ipl-logo

Research Paper On Achilles The Hero Of Troy

786 Words4 Pages

One question many people have asked themselves throughout time is, “Where is my greatest weakness located?” Achilles, The Hero Of Troy, was a magnificent warrior who was invincible except for his weakness, his heel. No matter how strong and heroic you are, you have to be careful and watch out for your weaknesses, because they can lead to your greatest downfall.
Achilles was born to a mortal king named Peleus, and a sea nymph named Thetis. Thetis the Nymph originally caught in eyes of Zeus and Poseidon, until the brothers had learned of a prophecy. The prophecy stated that whoever was to bed Thetis would bear a child with her, and the child would grow to surpass the powers of their father. Once Zeus and Poseidon learned of this, they left Thetis alone with the fear of the power a …show more content…

The woman Deidamia slept with Achilles and bore his child, Neoptolemus. While Achilles was at the court, the Greeks were foretold from a soothsayer that The Battle Of Troy could not be won without the help of Achilles, so they set out to find him. Once Achilles was found, they immediately gave him command of 50 ships, each with 50 Myrmidons, and 5 commanders that would answer to him. The 5 commanders that Achilles was appointed were Alcimedon, Eudorus, Menesthius, Peisander, and Phoenix. Once he received his troops, Achilles went to war. For the first 9 years of war, Achilles decimated the land around Troy at captured 12 of its cities. The 10th year of the war caused Achilles to lose many troops because Chryseis, a prize of the war, had her father who was priest of Apollo pray and cause the war party to have a pestilence within their camps. Achilles quickly asked the Agamemnon Army to return Chryseis to stop the pestilence. In return the Agamemnon took Achilles favorite slave Briseis. With that, Achilles refused to help. (Megas, Charilaos. "Achilles." Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr.

Show More
Related
1286 Words | 6 Pages

Thomas Harris, an American writer of suspense, said: “Nothing makes us more vulnerable than loneliness, except greed.” He is best known for a series of novels about his character, Hannibal Lecter. Even though the two authors Harris and Homer both come from different time periods, Harris being modern and Homer not, the shared human experience connects them. Odysseus and Achilles are so distracted by greed and fame that they are willing to risk everything for it such as Odysseus’s life and the life of his crew, and Achilles dying in Troy. In the movie “Troy”, the main character Achilles travels to Troy with the rest of the Greek army to fight to gain control of Troy and meets many challenges throughout the battle.

Read More
739 Words | 3 Pages

Briseis and all of the Greek army could attest to that. Two beautiful maidens, considered war prizes, went to Agamemnon and Achilles. The most handsome, Chryseis, served Agamemnon, while the other maiden, Briseis,

Read More
1404 Words | 6 Pages

Fueled by the insurmountable anger Agamemnon and Hector spark, Achilles’ intense wrath ultimately leads to the slaughter of thousands of Achaean fighters, and seals his own fate to die through his fight to avenge Patroclus’ death, thus highlighting the overarching, irreversible, and tragic effects of stubborn rage. A major, direct result of Achilles’ rage results in the death of countless Achaean soldiers, stressing the concept that intense rage leads to tragic outcomes both in the lives of its bearer and countless others close to them. Toward the

Read More
436 Words | 2 Pages

Achilles was the son of god Thetis and the mortal Peleus. When he was a child, Thetis want him to be immortal so she did many things to achieve that. However, when she dunked her son in Styx, she was holding Achilles’ heel. So Achilles was invulnerable everywhere but there.

Read More
411 Words | 2 Pages

He, with the help of Athena and Telemachus, kills them all for their crimes. Thirdly, Achilles and Odysseus both battled demons and monsters. Odysseus fought the cyclops, escaped the monster in the cave, and made it past Charybdis, while Achilles fought

Read More
1085 Words | 5 Pages

In Homer's works, The Odyssey and The Iliad, we are introduced to two men, Odysseus and Achilles. As you read these classics you learn about their personalities that display certain characteristics such as courage, concern for others, faithfulness, and wisdom. In the battlefield, Achilles fights with great valor and strength. However, on further inspection Odysseus proves throughout his trials to posses the qualities of the better man.

