Essay on Achilles as the Hero of Homer’s Iliad -- Iliad essays

Achilles as the Hero of homing pigeons Iliad When Homer lived, the stature of a hero was measured by the yardstick of fighting ability. In Homers Iliad, the character of Achilles represents the epitome of the Greek heroic code. Only Achilles fights for pure heroics, while the characters of Diomedes and push around provide unassailable contrasts. Prowess on the trothfield was ranked supreme, high above any considerations of morality(Martin 26). Nestor, for example, tells Agamemnon and Achilles that he has known much better custody than them meaning men who are better at fighting. Achilles refuses Lycaon clemency because Patroclus. who is dead. was a much better man than he is by far i.e. a much better fighter. Achilles urges Hector to show his worth and fight like a man worth means simply ability to fight. By this criterion Achilles ranks second to none. He is an vastly talented fighter and he considers himself a prince among men. It is a reflection of his ability that the ac tion speeds up rapidly on his return to the battle later on Book 16 and Patroclus death. Two thirds of the epic arc slow and tedious on Achilles return the last third is fast and moves most speedily. Achilles unstoppable battle madness surpasses without doubt that of the other heroes in the lliad. He is brave, vicious and powerful. He splits the Trojans and drives them back without difficulty at all. Moreover, his bravery is not restricted to humans. He is wrothful with Apollo for deceiving him and his battle with the river god Xanthus ends in more success than Diomedes attempts against the gods in Book 5 (although he admittedly has much divine support). The heroic code was recognize as a desire to excel. For the heroes excellent was ... ...Finkelberg, Margalit. Odysseus and the genus hero . Greece and Rome v. 42 (Apr. 95) p. 1-14. Goodrich, Norma. Myths of the hero. New York Orion Press, 1962. Homer Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York Penguin Books, 1990. Martin, Richard. The lyric of Heroes Speech and Performance in the Iliad. Ithaca Cornell University Press, 1989. Parry, Adam M. The Language of Achilles and Other Papers. Oxford Clarendon Press, 1989. Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero An Introduction to Homers Iliad. Berkeley University of California Press, 1984. Shive, David M. Naming Achilles. New York Oxford University Press, 1987. Van Nortwick, Thomas. Somewhere I have travelled the heros journey. New York Oxford University Press, 1996. Whitman, Cedric H. Homer and the Heroic Tradition. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press, 1958.