The Rage Of Achilles Vs. The Death Of Hector

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In The Iliad by Homer there are two major excerpts, “The Rage of Achilles” and “The death of Hector”. They both take place during the Trojan war, which was being fought between the Greeks and the Trojans. In “The Rage of Achilles” the Greek leader Agamemnon is forced to give away his war prize and then demands Achilles’s instead. This leads to Achilles becoming furious, resulting in him refusing to fight. “The Death of Hector” takes place later, when Achilles finally rejoins the battle and goes off to kill the Trojan hero named Hector. Based off of ancient Greek values, Achilles is the greater hero due to his honor. bravery and strength. Achilles displays his honor when he gives away his war prize to Agamemnon. He then goes on to fight Hector, a major exhibition of bravery, due to Hector being the best Trojan fighter. Finally, Achilles kills Hector, proving that he possesses great strength. …show more content…

Agamemnon’s war prize, Chryseis, was the daughter of one of Apollo’s priests. The priest pleaded for his daughters return, which he was eventually granted. Since Agamemnon was very avaricious, he decided he would take Achilles’s war prize, Briseis, as a replacement. Although led with strong opposition in the beginning, Achilles finally gave in, being honorable in forfeiting his prize. This is shown when Homer tells of this moment Achilles spoke to Agamemnon’s men “’Welcome, couriers! Good heralds of Zeus and men, here come closer… Go, Patroclus, prince, bring out the girl and hand her to them so they can take her back’” (Homer, 205) this exemplifies that Achilles was being gracious and honorable by keeping his temper and willingly giving what was his

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