ipl-logo

Why Does Achilles Put His Emotions In The Iliad

1476 Words6 Pages

Book nine of the Iliad held a congregation of the Achaean army and leaders. The reason behind this particular assembly was to convince Achilles to rejoin the war efforts against the Trojans, by offering Achilles great value and riches. The Achaeans are losing terribly and need a savior; they need Achilles. Through these interactions or pleas, we also see Achilles put his emotions and rash anger above the value of others. This is the most important dialect in the epic for many reasons. It gives us insight into almost all the key characters in the Iliad and we get the opportunity to examine how strategic military decisions play alongside the emotions of great leaders.
The Achaean army in dismay, frightened, agitated, and overcome by an impending …show more content…

King Agamemnon sends out men to our emotionally defeated heroes' tent. Achilles, seeing his fellow brothers in arms, welcomes Ajax and Odysseus into his tent with open arms and great delight. After Ajax and Odysseus present the offer from king Agamemnon, these characters are trying to display how much of a mess everything has become without the presents of their beloved brother-in-arms. They also convey that Agamemnon has many things to offer Achilles besides the riches. He will also get to go prove his metal by turning the favor back to the Achaeans in a losing battle. With all this on the table, Achilles still decides to decline. This dialogue reveals that Achilles concludes that he cannot be bought and sold like some type of commodity. He does not want to be traded in such a manner. This is almost just as much of an insult as anything that Agamemnon has done before. This dialogue also reveals that Achilles has felt like king Agamemnon has not given him the riches and respect that a warrior of his status commands. Giving Achilles all these riches and prizes is just another insult to an already injured …show more content…

In this dialogue chain, we get insight into how every part of the Achaean army is feeling. All the way from basic soldiers to the top of the command in king Agamemnon. We get the sense of panic that the Achaeans feel, how this is a do-or-die moment, and how they are feeling as if everything is burning around them. This dialogue displays how important of a moment this is in the ongoing war that they are constantly losing at every turn. How even the most veteran soldiers are feeling frightened, agitated, and overcome. Thus, leaving the only viable option to bring Achilles back into the battle. In this Discussion, we see how poor a leader king Agamemnon is. In the dialogue, he offers up everything he possibly can, yet he does not know how to rally his best warrior in Achilles. If he was a veracious leader he would have known that Achilles is driven by glory not tangible things like money or gifts. We get to see the brotherhood and camaraderie between Achilles, Ajax, and Odysseus when they go to Achilles with the king's offer. Although Achilles does not accept the offer from the king and his comrades, we do see how they can converse with ease. Presenting in just a couple of short lines of this poem that these men have trust and bond that will last no matter what Achilles' choice may be. This dialogue chain ends with Achilles deciding to follow a selfish path by electing to sail away

Show More
Related
792 Words | 4 Pages

The great debate between Philopeliades, Misopeliades, and Luvion takes place at Ithaca. It is a hot afternoon when the men go to a river and sit under a tree to talk. Everyone is angry because they cannot come to an agreement on if Achilles should go through with his plan to fight in the war. With different ideas flying round no one will ever be able to settle this. They tell each other how the feel about the decision that Achilles about to make.

Read More
396 Words | 2 Pages

This poem is about a young man that is in the midst of battle, trying to cross an open space of land to kill the enemy that is hiding in the “green hedge” in the distance, and all the while confused about what he is doing. He knows physically that he is charging at the enemy, but when he thinks about his reason for doing it, he has no answer for himself. He is ashamed of the “human dignity” that is “Dropped like luxuries” in the “cold clockwork” that he is participating. I felt a connection with this poem mostly in the line of “Listening between his footfalls for the reason of his still running” as I often find myself in the same situation as this man. During the school seasons in particular, I wonder sometimes why I do what teachers tells

Read More
1344 Words | 6 Pages

He starts to gain more human characteristics of humility and respect for others. Despite the hurtful things that Agamemnon said to Achilles, he decides that he is right and that he is not above Agamemnon. He gives in to the hurtful things he said because he realized how selfish he was at the beginning of the poem. He is so hurt by the death of his friend, that he continues to not just sacrifice his pride but his mortality and glory in respect of his friend. He also shows his courtesy to Priam by sacrificing his hatred towards Hector and giving Priam his body back.

