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Achilles is driven primarily by a thirst for glory. Part of him yearns to live a long, easy life, but he knows that his personal fate forces him to choose between the two. Ultimately, he is willing to sacrifice everything else so that his name will be remembered.
- The Iliad
Part of Achilles’s problem with Agamemnon is that he feels...
- Zeus
For all his power as an immortal, Zeus is beset by...
- Agamemnon
Although he reconciles with Achilles in Book 19, he shirks...
- Hector
Hector is the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. Although...
- Hera
At times, her disobedience draws the wrath of her husband,...
- Odysseus
He knows the best approach to take for the best chance of...
- Patroclus
As Achilles’s beloved companion and advisor, Patroclus’s...
- Protagonist
Achilles’s rage proves so intense that he fights the river...
- The Iliad
Agamemnon believes that, as chief of the Achaean forces, he deserves the highest available prize—Briseis—and is thus willing to antagonize Achilles, the most crucial Achaean warrior, to secure what he believes is properly owed to him.
He might be trying to rattle Achilles, he might just be cruel, or he might be giving Achilles and Patroclus a warning. His comment about the relative nature of “truth” demonstrates his crafty worldview and understanding of how to manipulate the world for one’s own benefit.
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
With Achilles’s identity still unknown to most of the court, he andPatroclus find hidden places beyond the palace where Achilles can use hisstrength. The two dine with Lycomedes and Deidameia, but Achilles ignores hisofficial wife almost altogether. Patroclus sees that this hurts her and wantsto help, but says nothing. One morning, Deidameia sends ...
Deidameia is sent away to “visit her aunt” because her father does not wanther pregnancy to be visible before her marriage is revealed. Achilles andPatroclus while away the time before the birth, impatient to leave Scyros andalways aware of the war. A ship arrives at Scyros, its fancy sails showing it is no trader. Awakeningfrom a nap, Patroclus fi...
Odysseus and Diomedes ask Achilles to come to Troy and fight. Diomedesthreatens that if he does not, they will reveal that he has been living as awoman, which would be considered a great shame. Taking a different approach,Odysseus speaks of the fame Achilles will gain if he fights at Troy. He tellsAchilles that this will be the greatest war of thei...
- On the tenth Achilles called all ranks to muster – the impulse seized him, sent by white-armed Hera. grieving to see Achaean fighters drop and die. The Iliad, Book 1, lines 62-64.
- And the matchless runner reassured him: "Courage! Out with it now, Calchas. Reveal the will of god, whatever you may know. And I swear by Apollo. dear to Zeus, the power you pray to, Calchas,
- if our generous Argives will give me a prize, a match for my desires, equal to what I’ve lost, well and good. But if they give me nothing. I will take a prize myself – your own, or Ajax’
- And now you threaten to strip me of my prize in person – the one I fought for long and hard, and sons of Achaea. handed her to me. My honors never equal yours,
At other times, Zeus and Fate appear to work cooperatively, as in Book 20, when Zeus rallies the gods to stop Achilles from sacking Troy before its fated time. But one wonders to what extent this Fate is really fate at all, if Achilles can so easily preempt it.
People also ask
Why did Achilles want a soothsayer in the Iliad?
Why is Achilles acting as if he still has agency?
How does Achilles live up to his hero reputation?
Why did Athena ask Achilles to stop attacking Agamemnon?
Achilles chases the man he believes to be Agenor, but soon Apollo reveals himself to Achilles, taunting him for chasing a god. Achilles is angered that Apollo has prevented him from gaining more glory, and begins running toward the walls of Troy.
