilles’ gentle and compassionate ways which leads one to believe that war may have damaging affects on their relationship. It is not until the Greek ships near the shores of Troy that achilles first kills another man. At this point it is evident that Achilles possess incredible skill in battle, and will be a very important asset to the Greeks during this war. The initial scene of Achilles throwing spears and killing …show more content…
Before the ships even pull onto the shore Achilles has already started killing enemies. he goes about doing so in a stunning manor. Patroclus recounts, “No spearman could throw half so far...It’s black head pierced the bowman’s chest, drove him backwards and over.” (213). In one deft motion Achilles threw a spear from the ships, which were out of range of even the archers on the beach, and killed the first Trojan of the war. Patroclus is surprised by such a sudden act of violence. Yet, it isn’t the attack that bothers him, it is Achilles’ reaction after just killing a man for the first time. Patroclus is surprised to see how calm and content Achilles is after the spear pierced his foe, “Achilles face was still almost peaceful.” (213). It seems as though Patroclus is surprised to see such an indifferent reaction. It is as if Patroclus was expecting Achilles to be horrified and emotionally scarred after killing another man for the first time. This is the first glance of Achilles as a warrior, and it a very different version of Achilles than what Patroclus is used to being around. The next morning Achilles and the Greek army would go out onto the battlefield and the offensive on Troy would officially
All this if Achilles would but leave his anger and come again to his place among [the Greeks] in the battle-mass” (47). But Achilles would not accept surrender; Achilles bound himself yet again with invisible chains saying, “…I will not fight until great Hector sweeps the Trojan charge right to the prows of my own black galleys. Then, and only then, I will give him work for his spears”
During the early stages of the book where Patroclus and Achilles develop their companionship, their fate was already determined when the gods found interest in Achilles. Since Achilles was born throughout his whole life until the war he has been trained to be Aristos Achaion the greatest of the greeks. It is in his blood ever since he was born. From the first time he was mentioned in the book he was described with importance as character we should know that he will have a signifigant impact on the book.
Following the news of his fallen comrade and best friend, Patroklus, Achilles falls into mourning so sorrowful onlookers fear he will commit suicide. Achilles demonstrates the gravity of his own grief when he claims “I would die here and now, in that I could not save my comrade. He has fallen far from home, and in his hour of need my hand was not there to help him. What is there for me?” (Homer 296). He quickly rejoins the war effort in order to avenge Patroklus, but refuses to eat or drink before battle, hinting that the anger he feels toward both Agamemnon and the enemy is beginning to reflect inward. Additionally, Achilles refuses to bury his comrade’s body until he has avenged him. This behavior not only demonstrates his survivor’s guilt but also the growing rage he feels toward the enemy. Achilles’s inability to take care of himself and the manner in which he prioritizes vengeance over his own well-being hints at a growing instability common to victims of PTSD. Additionally, his refusal to bury Patroklus’s body until he has completed his vengeance demonstrates his desire to make something up to his fallen comrade, actions which blatantly demonstrate both survivor’s guilt and an inability to properly mourn and honor the dead, both symptoms of PTSD.
Patroclus was, as of what we know, one of Achilles' few friends, and his lack of companions gave him little reason to miss out on the war. His lack of close family also may have led him to pursue his true talents. His father Peleus, king of the Myrmidones had already passed away, and his mother's constant protective nature may have only aided in pushing Achilles away. At his passing, the king of the Myrmidones had left Achilles with great wealth and a great legion of men to command, but possessions seemed to mean little to Achilles; his love was being on the battlefield.
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
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.
Achilles is the most powerful hero in “The Iliad” poem and has a close relationship with gods. But with this inhumane strength, Achilles is an over pride warrior who cannot control his rage if his pride was hurt. Aristotle’s statement represents Achilles’s characteristics through Achilles’s strength and pride. The Achaean warrior, Achilles, has a super strength and was considered as the most powerful warrior in the Achaean army.
He expresses no fear during battles. Throughout the Iliad, Achilles ignores the norms of the society primarily because he sees himself as a greater figure than one who has to follow a set of rules. Throughout the poem, Achilles shows how much of a savage he is through his gruesome actions. While fighting Hector, after brutally beating him up, Hector begs Achilles to return his body for a proper burial, a respected act after a battle. “Do not allow the dogs to mutilate my body By the Greek ships”, requested Hector (Homer,433). Achilles responds feeling no remorse, “I wish my stomach would let me cut off your flesh in strips and eat it raw for what you 've done to me. In this passage of the Iliad, Homer illustrates how gruesome Achilles really was. Achilles lets his anger drive his actions, seeking redemption, and he offers no respect to any of his enemies.
“…Apollo knocked the helmet off his head and under his horse’s hooves it tumbled… / Disaster seized him—his fine legs buckling—he stood there, senseless… / Hector… came rushing into him right across the lines and rammed his spearshaft home, stabbing deep in the bowels…” (Homer, 438-439) Patroclus’ death is devastating to the Achaean armies’ morale and, more central to the story, it further disrupts Achilles’ already unbalanced sophrosyne. The torment that Achilles endures here epitomizes the human condition.
Achilles’ character throughout the Iliad does not really evolve from who he is when we are first introduced to him in the epic. He is filled with an immense amount of uncontrollable rage, which in part helps him to be the extraordinary warrior that he is, but also makes him unpredictable, volatile, and headstrong. Achilles relationship with Patroclus is
“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.
Despite Achilles being well-known for being the greatest hero in the Iliad, the only thing that technically makes him a hero is the fact that he was birthed by the Greek Goddess Thetis. His unwise ways of behavior indicate that he has been worn down by war after returning to the war due to Patroclus’s death. Achilles weakened the Achaean heroic code by being stubborn enough to refuse to
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).
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.
Although Achilles was quite outraged at this, he gave a respectful response, stating that he would drop out of the war because Agamemnon had dishonored him. Later, the Trojans killed Patroclus, Achilles’ dearest and most trusted friend. Achilles was overcome with grief, but realized how stubborn and selfish he was being by dropping out of the war. He decided that he had to join the war once again to honor Patroclus. He told his mother, “Enough. Let bygones be bygones. Done is done. Despite my anguish I will beat it down, the fury mounting inside me, down by force. But now I’ll go and meet that murderer head-on, that Hector who destroyed the dearest life I know.” It is clear that he knew that in those ancient times, a real hero avenged the death of a dear friend, and would sacrifice his own life to save the dead body and give it a proper burial.