Achilles Hero Behavior Cycle in the Iliad Essay - 1036 Words

The Ancient Greeks admired their heroes and tried to learn from both their achievements and their mistakes. They believed that most great leaders and warriors followed a predictable behavior cycle, which often ended tragically. In Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, Achilles is a great warrior who traces the stages of the behavior cycle twice, from arete to hubris to ate and then to nemesis. Achilles is a highly skilled warrior and a great leader who becomes a narcissist and an arrogant person, which leads to selfish and childish behavior resulting in the death of his best friend. Following Patroclus’ death, Achilles repeats the behavior cycle by regaining his courage and motivation, and goes back to battle against Hector. The pride he feels in†¦show more content†¦Hector has killed good Patroclus and many other friends. May such anger, which upsets the wisest, no longer affect the deathless gods and mortal men!† (145). All of these great qualities Achilles pos sesses both start two different behavior cycles that start at different times in the epic poem. The great talents that Achilles’ possesses cause him to become much admired and well known by both the Greeks and the Trojans. He begins to believe all the good things people are say and becomes an arrogant, child-like, selfish person which all mark Achilles’ hubris part of his behavior cycle. Achilles shows his arrogance when he gets angry with Agamemnon for him wanting take his prize of honor, which Achilles worked very hard to get. Because of this, Achilles begins to lose his capability to think straight and weigh all the factors in situations, and withdraws himself from the battle. Later on after Achilles overcomes the death of his best friend and regains back his courage and pride, Achilles kills Hector and thinks he is invincible for doing the great deed he did. Achilles fought Hector for honor over all else and performed the death of Hector almost as a duty and feels proud of himself for doing so. Before he kills Hector, Achilles declares, â€Å"I will go forth to slay Hector, who killed the man the I loved†¦ Until then, may I win great fame and glory, and may every Trojan realize that the greatest of the Greeks no longer remains apart from battle†(145).Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad887 Words   |  4 PagesIn Homer’s the Iliad there are two types of culture which are shame and honor. The Greeks rank great significance on personal honor. Why is that? The reason being is that to them honor means the ability to fight and be triumphant on the battle field. There are many ways honor is obtained to the Greeks, another way to prove your honor is to reveal athletic abilities. Meanwhile, the shame culture has a different concept to the Greeks. Shame meant to have good morals towards others and it is a moreRead MoreRelationship Between Odysseus And Telemachus1679 Words   |  7 Pageslike a mother would. Homer’s epic poems â€Å"The Iliad† and â€Å"The Odyssey† have emerged from a patriarchal society, where fathers held the dominant role in a family. However, these books show that father and son relationships are shown to have a special bond that is formed through respect and honor. Both poems cover many fathers and son’s relationships, however, I will be focusing on the relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus, and Priam and Hector. The Iliad goes beyond tales of the Trojan war, it portraysRead MoreThe Odyssey By Homer s Odyssey2866 Words   |  12 Pagesâ€Å"Homer’s Odyssey is the only surviving poem from a cycle of poems called the Nostoi (â€Å"the Returns†), which told of the returns home of the various Greek heroes at Troy† (Norcott, 2012). The Odyssey is one of many accounts of the Greek heroes that took part in the Trojan War. Odysseus’ story was just one that survived after all of these years. The story came out as an Epic on ly because of how the people revered the heroes as they started many trends, such as Odysseus’ Trojan horse. â€Å"These epics lieRead MoreOdyssey Historical Background6500 Words   |  26 PagesThe Odyssey ~ Background Information * The novel covers a 10 year period. * The novel was written approximately in 720 B.C. * The novel takes place in 1230 B.C. ~ during the Bronze age. * The Iliad (written first) and The Odyssey are based on historical events that took place about 1230 B.C. * Both novels are considered epic poems * The Odyssey is defined as a journey. This is the story of Odysseus’ journey back home after the Trojan War. From The Odyssey, Homer chose the