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The Rage That Drives Achilles

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The Rage That Drives Achilles
The Rage That Drives Achilles
In Homer’s book the “Iliad” lays an epic conflict between a man and his inner self that ultimately leads to great loss on a wider scale and not just to himself. Achilles is a man with a superpower but has a severe problem when his ego is insulted. Achilles is driven by rage and anger and will do everything in his power to seek vengeance on anyone whom gets in the way of his pride whether it is friend or foe. One might argue whether Achilles is an epic hero but this answer lies within the reader. Achilles is one man who has the greatest fighting abilities as well as the greatest military prowess of any of the Achaean ranks. The only downfall for Achilles is that his inner force is driven by rage and proves to be devastating to his Achaean comrades. In the first book of the “Iliad”, Achilles pride was hurt when Agamemnon takes Achilles prize, Briseis, from him after Agamemnon’s prize, Chryseis, was demanded back from the Greek god Apollo. This began the rage inside Achilles and with this he refused to continue fighting with the Achaean army and took his men back home. Achilles also pleaded his story to his mother, Thetis, and asked her to talk with Zeus to punish the Achaean’s. Even though Apollo lifted the plaque he casted over the camp after Chryseis was returned, Achilles request from Zeus was now in place and with Zeus now on the Trojans side, the worst was yet to come. Even though the Trojan War has been going on for nearly ten years, Achilles decision to refuse to fight alongside Agamemnon cripples the Achaean army and ends the ten year battle within a matter of a few days after his return. On the other hand the conflict that arose between Agamemnon and Achilles was started by the Greek God Apollo whom casted the plaque in the first place which in turn tipped off the conflict between these two men. The following phrase provides the bases of the Achilles antagonist: “Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of

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