Term Paper on "Achilles and Greek Heroism in Homer's Iliad"

Term Paper 4 pages (1625 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Achilles the Hero

Without doubt the most destructive force in Homer's Iliad is the power of deity -- the gods have their hands in every death, it seems. Of human activities, however, nothing in the tale proves more destructive than the great rage of Achilles, that mortal son of a sea goddess. Achilles' rage destroys everything in its path, enemy and friend alike, and (the tale implies) will eventually bring about Achilles' own death. This is, after all, the premise of the work; the opening lines promise to speak "Of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus -- that murderous anger which condemned Achaeans to countless agonies and hurled many warrior souls deep into Hades,"

Book 1, ln 1-4) Yet despite the fact that Achilles' rage is the greatest threat to both sides, and that the aftershocks of his anger will destroy the greatest warriors on both sides of the battle, Achilles is seen as a hero in the Iliad. Though it might be legitimately argued that the text was a satire on war, a critique of the effects of what might be anachronistically called shell-shock, or otherwise an anti-war commentary, a more upfront reading would suggest that Achilles is considered as a hero. Despite the ill-effects of his temper, there are very good reasons why Achilles may be considered a hero by the Greeks. He is heroic, according to their standards, because of his noble sense of honor, his faithful dedication to the Gods, and the great stature of his passion and his skill in battle.

Despite his heroism, Achilles' flaws cannot be ignored. His rage is incredibly destructive, and he allows it to claim the life not only of his enemies (such as Hector), but also of his friends. Patroclus, his own beloved shield-mate, is killed because of Achilles' refusal to enter the battle -- a refusal based not, one suspects, on pacifism but on stubborn anger at Agamemnon. Additionally, despite the fact that he considers Odysseus and many of the other Greeks as his close friends, he is unwilling to enter the battle to save them even when he realizes they are literally outside his tent doors and wounded. Yet there is a very large degree to which his persistence in clinging to the shreds of his wounded dignity may in itself be considered noble, for he is unwilling to fight any longer for a cause which does not directly concern him.

Achilles has great honor in that he will not fight for someone who does not respect him. When Agamemnon proves that he does not respect Achilles as an equal, it is at that moment that Achilles begins to refuse to fight. In fact, among the reasons that he will not return, Achilles' cites the fact that Agamemnon does not respect him enough, "Cur that he is, [that] he doesn't dare confront me face-to-face." (book 9; ln 373) The honor of Achilles' is also shown hen, after coming to the realization that he is not fighting for a worthy cause, he refuses to fight. This aspect of Achilles' character may be easy to pass over if one listens too carefully to the criticism of his contemporaries. They fault his rage, but they pass over the fact that Achilles' is one of the only characters in this epic who presents a serious moral critique of the war and backs it up with a refusal to fight. One ought to notice that at the crux of his argument against returning is a desire to put principle over profit. Previously he gave everything he won to Agamemnon and only kept what he was given as a gift. Even now, though he loves Briseis, he will not accept her back if it means fighting for a false cause. He says he cannot fight, in essence, because the war was supposed to be about the importance of marital fidelity and the love of Menelaos for Helen -- but Agamemnon has stolen Briseis (with whom Achilles appears to have had a marriage-like relationship, with mutual affection) with even less honor than Paris' theft of the willing Helen. As Achilles explains it: "Why must Argives fight against the Trojans? Why did Atreus' son collect an army and lead it here if not for fair-haired Helen? Are Atreus' sons the only mortal men who love their wives? Every good and prudent man loves his wife and cares for her, as my heart loved that girl, though captured with my spear." (book 9, ln 337-343) Achilles alone of the Greek warriors speaks of being heartsick over the atrocities of war and the ravages upon other cities, even as he delights in the physical exertion and triumph of it. His honor provides that balance. Yet there is no honor in fighting for a tyrant or an unjust cause -- Achilles is heroic in that he refuses to fight when he ceases to believe in a cause. It is notable that when he does return to battle it is not for the sake of Agamemnon, whom he never seems to follow again, but for the sake of Patrocles. He is no longer fighting because Troy stole the wife of Menelaos, but because Troy stole the life of his own beloved friend. (The homoeroticism of this parallel is entirely appropriate. The Greeks would have understood the honorable nature of avenging the death of one's younger male lover, as the historical nature of Spartan mentoring would prove) At the end, he shows himself most honorable both in his willingness to die for the beloved memory of his friend, and also his ability to see past revenge to do what was right by the Gods.

Part of what redeems Achilles as a hero is his resignation to the will of the Gods. Unlike classic Greek anti-heroes such as Oedipus, Achilles does not suffer from hubris -- he is not a man who struggles against his destiny. This is shown by the fact that he goes into battle despite the fact that he knows he will die, and he never attempts to avoid that demise. Indeed, when Iris bids him to do so, he even goes to battle naked! Of all the characters, only Achilles seems to be entirely obedient to the will of the Gods; he constantly seeks their blessing and wisdom, and he seems to love them as much as they love him. This is shown from the very first book, where Achilles stands up to Agamemnon and argues that they must seek out Apollo's will regarding the plague. It is shown additionally in how graciously he bows to the will of Athena, saying: "Goddess, men should follow your instructions, though angry in their hearts. It's better so. The person who's obedient to the gods, the gods attend to all the more." (Book 1: ln 234-238) One would be hard pressed to find a single passage in which Achilles does not offer prayers and praises to the Gods. It is no surprise that Priam's appeal reaches past the defenses of his anger when the pleas of even the wily Odysseus could not -- for Achilles recognizes that Priam has the blessing of the Gods. " it's no secret to me -- that some god led you here," (book 24; ln 700) Achilles says, and he answers Priam's difficult request with religious faith saying "That's the way the gods have spun the threads for wretched mortal men." (book 24; ln 648-50) Though this may not appeal to the modern mind, Achilles is immensely faithful and devout, and this is part of his heroism.

Finally, Achilles' heroism is defined by his passion and depth of feeling. He is, as a modern might say, a romantic --even a proto-Byronic -- hero.

It is his larger than life nature which makes him a… READ MORE

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