Read More
400 Words | 2 Pages

Agamemnon soon realized his folly, but Achilles was too prideful to accept the peace offerings from Agamemnon. Being the top fighter, Achilles’ pride also hurt the entire Achaean army, and without him, they almost lost the whole war.

Read More
1661 Words | 7 Pages

Nicole Tschida ENG 210 Paper 1 2-26-18 The Iliad and The Consequences of War The plot of the Iliad takes place in the middle of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans that lasted for ten years. This conflict according to Homer and ancient Greek mythology occurred because the Trojan prince Paris abducted Helen, the wife of Menelaus, brother to king Agamemnon. In this paper, I will be examining the consequences of war, as outlined by Homer.

Read More
977 Words | 4 Pages

In the Iliad, Achilles is responding to Odysseus’s speech attempting to convince him to return to the war. Achilles’ main argument against returning is his incalculable rage against Agamemnon for “the prize of honor / The warlord Agamemnon gave me / And in his insulting arrogance took back” which is not only an insult to Achilles’ status, but also to his honor as a warrior (Il. 9.378-379). In addition to focusing on the main argument of Achilles’ speech, it is worth noting the contradictions present within his speech as well.

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
1381 Words | 6 Pages

If I stay here and fight before the city of Troy, there will be no home- coming for me but my fame shall never die; if I go home to my native land, there will be no great fame for me, but I shall live long and not die an early death.” (Homer 110) This shows that he is selfishness and fearful at the same time of losing and dying in the war. In the very beginning of the Iliad, King Agamemnon and Achilles have an argument for a couple of different reasons. After, the Achians won a battle against a city that was allied with the Trojans each of them received a prize consisted of a young woman from the war.

Read More
1570 Words | 7 Pages

In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society admires, looks up to and aspires to in its heroes. There are also characters who fail to be heroic, such as the Trojan “vivid and beautiful” prince, Paris. These characters in the Iliad illustrate the qualities that Ancient Greek society values.

Read More
1396 Words | 6 Pages

Achilles is seen to be full of wrath in the beginning of the book. This wrath is not caused only because Agamemnon takes his prize of war. He is angry at the system which allows Agamemnon to play around with other people’s honors and the system which allows him to decide who gets how much honor. In other words, Achilles does not like the idea that someone else can decide what happens to his honor, despite him deserving most of the honor in relation to how much he contributes in war. As the story proceeds, Achilles seems to contradict himself a lot, and the concept of honor helps us understand this better.

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
662 Words | 3 Pages

He had no problem exercising authoritativeness, yet Achilles beat him in every other aspect, and all but matches his stubbornness and strong will. Overall, Achilles comes out the true leader, regardless of Agamemnon’s superior rank. Achilles turns the tide of battle where Agamemnon cannot and commands respect when his commander makes a fool of himself. The young Dardan understood the importance of connecting with an audience; an army. He captivated, he manipulated, he stirred up, and he inspired.

Read More
1785 Words | 8 Pages

(R 23-35). The Greeks hearing Achilles return, gain strength, will and perseverance to carry on the war. The responsibility that Achilles takes plays massive role, affecting the men 's actions throughout the

Read More
1395 Words | 6 Pages

The Ancient Greeks value specific qualities in a person, however they did not value other. Ancient Greeks valued these qualities based on certain achievements or on a performances in war or even inside the city walls making substantial decisions. The Iliad is an epic novel by the Greek poet Homer. The Iliad is based off of the Trojan war between the Achaeans led by King Agamemnon and the Trojans led by King Priam of Troy. This novel focuses on the actions of several characters and how the disparate gods interfered with the war to help one or the other side have a chance to win.

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 Why Does Achilles Put His Emotions In The Iliad

Related Topics

Open Document