Achilles Pride Essay

488 Words2 Pages
In the midst of competitive human beings, pride exists as a social survival method (http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar06/pride.aspx ). The Iliad depicts characters who impulsively commit prideful actions to secure a specific social standing, but those actions lead to self-destruction. When Achilles offends Agamemnon by requesting to return Chryseis back to Chryses, Achilles simply wants to prevent any complications that may occur by not doing so. In turn, Agamemnon decides to take Briseis, Achilles’ prize, to display his superiority. Agamemnon is unaware of the severity of not returning Chryseis to Chryses as he believes Achilles is simply trying to defy Agamemnon’s power and strength as leader. This shame culture requires leaders to demand respect…show more content…
Agamemnon, attempting to acquire social statues, belittles Achilles by saying that Achilles is not needed. Achilles warns Agamemnon that he will be in need of Achilles’ skills in the army, but blinded by pride, Agamemnon simply scoffs at Achilles (Book 1, lines 142-281). Ironically, after suffering losses by the Trojans, Agamemnon attempts to get Achilles to come back to save the army. In turn, Achilles refuses to fight with the Acheans as he feels that Agamemnon has stolen his honor in front of the soldiers. Such a reason for not wanting to fight demonstrates that pride acts as a social defense against social degradation. As both Agamemnon and Achilles desire to obtain their leader personas, both are unwilling to yield to each other’s superiority. As a result of Achilles’ inability to yield to Agamemnon’s superiority, Patroclus returns to the Acheans alone (Book 9, lines 410-420). Blinded by pride, Achilles cannot foresee the consequences of not returning with Patroclus to the Acheans and directly contributes to the death of his dear friend
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