Read More
653 Words | 3 Pages

Achilles is depicted to the reader as one who is full of anger; sometimes righteous and sometimes excessive. Many of his hatred moments occur due to Agamemnon, his compatriot or after the death of his dear friend, Patroclus. The death of Patroclus is mourned by Achilles greatly that he even goes to war. “Before Achilles' feet as Achilles wept himself, Now for his father, now for Patroclus once again and their sobbing rose and fell throughout the house.” This illustrates that although Achilles is honorable in the Homeric society, he has within himself a great vice; one that can alter or destroy his image.

Read More
509 Words | 3 Pages

It is so deeply rooted that it encompasses Achilles, becoming a characteristic of this great warrior, influencing his actions and chooses throughout the story, such as leaving the fighting and considering the idea to return to Pythia. The depth of Achilles rage and hatred is demonstrated through in his response to Agamemnon, concerning the gifts he offered as compensation for his wrongs, saying that “not if his gifts outnumbered all the grains of sand and dust in the earth, no not even then could Agamemnon bring my fighting spirit round” (9.470-472). The true rage of Achilles is extremely important to the entire story of The Iliad, as from Book One through Book Nine Achilles allows this rage to control his actions, causing him to Achilles remains absent from the fighting as well as causing him to pray to Zeus that Trojans may receive the upper hand in the fighting so that the Greeks may suffer for Agamemnon’s actions. Therefore, this profound rage is an extremely important aspect of The Iliad, as it ultimately effects not only Achilles actions but also course of the

Read More
414 Words | 2 Pages

Achilles tears through the enemy, brutally crushing everyone and everything in his path. He rips the armor off of an enemy soldier and dashes his sword through the soldier's heart. He quickly runs to the next, smashing his head against a brick, breaking his skull. All of this because Achilles is fueled by rage. Rage ruins friendships, consumes people, and spreads to others.

Read More
969 Words | 4 Pages

Achilles’ reputation as a warrior is now being treated as less because he is not even able to keep his geras after the fight on the battlefield, to the point of driving him to pray to his mother, Thetis, to ask Zeus to punish the Achaians for disrespecting him (Il, 1.364-412). This example really shows just how much honor played a role in driving the

Read More
481 Words | 2 Pages

I am Achilles, I am the bravest, greatest warrior and invincible. I’ve fought in many wars for my city. When I was younger, it was foretold that I would die young. In attempts to avoid my fate my mother, Thetis dipped me in the river Styx so that I could be forever invincible. Except she held me by my heel.

Read More
1051 Words | 5 Pages

In Homer’s The Iliad, epic hero Achilles serves as an example of how rage, when unchecked, leads to disastrous repercussions. Achilles, though nearly superhuman in his physical abilities, struggles repeatedly to contain his anger. Throughout The Iliad, as Achilles’ fury compounds, the consequences of his actions become catastrophic, eventually leading to the death of his best friend, Patroclus. Although Achilles ultimately chooses to avenge Patroclus’ death and achieve his own kleos, or honor, his rage-driven actions lead to the death of many Achaean soldiers, and change the course of his fate.

Read More
699 Words | 3 Pages

Achilles anger throughout Homer’s masterpiece results in the unnecessary deaths of many warriors, a shameful reputation, and a disastrous downfall. To begin, Achilles struggle with anger first comes to light from his inability to fight under

Read More
394 Words | 2 Pages

Achilles is maddened and appeals to his goddess mother saying, “If I am to die soon, shouldn’t I have what I want?” Feeling only sorrow for her son, Thetis requests Zeus to cause to Greeks to lose until Achilles fights again. Slowly the Greeks are pushed back farther and Agamemnon pleads with Achilles, offering Briseis back. Achilles declines due to his pride and the Trojans come close to burn the Greek ships. Even when a ship was burning, Achilles refused to fight and instead sends out Patroclus.

Read More
1512 Words | 7 Pages

Iliad is recognized as one of the most famous ancient monuments of literature. The full understanding of this epic poem is hardly possible without thorough analysis of its main characters. Among all the episodes of the Trojan War, Homer chooses the moment of Achilles’ wrath and thus creates a poem in which he becomes the central figure. From the Ancient Greeks’ point of view, Achilles represents the ideal of manliness and pure heroism, for he is brave and fights for heroics, not profits. Today, one can agree with this interpretation, yet Achilles is probably the most controversial character because he combines various personality traits and acts in accordance with his ambiguous nature.

Read More

More about Research Paper On Achilles The Hero Of Troy

Related Topics

Open Document