The Iliad

I don’t believe that Achilles is being an honorable warrior to Agamemnon and the Greeks. After a quarrel, Achilles and Agamemnon have both become very angry with one another. Achilles believed that the Greeks were getting a lot of misfortune and were receiving the wrath of the Gods, for Agamemnon was holding a captive. Achilles then decides that he would not fight in the war anymore when it says “Achilles submitted, but forthwith the declared that he would take no further part in the war. He withdrew his forces from the general camp and openly avowed his intention of returning home to Greece.” This is bad news for the Greeks for Achilles is the best warrior they have, and he knows it. Achilles’ decision to withdraw his forces would cost them the war.

I don’t understand why Thetis wished for the Trojan success instead of the Greek success in the next battle. I understand what the Greeks had done to Achilles, but if anything, that helped her cause. She never even wanted her to son to be in the war, because she believed he would never return. Thetis was a caring, overprotective mother, as it shows when it says “Thetis, the mother of Achilles, warmly resented the injury done to Achilles.” Achilles had already pulled himself and his troops from the war, did she not think that after hearing the news of the latest battle, that Achilles might feel sympathy for his homeland?

I think that Achilles, deep down isn’t as bad of a person as you might think. Despite killing numerous amounts of people, he has a heart, this is shown when it says “Then Achilles dismissed the old king with his attendants, having first pledged himself to allow a truce of twelve days for the funeral solemnities.’ After slaying the King’s son Hector who he had just dueled against and one, has allowed the Trojans to host a funeral for Hector, as he feels sympathy for the King.

A) I believe that the negative results endured by the Greeks heavily influenced the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles. Agamemnon and Achilles have grown frustrated with each other due to recent failures. In the passage when it says, “Then an event occurred which seemed likely to be fatal to the cause of the Greeks.” This reminds me of when I heard someone say that little fights and the breakdown of a relationship can lead to undesired outcomes. This is exactly what is happening within the Greek forces.

B) Agamemnon shows his stubbornness and arrogance when he meets with his advisors. If Agamemnon was really a true and loyal companion he would not need the help of his council to persuade Achilles to return to war. What Agamemnon should really do is talk with Achilles himself to show his best warrior that he really wants him back.

C) Why did the Greek Gods join the Greek side? Did they do it to step in for the absence of Achilles? I find it unusual that gods are getting involved in a war between people.

I believe that Achilles made a right decision to lead the troops to battle because deep inside he knew that they needed his help in order to defeat the Trojans. I think many people who read the Iliad think that Achilles is a violent person but you must realize that he has a good heart. He shows that he is good person when he allows the Trojans to recognize the death of Hector. The good side of Achilles is shown in the end of the summary and I think that is part of the reason why people consider Achilles as a hero.

An example of a current event that relates to the story would be or a personal story would be my relationship with my Mother. Just like Thetis is being overprotective like Achilles in a way my mom is like that to me now. Its not as extreme as explained in the book but it is sort of like it. If were to go off to war my mom would also be worried that I am not going to return just like Theists is with Achilles or some circumstance like that.

chrisnoble I believe that Theists is doing the best thing for her son by protecting him and I guess its just like a instinctive thing to do if that is your son. I understand that he his a man but she is just doing it out of care for her son. But I do agree with you in that Achilles could have handled himself fine without the help of his mother.

If I was Achilles i would want to destroy the greeks and try and help the trojans win the war because of what they did to me and how they disrecspected me. Another thing that i would want is for my mother to get off my back and let me make the decisions for myself and not have her making the decision becoming and harder because of her trying to persuade me not to enter war.

Eddie DiTolla
Mr. Thomas
English 10
10 September 2013
The Illiad
E. Paragraph Six
“ Jupiter saw nothing of what was going on, for his attention had been drawn from the field by the wiles of Juno.” (paragraph 6 lines 2-3) I found it very interesting that with little exception the entire summary of the Iliad was all about war and fighting, except for when Jupiter was totally captivated by his wife Juno and lost tract of the battle. We see how everyone teams up against one another to fight and cause harm and damage. However, it is Juno’s beauty that causes Jupiter to be totally distracted. Though this distraction is only temporary, it is focused on, perhaps showing his ‘human’ side.
G. If I was Vulan I think I would be beaming with pride and excitement to have Thetis come to me to make a suit of armor for her son Achilles. When I saw Thetis coming to my palace I knew it had to be of some importance when she comes. When she told me that she needed an armor for her son Achilles “ he fabricated a splendid suit of armor for Achilles, first ashield adorned with elaborate devices, then a helmet crested with gold, then a corselet and greaves of impenetrable temper, all perfectly adapted to his form and of consummate workmanship.” Deep down I think that Vulcan would be very proud of himself for what he did for Thetis. Also when he was told he had to build this armor he wanted to be the most pristine armor ever.
G. As a set or costume designer for the play The Iliad I would have a hard time picking a favorite scene to work with since there are so many awesome things going on. The situation I chose is when Achilles is getting ready to battle Hector and get revenge on Aeneas. The set or back drop of the movie would be like a great plain but more dry and desert-like with dead soldiers lying all over the place. There would be a backdrop of a bloodied ocean with some Greek ships. Above the white, fluffy clouds I put in the sky I would have all of the gods watching the battle. In the distance you can see the wall of Troy. Hector is a fairly big guy with dull looking armor, half of a mask that does not cover his eyes and he has an axe on the side of him along with a sword and shield. Aeneas has armor that is bright and shiny silver along with a sword and shield. Achilles has armor as shiny as the sun and his armor “was formed of five metal plates; two were brass, two of tin, and one of gold.” (paragraph 17 lines 8-9) He has a sword, axe, small sword like a big knife, and a golden shield. When Achilles is fighting Aeneas he is quick with his sword. Neptune, who is wearing a white cloak and is in a chariot drawn by horses, creates mist everywhere they are fighting, and, as they are fighting, takes Aeneas out so he won’t get killed. “Achilles, when the mist cleared away, looked round in vain for his adversary, and acknowledging the prodigy, turned his arms against other champions.” ( paragraph 17 lines 19-21)

