Homer's Iliad Topic Response (Book Review Sample)

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Homers Iliad Topic Response Achilles is seen as being the greatest warrior of all the armies in Greece. His has been depicted as an act of heroism all along. He is depended upon not only by his kingdom to lead in the war but also other battalions place their faith in him. It is not however always that he stands by his people as at some point, he forfeits the army due to differences between him and other leaders. He sees himself as the greatest and thinks that no one would equal his capabilities. He is the champion of the world and remains ruthless to people determined to overtake his kingdom. He has chosen to lead a short life of glorification over a long one where his name would, in the end, be forgotten. He believes in a world of the hard living and hard fighting to claim the glorification of his name for what he has done for his people. Book 22 tells us that without the help of Achilles, the Greek forces would fall at the mercies of the Trojans with the help of their greatest warrior Hector (Fagles, 114). By this time, Achilles had withdrawn from the battle after their misunderstanding with Agamemnon. He chooses to send his men to the battlefield though they have to go without him. He gives his armor to Patroclus his best friend who dies at the hands of Hector on the battlefield. His decision not to take part in the battle is an illustration of his true strengths as a warrior. Without him, the army was subdued to the point of the man he had appointed as the leader meeting his demise. His absence in the battle could have instilled fear among his men who greatly believed in him for his abilities and strength which they believed were from the gods. He was, therefore, the anointed one of the Greek warriors. Achilles decides that he is going to avenge the death of his friend at the hands of men from Troy (Fagles, 125). Hector was to be at the center of the revenge for he is supposedly the man who killed Patroclus. And true to his word, he sees to it that hector is killed in the battlefield. He is, therefore, a man of his words and one who cares about the wellbeing of the people from his country. He avenges the death of his good friend as he swore upon his death. The Troy is, on the other hand, wary of the Greeks following the death of their most able warrior in whom they had put their trust in. Achilles is, however, letting them grief in peace as they pla...