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Compare the character of Achilles with that of Hector from the illiad
Compare the character of Achilles with that of Hector from the illiad
Analyze the character of Achilles in Iliad book 1
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Achilles and Patroklos
I think the reason that Achilles allows Patroklos to fight is because Achilles knows that the Greeks need all the help they can get. The Trojans are very near to their ships and without some great miracle, the Greeks will be defeated. When Patroklos comes to Achilles with the idea of going out in his armor and fighting to try to muster the Greek troops and frighten the Trojans, Achilles is taken in by his dear friend’s plea. Achilles gives in because he knows how much this opportunity will mean to Patroklos, who has always stood in Achilles’ shadow. So as to give his friend an opportunity to gain honor through battle and become great, Achilles allows Patroklos to enter the battle wearing his armor and with his blessing, even though he places a few stipulations on him.
I had a hard time examining why exactly Achilles placed those limitations on Patroklos. At first I wanted to believe that it was just Achilles trying to be a good friend and make sure that his friend did not end up getting killed. However, the longer and more I looked at it, the more it seemed like Achilles was trying to save face with the Greeks. He decides that his ego is still too damaged to return to the battle himself, so instead he sends his friend. It is very convenient that Patroklos is practically begging him for his consent. Achilles grudgingly gives his approval while still making sure that his own kleos is not damaged by Patroklos’ newfound bravery. He makes Patroklos promise that he will not continue to fight the Trojans after they have been pushed away from the Greek ships, but to allow the rest of the army to move ahead and finish the battle. He also must promise, once the Trojans are on the retreat, to come and get him so that the two of them can share the glory of finishing off the Trojans. Whether these boundaries were placed on Patroklos for his safety, or the safety of Achilles honor, makes a huge difference in the character of Achilles.
If these limits were given to Patroklos just to save Achilles’ ego in the eyes of the Trojans and Greeks alike, then he is perhaps one of the most arrogant, self-serving men that has ever lived, in myth or real life.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.
Patroklos was enraged and kills many men including Sarpedon. His bravery and arrogance, however, began to get the best of him. Here, Patroklos lets Kleos get in the way of his thinking. He wanted to be a hero, and he became blinded by the thoughts of Kleos and Gera. Although Kleos and Gera is the driving force behind many men in the war, Patroklos let it cloud all of his thoughts and became careless. He believed he could receive the glory of fending off the Trojans in Achilleus’ armor. In reality, neither of them really deserved glory. Patroklos was hiding behind the armor of Achilleus, and Achilleus was just hiding. Once Patroklos got out on the forefront of the battlefield, he became overconfident when he saw the fear in the eyes of the Trojans at the sight of Achilleus’ armor. When the Trojans saw Patroklos “the heart was stirred in all of them, the battalions were shaken” (XVI.280). This made Patroklos feel good about himself and gave him the self-assurance to attack the Trojans. His self-assurance quickly turned into arrogant pride. Patroklos had always been the level-headed warrior, but now he was becoming out of control. Despite what Achilleus had told him, Patroklos decided he wanted to storm the wall of Troy anyway. Patroklos could not even recognize his own frailty anymore. He thought he was invincible in Achilleus’ armor. This major character flaw begins to unravel the
Achilles is a character who values his reputation and honor above all else, as a demigod (child of a god/goddess and mortal) he great care in how he presents himself and how others view him. With the start of the Trojan war coming underway, Achilles is sent into hiding as a female dancer to avoid being drafted. However he is soon found by Odysseus, who blackmails Achilles into joining the Greeks in the war. Odysseus threatens to let everyone know Achilles was hiding as a woman, and thus shaming the young prince. Patroclus emphasises the weight of such a threat by saying, “It was one thing to wear a dress out of necessity, another for the world to know it. Our people reserved their ugliest words for men who acted like women; lives were lost over it” (Miller 163). In this excerpt, the extent that masculinity is emphasized is clearly shown. Men cannot even wear a women’s dress because it is seen as degrading and emasculating, and can lead to harassment and even death. This leads Achilles to join the war effort despite knowing that he will die. The potential dishonor and shame that Achilles would face is worse than dying in war. This
In Books VIII and IX of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the normative concept of friendship is precisely defined and separated into various categories of which Socrates’ and Alcibiades’ relationship can be ascribed to. To achieve this endeavor, one will need to understand Aristotle’s notion of perfect friendship based on reciprocal goodwill and virtue, and imperfect friendship based on utility and pleasure. By applying these evaluative aspects according to Socrates’ and Alcibiades’ characteristics and disposition in pursuing a friendship, the categories of their friendships are well elucidated. The friendship that Alcibiades seeks to obtain is that of erotic pleasure, while Socrates shows qualities that reflect a perfect kind, allowing this relationship to be asymmetrical.
