The Influence of Achilles in Homers Iliad
The Influence of Achilles in Homer’s IliadAchilles: Prince of Phthia. Leader of the Myrmidon contingent. Son of Peleus and Thetis. He is the central character of the Iliad. He is by far the greatest warrior involved in the Trojan War. On the battlefield, he is unstoppable, able to rout whole armies single-handedly. Dealing with his rage is the central action of the epic; he sacrifices many of his allies to his pride, refusing to fight because of an insult to his honor. His movement from rage to grief and wrath and finally to recognition is the heart of the Iliad.
Throughout history, the story of Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, and its hero, Achilles, has remained a work of literature to be considered by many a true classic. This epic tells the story of the madness of Achilles and how it transforms him from an angry warrior to one who struggles to understand and cope with his grief over losing his best friend Patroclus. The Greek word menis, meaning madness, is used to describe the state of mind that Achilles enters following his feud with Agamemnon, and from this point forward it is possible to see that he is being ruled by this menis throughout much of the epic. Towards the end of the poem, Achilles finally comes to his senses after hearing of the death of Patroclus at the hand of the Trojan warrior Hector. However, he is unable to recover from the Patroclus’s death until Hector’s father, Priam, visits him. It is only at this point that Achilles realizes that he is not a complete being, although he is an accomplished and respected warrior. Priam’s visit forces Achilles to realize this, and by doing so Achilles becomes a more complete person.
In Book I, the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon is the starting point of the menis of Achilles. The great warrior attempts to give Agamemnon advice, but he dismisses it as an attempt by Achilles to gain power over the Achaean troops. As punishment, Agamemnon reclaims Achilles’ war prize, the Trojan girl Brisêis of whom the great warrior has become very fond.
“-but now he gives me nothing, Atreus’s son Agamemnon, for all his far-flung kingdoms – the man disgraces me, seizes and keeps my prize, he tears her away himself!” (Book 1, Lines 419-422)
Achilles becomes so infuriated with Agamemnon’s arrogance and refusals to even consider his advice that he issues an oath to Agamemnon.
“Never again, I trust, will Achilles yield to you. And I tell you this - take it to heart, I warn you – my hands will never do battle for that girl, neither will you, King, nor any man alive. You Achaeans gave her, now you’ve snatched her back. But all the rest I possess beside my fast black ship – not one bit of it can you seize against my will, Atrides. Come, try it! So the men can see, that instant, your black blood gush and spurt around my spear!” (Book 1, Lines 347-355)
With this oath issued to Agamemnon and the Achaeans, Achilles withdraws his troops, the Myrmidons, and refuses to fight until his own ships and camp are threatened by the Trojans. For twelve days Achilles sat apart from the rest of his men, staring at the ocean, ruled by this menis, having no ability to go on with his life until he is aided by his mother, Thestis, implores Zeus to help Achilles win back his honor.
“Zeus, Father Zeus! If I ever served you well among the deathless gods with a word or action, bring this prayer to pass: honor my son Achilles! – doomed to the shortest life or any man on earth. And now the lord of men Agamemnon has disgraced him, exalt him, Olympian Zeus: your urgings rule the world! Come, grant the Trojans victory after victory till the Achaean armies pay my dear son back, building higher the honor he deserves!” (Book 1, Lines 600-609)
At length, Zeus agrees to help Thestis and Achilles, and in Book II he initializes his plan by sending a dream to Agamemnon in an attempt to persuade the Achaeans to fight. Instead, his plan backfires as Agamemnon decides to test his men by telling them they are returning home. Eventually, however, the Achaeans are ready to do battle with the Trojans. Noticeably absent in this battle are Achilles and the Myrmidons, as Achilles is still sitting separate from his men, gazing out to sea. As the epic continues, Achilles name is not mentioned with any significance until Book IX, when Nestor advises Agamemnon to make amends with Achilles, as the Achaeans were beginning to lose the war to the Trojans. (However, it is shown that while the Greeks continued to fight in the war, Achilles and his army continued to ransack and pillage the surrounding villages and cities for survival.)
