The Character of Achilles in the Iliad - Essay Example

The Number 12 March The Character of Achilles The character of Achilles is one of the most fascinating in The Iliad. It seems Achilles is the most authoritative warrior among Achaean troops despite the fact that he is one of the youngest war heroes. It is probably because of this young age that Achilles, who is very much focused on maintaining his status as a hero, sometimes acts without the nobility which is expected of him. He is largely driven by his wrath, which overshadows all his other emotions and feelings. This feeling of wrath ruins him excessively. The feelings of sympathy and reconciliation that Achilles experiences throughout the poem are still unable to create a significant change in him and the character of Achilles remains undeveloped. This paper seeks to examine the failure to develop in the character of Achilles through discussing a variety of points in The Iliad where this character underwent some changes and where he got back to his initial state. To begin with, a brief description of the part of the Achilles character in The Iliad is necessary. As the book narrates, Achilles takes part in the Trojan War. At the very beginning, he is depicted going away from the battlefield because he thinks king Agamemnon has dishonored him. Achilles is shown in rage over the fact that he had to give away Briseis to Agamemnon, a woman that he got as a slave in the course of war, to replace another woman slave named Chryseis. Chriseis has to be given back to her father because her enslavement has brought plague to the Greek army. Achilles feels so insulted that he prays and asks Zeus not to help the Greek army that is fighting against the Trojans. His prayer is heard and the Greek army is getting defeated. At the same time, Achilles refuses to help his fellowmen even at the request of Agamemnon that promises to give Briseis back to Achilles. His friend Patroclus takes the armor that belongs to Achilles and leads the troops of Myrmidons. Patroclus successfully defeats the Trojan warriors, yet he is killed by Hector in the battle. This makes Achilles extremely grievous and, having mourned his friend Patroclus, he changes his mind not to help the Greek troops and takes the field. In excessive fury, he kills lots of people seeking for Hector. Moreover, he even engages in a fight with Scamander, a god of the river where dead bodies of the Trojans were thrust by Achilles. Scamander does not defeat Achilles at the request of the goddesses that protect him. Eventually, Achilles finds his enemy Hector and kills him. He drags the body of his enemy in a dishonorable way, which brings him a feeling of satisfaction as he has finally got his vengeance. However, despite his harsh feelings, Achilles responds to the request of Hector’s father and allows Priam, the king of Troy, to bury him. In the account provided above, one can definitely spot that Achilles is very emotional, and that negative emotions (in particular, fury) dominate and guide his decisive actions. He, as it has been explicitly shown, displays an ability to finally reconcile with Agamemnon, he attends to the request of Priam, and he demonstrates unprecedented grief over the death of his beloved friend Patroclus. Yet, it seems neither of the actions in The Iliad that Achilles leads is performed without rage, which appears really inhuman. For instance, it is his rage that makes him kill 12 captives from Troja as a part of funeral games to honor the deceased Patroclus. In addition, when Agamemnon makes an attempt to reconcile, driven by rage and fury, Achilles refuses contrary to common sense. This indirectly leads to the death of his friend Patroclus. The view that the character of Achilles remains undeveloped despite the fact that the hero sometimes displays the features that characterize his personality from the positive side, is based on the character’s final preoccupation with wrath. Just as The Iliad starts with the lines that describe the fury of Achilles, in the end Achilles is similarly fraught with wrath. It seems that this wrath lives in him and just seeks the way to express itself. For example, at the beginning of the poem, this feeling of fury and annoyance is directed against the King of the Myrmidons Agamenon, while later, as the story unfolds, it is directed against the son of Priam Hector who is known to have killed Patroclus. It is the death of his faithful friend that makes Achilles extremely furious and it seems his wrath reaches its peak here. This enhanced feeling of wrath is indisputably stronger than that of a dishonored hero. Therefore, Achilles reconciles with Agamemnon and together with his troops starts slaughtering the warriors of Troja with cruelty. Finally, this wrath makes him want vengeance so much, that when he kills Hector in the end, it appears not enough and he disgraces his body. Of course, it may be argued that Achilles displays many humane feelings and heroic features. For example, his grief over the lost friend and his sympathy towards Priam who, as he finds, resembles him of his own father, are of certain moral significance. At the same time, the fact he fails to clean his soul and personality at the end of the poem, as well as his failure in order to harness the heroic morality is evident The Iliad. Hence, the character of Achilles should be thought of as the one that has failed to overcome the barrier of his own conflicting personality anв his ruinous wrath and fury. Works Cited Homer, Fagles, Robert, Bernard, Walker Knox. The Iliad.2008. Print. Paw Prints. Read More