Why Does Achilles Put His Emotions In The Iliad

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

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

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