In Homer's Illiad, Achilles is
embodied by ideas of Greek heroism. He is the representative of
kleos, or the Greek virtue of glory in war. Ancient Greek heroes
must always strive towards kleos--and only those with arete
(unparalleled excellence) can actually attain it. Achilles is characterized again and
again by his unparalleled skill and strength in war. He is the one who finally defeats
Troy's best warrior, Hector. Another example of his arete is the fact that he fights the
river Skamandros (that's right... a river...) and
wins.
Achilles is also an exceedingly proud person. When
the Greek general Agamemon takes Achilles' war prizes for his own, Achilles' hurt pride
causes him to declare that he will no longer fight for the Greek side. He even asks his
mother, the goddess Thetis, to ask Zeus to strengthen the Trojans while weakening the
Greeks. He wants Agamemnon and the Greeks to realize how much they need him. If Achilles
were a "normal" human, this might characterize him as petty. However, the Iliad takes
great pains to emphasize the fact that Achilles' anger is not the anger of a regular
man. The very first lines of the Iliad declare Achilles' rage
as menin, a Greek word referring to the rage of gods. It is clearly
defined as an emotion that only gods can feel. Thus, Achilles' anger is his true
defining characteristic in the context of the epic.
This
menin is very telling. When the epic first opens up in
media res, it appears that Achilles' rage, which will affect the entirety of
the war, comes from his arrogance and his hurt pride because he feels that Agamemnon
snubs him. However, as the story progresses, events occur that alter this perception of
Achilles. The turning point is when Patroclus, Achilles' beloved cousin and friend,
borrows Achilles' armor and is killed in battle because of it. At this point, Achilles'
rage becomes the rage of revenge and love. His capacity for such personal loyalty
complicates the vision of a simple hero looking for
kleos.
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