How Does Achilles Change Throughout The Iliad

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The Iliad is not only a narrative of epic battles and armies, but also of the redemption of a man ruled by wrath. Achilles, whose wrath is the driving force of the whole tale, experiences redemptive changes in the following ways .Firstly by being able to experience empathy, secondly by being willing to forgive those who his wrath was kindled against ,and finally by being able to release the sinister emotions that ruled his life. Achilles does not experience a total redemption in a biblical sense, but instead experiences partial redemption of his character. The Iliad is a novel of a humanistic redemption that does not fully grasp the Christian sense of the word but is nevertheless still redemption. The first way The son of Thetis experiences incomplete redemption is by being able to experience empathy. Achilles throughout the majority of the Iliad is a selfish man who does not understand or care for the feelings or thoughts of others. He conceitedly allows the Greeks to lose a massive number of troops due to his quarrel with Agamemnon and seems content with the fact that his enmity has brought about the end of his own comrades. He seems to think of himself as above all other mortals and is prepared to do as he desires with them. Achilles is so …show more content…

Achilles after his encounter with Priam is a redeemed man in the worldly sense. He finally matured emotionally and exercised life outside of rage , learned to forgive and also of the virtue of empathy. Achilles was still far from spiritually redeemed, which can only come through faith in Jesus Christ , but was certainly far better from what he was at the beginning of the Iliad. Achilles humbled himself and learned that he is like all other mortals and that others experience grief and sorrow just like him. Achilles ended the Iliad not a perfect man but one greatly changed for the

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