How Does Achilleus Change In The Iliad

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Achilleus is the greatest warrior of the Achaeans and is looked up to by many of the men in his army as well as in the opposing army, but even the greatest physical fighter may not be the strongest in mental strength. Being the protagonist of the story Iliad, Achilleus displays tremendous capability to kill but doesn’t have the capability to control himself from acting rashly. Throughout the story, Achilleus struggles with thinking properly whenever he has an important choice to make or whenever he is both slightly or deeply offended. Achilleus cannot control what his next move will be if he cannot think properly. This irrational contemplation leads him to do something he would not think too much about at the moment, but would make him regret it later. In the Iliad, Homer uses…show more content…
The first time Achilleus has an internal conflict is when his leader, Agamemnon, insults him and threatens to take away his favorite slave, Chryseis, by force. Agamemnon says, “I myself shall take her, your own prize … the girl herself, Chryseis of the fair cheeks…” (Homer, page 339, lines 133-139) in an attempt to show off his power as the leader. Achilleus, being a very proud man, takes offense to this because even though what Agamemnon was doing was not the best way to deal with the current situation, he was putting Achilleus back in his place as a subordinate who doesn’t have power or control over him. Achilleus is also offended by Agamemnon’s verbal irony insulting both him and his father, “...you yourself, son of Peleus, most terrifying of all men…” (Homer, page 340, line 142). Because Agamemnon says many things that were extremely rude to Achilleus, he obviously becomes very mad and in that moment, he had two choices.
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