Why Did Achilles Join The War

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”

Achilles views as demonstrated before, clearly shows the change that has taken place in him, where once he would leaped at an opportunity to battle for glory and honor, now he shows reservation. Achilles is reluctant to risk his life on a fool's errand, for glory and honor. He is disenchanted about honor and all life effort to gain honor no matter how great it might be. He felt they were nothing but the personal honor and glory of others. But, of course, Achilles never actually leaves, although he threatens

Achilles was arrogant, stubborn and he held an overly high view of himself. In his wrath, he alienated himself from not only his allies but also from humanity. “But Achilles weeping went and sat in sorrow apart from his companions” (69; bk.1, ln.348-349). Ignoring the consequences, he still withdrew himself from the war.

In Homer’s Iliad the warrior Achilles gives a speech describing his reason behind not returning to the Trojan

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:

Achilles, like all people had motivations. One of them was his mother because she told him that if he went to war then he would die. His mother told him that option one was that he would live in peace and havea have, children and good things but in he went to war, then he would win the Achilles was confused and didn’t know what to do, but he knew what he wanted which

Although Turnus, from Aeneid, is considered a “second Achilles”, he is unlike Achilles, from the Iliad, because he is ignorant of his fate, and his furor, or fury, is invoked by the Gods (Aen. 6.113). Aeneas is also different from Achilles because Aeneas shows pietas, devotion to the community, and he generally shows compassion, whereas Achilles puts his self-interests first and never shows compassion. However, Achilles and Aeneas are quite similar because their fury stems from feeling at fault for the deaths of their comrades, and this rage makes them lack sympathy while killing many opponents.

Achilles, on the other hand, can almost be fully comprehended from his initial disagreement with Agamemnon. Agamemnon's unreasonable actions seem to justify Achilles' refusal to engage his men in battle, primarily, because his pride will not allow him to act. Achilles believes himself to be the most important man in the army and the injury cannot be forgiven. Even when a diplomatic escape is contrived by Agamemnon, Achilles sees his position as unchanged-doubtlessly, Odysseus would have relented but Achilles is unable to forget past grievances.

A description of Achilles’s rage in Homer’s The Iliad is shown when Odysseus says to Agamemnon,

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.

“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.

This decision of prideful betrayal brings many casualties to the Achaean army. Once Agamemnon apologetically offers Achilles many valuable gifts along with the return of his war prize, Achilles refuses. In this rejection, Achilles is putting his own animosity toward Agamemnon above the needs of his fellow Achaeans. His friend Phoenix tells him to think of his diminishing honor, but Achilles answers, “…what do I need with honor such as that ?/ … It degrades you to curry favor with [Agamemnon],/ and I will hate you for it, I who love you./ It does you proud to stand by me, my friend,/ to attack the man who attacks me…”(p 147). Not only does Achilles reject honor, but he egotistically asks his father figure, Phoenix, to give up his in order to take his side.

Many people have heard of Achilles, whether in Greek Mythology or when referring to the tendon in their foot. He is well known in the Iliad as the main force for the Achaeans in the Trojan War, dubbed the “swiftest warrior,” “Achilles dear to Zeus”, and “brilliant runner.” However many do not know the story of Achilles when he walks away from the Achaean campaign over a scuffle of war prizes. His action cripples the Achaean army, costing the lives of many. The story of the Trojan War is one where Achilles ultimately leads the Achaeans to Troy and kills Hector outside Priam’s walls. However, it was Patroclus, Achilles’ brother-in-arms, who should be accredited with the Achaean victories and know for his success against the Trojans in the

Eventually, Achilles refused to fight in the Trojan War because of Agamemnon’s dishonor. He asked his mother to help him punish the Greek; he wanted to see the army to suffer; and he wanted the Greek to be killed. All of those happened just to protect his excessive pride. He was only concerned about his honor, but the Greek or the lives of others (Homer 240). His selfishness and egotism was illustrate best when the Greeks asked him to return to the army. After being defeated by the Trojan, King Agamemnon had to ask Achilles to go back and fight for the sake of the army. Achilles decided to reject the offer, and abandoned the need of the Greek. He reasoned how his pride was not honored; how many of the battles that he has won; and how good he

This just emphasizes how Achilles was not just concerned about his soldiers and showing face, but he was more driven by his rage and his grudge against Agamemnon for what he did to him.