C) Why is there a rhyming scheme in the prayer to the lord for light? It reads “… If Greece must perish we thy will obey, but let us perish in the face of day.” Do most of these stories ever have a rhyming scheme to it or is this just one out of a few? Pope-Did you do this on purpose of was this a prayer that many knew? I just found it sticking out and also found it very fascinating to have the rhyming set in the story. Another question I have is why do these words rhyme but the other words spoken don’t, is it because this was an important part of the story? Also why does it seem to be only the Pope that rhymes when he speaks?
G) If I was Achilles I would be very happy for the way things were for me. The reason is that my mom would always know what to do to save my life or protect me from death. Instead of letting me go straight out without armor just to have revenge my mother stops me and tells me that it wouldn’t be good because I’m with no armor. She says “But his mother reminded him that he was now without armor.” She plays a big part in me living and getting by because she always protects me.
I) I agree with what Eddie DiTolla this is because many would know that Thetis is very loving and protective of her son, Achilles. This shows that she had trust in Vulcan to create very good or in other words fantastic armor for Achilles to use without getting hurt. I also think he was happy to do the work for them because as said “On hearing the request of Thetis, Vulcan immediately laid aside his work…” This states that once he heard her wish he was happy to stop all the things he was doing put them to the side and work on her request.

E. I was totally surprised when Achilles mother, Thetis, reacted the way she did when Achilles came home. I think she got way too overprotective. I don’t think she should’ve asked to have the Greeks lose the war. The part of the story that I enjoyed the most is when Achilles goes back to battle. He was inspired to take vengeance and fought with a hunger for revenge. But I didn’t think it was necessary for him to drag Hector around after he killed him. I found the burial scene at the end of the story very sad.
C. What made Achilles give up on the war? What did Agamemnon do? Also, why did the gods enjoy the war so much? They act as if they are watching some action movie. They all pick sides and tweak it the way they want the war to take place. Another thing I’m wondering about is that why did they pursue a person’s dead body? There were several parts in the story where they talk about retrieving someone’s dead body.
H. For the scene where Achilles dragged Hector’s body around tied to his chariot. I would have Achilles ride the chariot standing tall with pride but with a blank expression on his face. As for Hector, he would be stripped off all his clothes, as a way of Achilles humiliating him, and would be bleeding. But I would have the background filled with people mourning. Also, Hector’s wife would be on the background fainting.

Peter Boustani

C. I found that this reading was very difficult to understand due to an overwhelming number of tough vocabulary words that constantly appeared throughout the passage. For example, “…but demanded that Achilles should yield to him in her stead Briseis, a maiden who had fallen to Achilles’ share in the division of the spoil.” The language constantly made me have to do a double take during the reading which is not horrible but I felt took me out of the story a little bit and made it slightly confusing.
E. I was surprised and very amused in seeing how the gods in this story acted throughout. We see over-exaggerated traits that humans usually have such as jealousy, and harsh vengeance that leads to long lasting grudges. For example, “Juno and Minerva, in consequence of the slight put upon their charms by Paris, were hostile toward the Trojans;” This shows the goddesses who have so much power, seeking revenge on a mere mortal due to a small decision some ordinary guy had made. It’s interesting to see and shocking in a way to see how human these gods are and how destructive they are because of their human emotions of anger and search for revenge but with the capabilities to cause major changes in the world below Olympus.
F. I really enjoyed the constant struggle in the relationship between Agamemnon and Achilles. It was interesting to see how neither ever took the official position of protagonist and antagonist but rather that was left for the reader to come up with on their own. Though I did find myself feeling that Achilles was very annoying as there was a war going on and yet he still made the selfish decision to refuse to go back and fight but rather stay behind. “He positively refused to return to the field, and persisted in his resolution to embark for Greece without delay.” I also felt that Agamemnon to be on a power trip ordering Achilles around almost expecting him to respond to him as a dog, making him also potentially the bad guy in this situation.