Achilles As A Warrior.
Notwithstanding the fact that he has been considered as the fierce Greek champion who was able to win thousands of battles, Achilles was considered to be problematic in terms of being a Greek warrior and hero because of the flaws that he exhibited not only in his decisions in most of his battles but also in his love affair.
One of the lapses that Achilles has perfectly shown in the story was his bursting outrage to Agamemnon when the Achaean king had finally took the control over Helen, the most beautiful and fairest woman in the land.
In this light, the rage of Achilles to King Agamemnon can be considered as null because the former was indeed to be blamed on the situation. Helen, after all, is the wife of King Agamemnon. Its acceptable if Helen will be given back to the king. Actually, Achilles has no right to abduct Helen even if they say that they love each other. Abduction, in the first place, was a worst sin which was committed by Achilles to the Achaean king. So Achilles should supposed not to claim any anguish with regards to the act of King Agamemnon to claim his wife.
But when King Agamemnon suggested a peace offering to Achilles for the sake of their own people, Achilles had still the nerve to refuse as if he was really humiliated and deprived of justice. In the Book IX of Iliad by Homer 1945, Achilles says
From me alonehe stole away a prize, a woman whom I loveLet him have his pleasure in bed with her. 420Why must Argives fight against the TrojansWhy did Atreus son collect an armyand lead it here if not for fair-haired HelenAre Atreus sons the only mortal men 340who love their wives Every good and prudent manloves his wife and cares for her, as my heartloved that girl, though captured with my spear.Since hes taken my prize out of my handsand cheated me, let him not try to takeanother thing from me. I know him too well. 430Hell never persuade me to agree.
This shows the characteristic of Achilles as a hard-headed warrior and individual. Though he knows to himself that he is not right, he still insists what he wants for the sake of his own desire and pleasure. Actually, Achilles can be one of the persons to blame for the Trojan war. If and only if he did not abduct Helen, there could be a possibility that there would be no war between the two kingdom. But eventhough Achilles was warned by many people around him, he still insisted his desire to get the most beautiful woman on Earth even if it causes war among his people and the people of king Agamemnon.
Hence, it can be deducted that Achilles is indeed a problematic warrior especially in terms of his attitudes and values. This has something in parallelism with his being not perfect as a warrior and individual. When his mother Thetis dipped him in a river in Hades, Achilles did not become totally invulnerable because his ankle was not soaked properly in the river. This is the reason why he was defeated in the battle in the later part of the story. This incident in the life of Achilles, can be highly associated to his being a problematic warrior and hero.
One of the lapses that Achilles has perfectly shown in the story was his bursting outrage to Agamemnon when the Achaean king had finally took the control over Helen, the most beautiful and fairest woman in the land.
In this light, the rage of Achilles to King Agamemnon can be considered as null because the former was indeed to be blamed on the situation. Helen, after all, is the wife of King Agamemnon. Its acceptable if Helen will be given back to the king. Actually, Achilles has no right to abduct Helen even if they say that they love each other. Abduction, in the first place, was a worst sin which was committed by Achilles to the Achaean king. So Achilles should supposed not to claim any anguish with regards to the act of King Agamemnon to claim his wife.
But when King Agamemnon suggested a peace offering to Achilles for the sake of their own people, Achilles had still the nerve to refuse as if he was really humiliated and deprived of justice. In the Book IX of Iliad by Homer 1945, Achilles says
From me alonehe stole away a prize, a woman whom I loveLet him have his pleasure in bed with her. 420Why must Argives fight against the TrojansWhy did Atreus son collect an armyand lead it here if not for fair-haired HelenAre Atreus sons the only mortal men 340who love their wives Every good and prudent manloves his wife and cares for her, as my heartloved that girl, though captured with my spear.Since hes taken my prize out of my handsand cheated me, let him not try to takeanother thing from me. I know him too well. 430Hell never persuade me to agree.
This shows the characteristic of Achilles as a hard-headed warrior and individual. Though he knows to himself that he is not right, he still insists what he wants for the sake of his own desire and pleasure. Actually, Achilles can be one of the persons to blame for the Trojan war. If and only if he did not abduct Helen, there could be a possibility that there would be no war between the two kingdom. But eventhough Achilles was warned by many people around him, he still insisted his desire to get the most beautiful woman on Earth even if it causes war among his people and the people of king Agamemnon.
Hence, it can be deducted that Achilles is indeed a problematic warrior especially in terms of his attitudes and values. This has something in parallelism with his being not perfect as a warrior and individual. When his mother Thetis dipped him in a river in Hades, Achilles did not become totally invulnerable because his ankle was not soaked properly in the river. This is the reason why he was defeated in the battle in the later part of the story. This incident in the life of Achilles, can be highly associated to his being a problematic warrior and hero.
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