Agamemnon sends Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix to try and persuade Achilles and the Myrmidons to rejoin the war with promises of many gifts of appeasement. These include Agamemnon’s daughter as a wife, the girl Brisêis, many treasures and such, as well as valuables and jewelry.
“All this – I would extend to him if he will end his anger. Let him submit to me! Only the god of death is so relentless, Death submits to no one – so mortals hate him most of all the gods. Let him bow down to me! I am the greater king, I am the elder-born, I claim – the greater man.” (Book 9, Lines 187-193)
All three men separately try and persuade Achilles to join the battle once again. Odysseus, the keenest mind of all Greeks, was very smart as to even leave out the fact that Agamemnon says that Achilles must submit to him because he is the high king. Yet, Achilles continually refuses Agamemnon’s plea and offers of gifts, which include
“Why must we battle Trojans, men of Argos? Why did he muster an army, lead us here, that son of Atreus? Why, why in the world if not for Helen with her loose and lustrous hair? Are they the only men alive who love their wives, those sons of Atreus? Never! Any decent man, a man with sense, loves his own, cares for his own as deeply as I, I loved that woman with all my heart, though I won her like a trophy with my spear… But now that he’s torn my honor from my hands, robbed me, lied to me – don’t let him try me now. I know him too well – he’ll never win me over!” (Book 9, Lines 409-419)
Even though Achilles is still being ruled by this menis, he realizes the extraordinary amount of power he holds over Agamemnon and the Achaeans. He is holding every Achaean soldier’s life in his hands. Should he choose to rejoin this battle and choose his fate of a short but glorious life filled with honor, these soldiers’ lives would be saved. Should he choose instead to remain separate from the battle and choose his fate of a long but obscure life, these soldiers’ lives would be lost and the Trojans would have won the war. Achilles, being a man full of pride, will not allow Agamemnon to appease him until Achilles finds a good enough reason to continue fighting. Until that happens, the menis controls Achilles, and he and his men remain withdrawn from the battles. Zeus, having done what was asked of him by Thestis and Achilles, realizes that not even a god could persuade Achilles to go back into the battle, but his great friend Patroclus is the only one who could bring Achilles past the menis that is controlling his actions. In Book 16, Achilles allows Patroclus to lead the Myrmidons into battle and gives Patroclus his own armor for protection. Although Achilles himself remains separate from the battle, he places Patroclus in charge, but warns him not to continue the fight into Troy. As long as he remains far enough away from the Trojans, they will not recognize him as Patroclus and continue to think that he is Achilles, giving him added protection by the fear of the Trojans.
However, Hector leads the Trojans to the ships, they are threatened. Apollo helps destroy the rampart that the Greeks built to contain the Trojan army. The Achaean army is retreating to the ships as Hector begins to set fire to the ships. This is when Patroclus asks Achilles for permission to enter the battle. Achilles consents regretfully, and he gives Patroclus a firm warning.
“To arms – Patroclus, prince and master horseman! I can see the blaze go roaring up the ships. They must not destroy them. No escape-route then. Quick, strap on my gear – I’ll rouse the troops.” (Book 16, Lines 152-155)
“I can’t even hear the battle cry of Agamemnon break from his hated skull. But it’s man-killing Hector calling his Trojans on, his war cries crashing around me, savage cries of his Trojans sweeping the whole plain, victors bringing the Argive armies to their knees.” (Book 16, Lines 87-91)
“Once you have whipped the enemy from the fleet, you must come back, Patroclus. Even if Zeus the thundering lord of Hera lets you seize your glory, you must not burn for war against these Trojans, madmen lusting for battle – not without me – you will only make my glory that much less… You must not, lost in the flush and fire of triumph, slaughtering Trojans outright, drive your troops to Troy – what if one of the gods who never die comes down from Olympus heights to intervene in battle? The deadly Archer loves his Trojans dearly. No, you must turn back – “ (Book 16, Lines 101-112)
Then, as Patroclus enters into battle, Zeus stirs his heart with fury, causing him to disobey Achilles’ orders and enter into Troy. There, he is hit in the head by Apollo, confusing him. A random soldier of the Trojan army then stabs him in the shoulder, weakening him further. Hector then finishes Patroclus and takes the glory. Hector strips Patroclus of Achilles’ armor and eventually allows the Myrmidons to bear his body back to Achilles, following another battle over the body of Patroclus. Once Achilles learns of Patroclus’s death, his only thoughts are those of revenge for the death of his best friend. Eagerly, he reconciles with Agamemnon and renounces his menis. His mother Thestis gives Achilles new armor and a shield crafted by the god Hephaestus to protect him in the upcoming battles. Now that Achilles has rejoined the war to avenge Patroclus’s death, he receives the gives promised him by Agamemnon, although they mean little to him as they can not appease the grief and pain he feels over the death of his best friend. He believes that the only way he can appease his grief is to kill Hector, and now that his fighting spirit has been restored, he sets out to do so. One battle after another, the grief-stricken Achaean slaughters one Trojan after another, not sparing one life. Soon after, in one great battle, Achilles and Hector clash, and Achilles, using his skill and anger, is the victor. Before Hector dies, he lets him know that he feels no remorse and will not give him his final honor in burial.