At first Achilles had a set of clearly defined goals, he was to fight side by side with the Achaeans, sack Troy, and, by doing these things, gain honor and wealth. As the war progressed a series of events took place that forced Achilles to step out of the fight. While he was inactive and had time to contemplate, he came to the realization that he had been fighting for nine years for the sake of a man whose woman has been stolen; now that his woman had been stolen no one fights for his sake. He also realizes that there are other, less risky ways of obtaining wealth and honor, including sending Patroklus out in his armor. Another thing he ponders on, but doesn't seem to take seriously, is whether or not honor is really worth the struggle.
The political climate in the pacific area in 1940 was filled with turmoil. The Japanese had extended their empire south through French Indochina and the Japanese Army was invading China, conquering a third of the country. The United States of America was shocked to see this after witnessing Hitler and his Nazi's conquer most of Europe. So, the American's had placed embargoes on their extensive trade with Japan and both countries were negotiating to try to solve their differences.
Achilles is a great warrior and the central character of The Iliad. His traits were highly lauded by the Ancient Greeks. Achilles most apparent heroic traits are his courage, glory, wealth, lineage, and his camaraderie. Achilles’ largest tragic flaw is his pride. His pride causes him to turn his back on his allies in the midst of war after Agamemnon has dishonored him. (Iliad Book I) After being begged to return and as things become grim, Achilles’ close friend Patroclus decides to go in his stead. Killed by Hector, the death of Patroclus causes a change in the stubborn Achilles. His indignation at being dishonored is gone; he has lost a friend because of this pride. “Despite my anguish I will beat it down, the fury mounting inside me, down by force. But now I’ll go and meet that murderer head-on, that Hector who destroyed the dearest life I know. For my own death, I’ll meet it freely.” (Iliad Book XVIII 133-8) Despite a prophecy that he will die if he avenges his friend, Achilles returns to the front enraged and ready for battle. His downfall of losing his closest friend due to his stubbornness has wrought a change in Achilles and he now returns to the battle to avenge and honor his friend’s death.
Initially, we just see a spoiled adolescent desperately wanting to get his way. As The Iliad progresses, he grows arrogant and more uncaring about his fellow Greeks. And now, he has evolved into something even worse. He has decided to let Patroklos impersonate him in battle in order to gain klaos (Greek word for glory). There are several things wrong with Achilleus’ decision. First, Achilleus knows that the Trojans will be gunning for someone that looks like him, so he immediately painting a massive target on Patroklos’ back. Second, Achilleus is letting someone go into to battle to win glory for him. Not only is this dishonorable, it’s also impractical and unlikely to actually work. Finally, Achilleus is only concerned in what he will get out of this situation and how he will receive all the glory for himself. If Patroklos pushes too far as Achilleus, Achilleus will look foolish and erode his glory. However, if Patroklos makes the push to a point and returns, Achilleus will appear very clever. Achilleus’ greed and thirst for exaltation and honor pave the way for Patroklos’ impending
Achilles agreed that Patrokolos should wear his armor into battle, this decision along with the fact Achilles was no longer fighting, ultimately caused Patrokolos’ death. When Patrokolos died at the hands of Hektor, two things happened. First, being distraught over his friend’s death, Achilles feels responsible/ Guilt ensues but is channeled to more anger. Hektor, the slayer of Patrokolos now becomes the target of Achilles rage. Achilles is ready to fight, but more accurately ready for revenge. Achilles said, “I will not live nor go about among mankind unless Hektor fall by my spear, and thus pay me for having slain Patrokolos son of Menoetius,” (The Iliad, Chapter 18, Lines 89-91). When Achilles decided to fight, the fate of Hektor was already decided. Also, because he decided to fight, many more Trojans died. His fury with all of Troy was unleashed. Achilles killed and killed. The carnage was
