Comparing the Characters of Achilles and Agamemnon - Essay Example

The Achaians are led by Agamemnon, the army's leader, one who has ushered them to success, Trojan city after Trojan city. Both Achilles and Agamemnon enjoy considerable fame and glory and are regarded as formidable warriors in battle. Consequently, as Greek attitudes go, both heroes also possess excessive pride and explosive tempers. Both are proud and obstinate, and in their argument in Book I, they stubbornly hold on to their wishes--For Agamemnon, to keep his prize in order to not lose face, and for Achilles, that the wrath of the gods is put to a stop.

But while Achilles' pride rages after he is slighted, Agamemnon makes every instance a show of his power and kindness. Agamemnon's gall made Achilles very angry and even contemplated killing the king right that very instant if not for the goddess Athena's intervention. Feeling that his honor has been trampled upon, Achilles decided that he will no longer fight for the Achaian army. He nurses his anger and asked his mother Thetis to request Zeus to help the Trojans defeat his former comrades. His prideful nature surfaces, but on the other hand, he was treated unjustly by Agamemnon and felt it would be unbecoming of him to continue to fight for such a man.

Agamemnon's reaction when it was found out that his refusal to return a war-prize maiden caused the army's demise illustrates a great deal of his character: cunning and vicious. The king did not like the idea that his arrogance caused the army's dwindling size. More so he did not want to return the girl, so as compensation, he wanted to take Achilles' prize instead. It can also be deduced that Agamemnon is threatened by his comrade, and submitting to Achilles' wishes would demean him as king.

He stated that if Chryseis is taken away, he alone among the army will not have a war-prize, and as the highest-in-command, that would be embarrassing. This shows that he is so self-centered and more concerned about his image or apparent "glory" that he fails to see the broader side of things. So even though he projects strength as commander-in-chief of a formidable army, he is weakened by his short-sighted nature. Agamemnon and Achilles both hold the notion of pride and honor dearly so that those virtues largely influence their decisions without considering the consequences.

In both cases their injured pride is the driving force of their decisions: Agamemnon would rather keep his prize despite the death of his soldiers, and Achilles would not flinch at the thought of his comrades' death in the face of enemies so long as his honor was redeemed. Honor and glory are virtues that the Greeks (in the heroes' time) value the most.