“Hector – surely you thought when you stripped Patroclus’ armor that you, you would be safe? Never a fear of me; Far from the fighting as I was – you fool! Left behind there, down by the beaked ships his great avenger waited, a greater man by far – that man was I, and I smashed your strength! And you – the dogs and birds will maul you, shame your corpse while Achaeans bury my dear friend in glory!” (Book 22, Lines 390-397)
Right before Hector dies, he forewarns Achilles. He lets him know how he is going to die.
“I know you well – I see my fate before me. Never a chance that I would win you over… Iron inside your chest, that heart of yours. But now beware, or my curse will draw god’s wrath upon your head, that day when Paris and lord Apollo – for all your fighting head – destroy you at the Scaean Gates!”
He strips Hector of his old armor and ties him to the back of his chariot to be dragged through the dust back to the Achaean camps. Even though Achilles had avenged Patroclus’s death by killing Hector, he is still unable to find peace with himself. He had previously believed that Hector’s death would be enough to cure his grief, but discovers that it has done nothing except make him more distraught at the death of his best friend. When he is visited by Priam, Hector’s father, a change takes place inside of him. Priam puts aside his pride and implores Achilles to return Hector’s body to the Trojans for burial.
“Don’t make me sit on a chair, Achilles, Prince, not while Hector lies uncared-for in your camp! Give him back to me, now, no more delay – I must see my son with my own eyes. Accept the ransom I bring you, a king’s ransom! Enjoy it, all of it, - return to your own native land, safe and sound… since now you’ve spared my life.” (Book 24, Lines 648-654)
As Achilles gazes at him, this man who kissed the hands that killed his son, he sees a person who is able to deal with his grief and move on without being consumed by revenge. Priam is a man wizened by his years and Achilles respects him for his actions and grants him his plea. He returns Hector’s body to his father and the Trojans for burial.
Throughout the entire epic, Achilles refuses to let go of his pride and continues to hold on to his grudge, first towards Agamemnon and later towards Hector. However, when he finally succeeds in avenging Patroclus’s death, he does not receive any satisfaction from it and is more distraught because he is unable to let go. It takes the image of Priam, shamelessly letting go of his pride in an attempt to have his son’s body returned to him, for Achilles to realize that revenge will not necessarily bring about satisfaction. Achilles sees in Priam the type of person he wants to become should he be able to live a long life. This helps Achilles to grow as a person. His grief over Patroclus’s death changes him and the visit by Priam makes him realize that pride and glory are not necessarily the most important things in life. At the beginning of the epic, all Achilles was striving for was honor. He received honor by killing Hector, yet he did not receive satisfaction. By seeing Priam, he now understands that there is more to life than honor, and that happiness does not necessarily stem from pride or glory.
Homer’s great epic poem, The Iliad, is the story of the menis of Achilles and how this menis transforms him from a warrior full of anger and pride to one who realizes that life is more than honor and glory. From his feud with Agamemnon in Book I to his visit with Priam in Book XXIIII, Achilles grows from a simple warrior to a more complex character that is timeless in his complexity and his strength, physically, and later emotionally. The Iliad is rightfully considered a classic and its hero, Achilles, is a name that will forever be associated with both strength and pride, as well as weakness.