The Iliad: Achilles (Research Paper Sample)

THE ILIAD: ACHILLES
The Iliad is a piece of European literature that talks about the rage that erupted between Achilles and Agamemnon in the Greek Camp during the ninth year of the ten year Trojan War. The dispute was over possession of war-prized women. As a result of this rage, many lives are lost in the camp as Greek gods are involved too. Achilles is a Greek hero viewed as an embodiment of the grief of the people. He was the son of Nereid Thetis and Peleus who ruled the Myrmidons. According to the Achilleid, when Achilles was born, Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. However, Achilles was left vulnerable at the heel where his mother had held him.
Achilles wrath and anger can be said to be a representation of how the Greeks felt. It is provoked by his sense of honor and is evident all throughout Homer’s Iliad. First, Agamemnon, the greedy king takes Chrysies without approval of her father. Achilles feels dishonored and drops out as the commander of the Achaean forces. Agamemnon further triggers Achilles anger by ordering that his battle prize, Briseis be brought to replace Chrysies. Some literature materials state that Achilles may have been in love with her. Angered by this, he convinces Zeus to help Trojans regain their honor. What follows is a series of endless wars and retaliation attacks. Second, though Agamemnon tries to appease him by offering gifts and his Briseis back, Achilles rejects all that and further attacks the Greeks. In the process, his friend Patroclus who had worn Achillesâ€&trad...