Is Achilles Justified In The Aeneid

Achilles’ is one of the best examples of a true Greek hero. He was a strong, capable warrior and he possessed an extreme amount of strength. His He was also strong and brave, and these traits served him well during the war. Part of the reason he was such an unstoppable warrior was due to his mother Thetis. She burned him over a fire every night, then dressed his wounds with an ambrosial ointment; and she also dunked him into the River Styx. This gave him the invulnerability of the gods by causing his skin to be like armor. However, she gripped him tightly by the foot as she dipped him into the river–so tightly that the water never touched his heel. As a result, Achilles was invulnerable everywhere but in his heel. Despite being such an amazing

After the death of Hector in The Iliad, he performed some questionable acts on the corpse of Hector. The question is: was Achilles’ justified in the treatment of Hector’s body? Achilles was not justified in the treatment of Hector’s body as seen by the cultural norms of the time and reaction of characters involved in the story. In Ancient Greek culture, public mourning was practiced. As in most societies “The death of a member of a society threatens its stability and the descendants’ performance” (H°aland). Some may mourn in the way depicted in The Iliad, “Had taken in raids, ran shrieking out of the tent/ To be with Achilles, and they beat their breasts/ Until their knees gave out beneath them.” (XVIII 31-33). In ancient Greece, the burial of a loved one tended to be part theater, part opportunity to show off, and part power play. This is because of the opportunity for the living relatives

This caused him to lose some of his contraband resulting in his refusal to continue to fight against the Trojans. This should have caused his name to receive aidos or shame but “Achilles rejects both human and divine aidos, in short, he rejects the entire ‘Shame Culture’ that governs the only worlds he knows” (NAME). This arguably allowed him to make many questionable choices in regard to what was considered allowable for the time. Due to his refusal to fight he gave his armor to Patroclus, his closest friend, and allowed him to fight without him. This later resulted in the death of Patroclus which shattered Achilles’ mental state. “A mist of black grief enveloped Achilles./He scooped up handfuls of sunburnt dust/ And poured it on his head/…./Tearing out his hair with his hands.” (XVII 27-29). In fact, Achilles showed his level of grief by continuing on and claiming “He would lay open his own throat with steel” (XVII 37). This shows the true depth of his grief because committing suicide was considered to be very dishonorable which went completely against his character. Achilles vowed vengeance on the Trojans in order to avenge his friend’s