Japan had a very clear reason why they wanted to attack the United States. “It was dangerously dependent on America for scrap iron, steel, and above all oil: 80 percent of its petroleum came from the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration had been attempting for years to use economic sanctions as leverage to force Japan to abandon its invasion of China.”4 By Imposing ban on the oil and steel, the economy of Japan was affected severely. The japanese felt that America was standing in their way concurring the Asia, which really affected them to place a attack on the Pearl Harbor. Although, the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan was successful by destroying the ships, but they failed to destroy the pacific fleet. This day would be remembered as one of the darkest day in the history of United States. Provoking attack on the United States, Japan’s situation regarding the world war II made it scary, they had to face the consequences later on. The attack on Pearl Harbor had major impact on the outcome of World War II, if Japan had never carried out their plans of Bombing Pearl Harbor, the Axis Power would have a better chance on winning Worlds War II, and innocent lives could have been
The question "was Achilles' anger justified" brings up issues that seem to have little or no relevance to the war. In time of war I would expect the leaders to prioritize the groups interest for the sake of unity and cooperation rather than being entrenched in achieving their own personal goals. But my expectations are those of a modern day literature student, I'm inclined to think that the Greeks who first read this epic valued different things than myself. Another relevant question might be "were Achilles' actions justified". Anger can be easily justified, but the actions that anger might lead you to take are not as easily justified. Again I am not an ancient Greek and my opinions are irrelevant unless I open my mind to different viewpoints. Therefore I am striving to look into this issue through ancient Greek eyes where the principle of sacrificing ones own interests was apparently not valued, but maintaining ones honor, on the other hand, was greatly valued. In the following paragraphs I will attempt to answer these two aforementioned questions.
I would define friendship as complete trust and love between two people. Many people believe that this kind of behavior is reciprocated between two individuals without any expectations. A friend is someone who also provides you with support and whom you can rely on to celebrate special moments with. A friend also comes with many great attributes; such as loyalty, honesty, compassion, trust, and morality. Today’s friend is viewed as someone who shares happiness, common values, history, and equality with another. For example, Aristotle and Cicero both wrote dialogues about friendship and its significance on mankind. Therefore, the key issues that will be discussed are: their views on the similarities of friendship, the differences between friends,
Before discussing the three types of friendships, Aristotle talks about the importance of acknowledging why he asserts friendship as a necessity. First off, Aristotle says friendship is a “state” (Nicomachean Ethics, Book 8) where there is mutual goodwill. The message he is trying to relay is that both individuals must share the same affection, and both must long for what is good for the other. The ability to distinguish what is good and wanting it to pave the way for the other being is the sentiment of mutual goodwill. Moving into this idea of friendship being a necessity, it is safe to say we rely immensely and often resort to them for numerous reasons. However, Aristotle claims friendship is a necessity because it “hold states together,” (Nicomachean Ethics Book 8). It...
According to Aristotle there are three different types of friendships that exist. Friendship that is based on utility, ones that are based on pleasure, and friendship based on goodness of character. The first two kinds are superficial, so they don’t usually last long. Friendship based on goodness of character is the best kind of friendship, because these friends love one another for who they are and not for what they stand to gain from one another. Friendship exists best between
Homer makes it clear that Achilles is a man mainly driven by his hunger for glory. Achilles has all the traits of a superhuman from his strength to his incredible ability to fight on the battlefield. Even with these great abilities, it is hard for many readers to perceive him as a hero because of the way he acts. Homer takes this brief time period out of this whole ten-year war just to demonstrate how Achilles cannot control himself when he goes into a rage. In todays world Achilles would not last long as a soldier in any army because he would be court marshaled for insubordination. Achilles ye...