Commentary on The Iliad Essay

Achilles anger started with his fight with Agamemnon. Apollo put a plague on the Achaean soldiers that was killing them. The only way to seize the plague from killing them all was to return the priests daughter who was captured. The girl belonged to Agamemnon and he didnt want to return her unless he got the girl that Achilles had in return. This would disgrace Achilles honor, but he could not let any more of his people get killed so, he reluctantly let the girl go. But in return for giving up the girl he withdrew his army from battle and it made him very upset.

The death of Hector is gruesome and horrible. Achilles killed Hector by tying him by his ankles, attaching him to his chariot and dragging Hector's corpse through the sand and dirt for days. This was a very gruesome thing for Achilles to do. But Achilles, refused to give King Priam, (father of Hector and King of Troy,) back the body of his son (Hector) for proper burial. This shows Achilles is revengeful and how heartless he is. But when King Priam comes to retrieve the body of Hector, Achilles welcomes him like a friend and calls for a cease-fire so that Hector can be properly buried.

In an ensuing battle Achilles was killed by an arrow to the one part of his body; his heel which was the only part of his body that was not dipped in the Styx river. (His mother had dipped him the river, but she was holding him by his heel when she dipped him so it made it his only mortal part.) With Achilles' death, the Greeks had lost their greatest warrior.

The fact that Achilles is full of pride does not mean that Achilles is a very good man, because the Greeks thought of pride as an inseparable part of a hero's greatness. Achilles is proud of his prize and is proud of the work he put in to earn his prize as well. He is up in arms with the request of Agamemnon and takes his request as a personal threat to his pride.

Achilles takes pride on fighting and being loyal to his men and earning his own prizes. Even though Achilles pride had been damaged, he still works hard and does not let his emotions influence his plans.