Kleos

In Book 9, we find Achilleus sitting alone while singing and playing the lyre. This is a major contrast from the valiant warrior Achilleus in the beginning of the story. Having spent much time alone and probably in deep thought, I believe that Achilleus had been reflecting on his past and debating his future. Regardless of whether or not he had the ability to change his fate, he most likely did alot of thinking about what his life could of been--what it could of been if he never went to war; never killed a Trojan; never earned his kleos.

When Odysseus attempts to convince him to fight again, Achilleus makes a bold statement: "We are all held in a single honor, the brave with the weaklings. A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much." This statement implies that Achilleus has completely changed his view of kleos. Once he had lived for it. The battlefield was all he knew, but now he feels the reality of death. He understands that all men die no matter what they have accomplished in life. Why, then, should he die young and be remembered when he could live a long, peaceful life in obscurity? Has he really earned anything if he never lives to see it?

In my opinion, Achilleus was somewhat justified in his decision not to fight again. He had felt the pain of being disrespected by Agamemnon, the man he had spent the past nine years fighting for. He was aware of the fact that he would die if he went back to battle, and he had begun to value his life over kleos. Achilleus made the logical decision, although it may not have been the most heroic.

p.s. I commented on Rachel's post.