“So he spoke, and stirred in the other a passion of grieving for his own father. He took the old man’s hand and pushed him gently away, and the two remembered, as Priam sat huddled at the feet of Achilleus and wept close for manslaughtering Hektor and Achilleus wept now for his own father, now again for Patroklos.”
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I disliked Achilleus. From day one, I saw him as a whiney, over-confident man, who thought far too highly of himself. And, the scene in which he brutally kills Hektor only encouraged those feelings in me. However, we see a completely different Achilleus at the end of the poem. The passage that I quoted above shows Hektor’s father as he goes to beg for his son’s body, and surprisingly, Achilleus feels pity and grief. Priam reminds him of his own father, and the incredible grief that he would feel if Achilleus were to be killed. The passage above is my favorite part of the story, simply because we see a tender and caring side of Achilleus. I believe it was a brilliant way to end The Iliad. I must admit, this one short part of the poem made me like Achilleus in a small way, and it proved that he did have compassion in his heart. I’m a sucker for any story with great redemption, and for Achilleus, this act of kindness redeemed him in my eyes.
I commented on Fimbulvetr's post from 9/2/10
I agree with you! I did not like Achilleus from the beginning either. I thought he was being a big baby from the get go. He only joined in the fighting once Patroklus was dead. I mean, I understand, because he's so mad and wants to avenge his death, but what about the thousands of men on his side that died? He is obviously so into himself, that he really doesn't care about anyone else. But yea, it was kind of touching at the end when Achilleus gave Hector's body back. But then again, Priam had to beg and guilt trip him in order for him to give the body back. So I still don't think he turned out to be a sympathetic person. If he really was a sympathetic person, he wouldn't have let his men continue stabbing at Hector's dead body, and he wouldn't have dragged his body around Troy. So I don't think Achilleus redeemed himself.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the end of the poem presents Achilleus in a favorable light. But, if the gods had not directed Priam on what to say would Achilleus have responded so favorably? And furthermore, though this scene, as well as the death of Patroklus paint Achilleus more favorably, what about his wish for the war to continue on until he could be the hero again? couldn't you consider him responsible for the death of Patroklus, for the reason Zues fated him to die was to draw Achilleus in to battle.
ReplyDeleteI think that Achilleus' biggest problem was fear. Thats why he stayed out of battle. When Patroklus died, he could no longer let fear keep him out of battle, but instead he let it consume him in another way:rage. Achilleus was such an emotional wreck, that at this point, I think he's actually becoming real with himself, instead of living totally in the "blind rage" that warriors are known for. He's facing his fears. He's facing himself. I agree. Great way to end it.
ReplyDelete