Achilles: The Greek Tragic Hero

Words: 635

Pages: 3

Open Document

Do you ever wonder why the back of your heel is called your Achilles? It’s named after the Greek mythological hero who was nearly immortal except for the back of his heel. Even now, all these years later, Achilles has a huge effect on the modern world. He can easily be regarded as one of the most important mythological beings due to his tragic story, great feats in war, and his being described as a hero. The story of Achilles is one of the more tragic ones of Greek mythology. Thetis, his mother, was very concerned about her son’s mortality. She went to many extremes to make him immortal including burning him over fire every night, rubbing his lesions with ambrosial ointment, and dipping him in the Styx River. By using the same variety of ointment as the gods, she hoped to give Achilles some of their qualities such as immortality. The Styx’ water was said to have the ability to grant the quality as well. However, when Thetis dipped her son into the water she gripped him by the foot very tightly. As a …show more content…
In total, he took 12 cities. He had many notable kills including Hector, the Trojan prince. Achilles was in large part the reason the Greeks were able to pull out a win in that war. He was undefeated in battle and never came close to losing. When the tenth year of the war came, an altercation with a fellow Greek left Achilles out of the war for some time. His absence was felt greatly, and without him, the Greeks were losing a lot of ground. The Trojans were no longer afraid to fight because the most feared warrior was no longer on the opposing side. Following the resolution of his conflict, Achilles returned to the battlefield to completely ravage the opponents and win the war. Without him, the Greeks would have quickly lost the war

Heroes Of Tragedy Essay

9/27/14 Heroes of Tragedy: Achilles of Greece & Hector of Troy The fall of a hero, self induced through error of judgment. A concept reoccurring in the poetics of Greek philosophers. These heroes demonstrate great devotion, strength, sacrifice but most importantly weakness. A weakness that leads to the demise of the hero, ending in tragedy. Such entities are highlighted within the poetic “The Iliad” from the philosopher, Homer. The heroes in this poetic are Achilles of Greece and Hector of Troy…

Words 1160 - Pages 5

Greek Literature and Its Downfalls Essay

Fatal Character Flaws in Greek Literature Although many some Greek Literature characters seem like heroes, they also all have several character flaws that lead to downfalls on their character! Here we will read about some of the downfalls Achilles and Hector had in The Iliad and also Medea and Jason in Medea!! Achilles was blessed by the Gods with many gifts. He was destined to be a hero and was taught all the art of war and it is said in some accounts given the gift of immortality by his…

Words 709 - Pages 3

Similarities of Achilles and the Honey Badger Essay

Similarities of Achilles and the Honey Badger In society, heroes are recognizable. They are emulated by others. As in Homer’s Iliad, Achilles is portrayed as a great warrior. He is seen as a fierce warrior - no other warrior is equal to him. The Greeks believe Achilles is the only Greek capable of defeating the Trojans. Similar to Achilles, in today’s time, Tyrann Mathieu, is portrayed as a great football warrior. No other football player today is equal to Mathieu, who is known in college…

Words 782 - Pages 4

Dichotomy And Pride In Macbeth

this way Macbeth adheres to the pattern of classical Greek tragedy. In contrast with Macbeth, King Priam (from Malouf’s Ransom), is a depiction of a humble king; he lays aside the honour of his kingly offices in order to pursue what he believes is the right course of action. In a comparison of the two texts, pride and humility are therefore clear determinants of the Good King/ Bad King dichotomy. Macbeth is introduced as a consummate warrior, a hero of Scotland, and seemingly loyal chieftain: "For…

Words 1772 - Pages 8

Tragic Heroes In Ancient Greek Literature

Throughout ancient Greek literature, the deaths of main characters represented different values of the ancient Greek culture, which oftentimes, would deem characters tragic heroes. In fact, Karuna Misra, author of “The Tragic Hero Throughout the Ages”, explains the tragic hero of Greek literary works as “a man of distinction with some disproportionately good quality which leads to tragedy.” With regards to death, Robert Garland, author of “The Greek Way of Death”, writes that “Greek tragedy has more…

Words 936 - Pages 4

The Iliad Essay

esteem are subject to the worst sins of all. Indeed, one of the greatest sins in the Greek world was hubris, the excess of ambition and pride that leads to actions in presumption of the gods and fellow humans. Homer's epic poem ,The Iliad, is filled, and plot is fueled, with this sin. The epic poem delves deep into the human psyche and the ancient Greek belief in divinities to display the behavior of the Greeks in terms of this sin. Fate and the gods are separated by a fine but very prominent line…

Words 1433 - Pages 6

Essay on Hamlet Vs

strongly suggest that you reconsider if you are considering writing about Jesus. Trojan war foiguht for prode hated agnomon wasn’t fighting for the war just for pride – Comparing and Contrasting Hamlet and Achilles Brit Jones 11/1/2011 The characters of Hamlet and Achilles, even though from very different time periods, encompass many of the same themes and characteristics. These two characters have many close comparisons, but upon closer inspection they differ on a grand scale.…

Words 1104 - Pages 5

Essay on The Consequences of Being Smart

Such actions do require a certain amount of intellect. The Greeks, using their vast knowledge, defeated the Trojans in the Trojan War, but at terrible prices. Achilles, his confidence stemming from his mother’s protection, used his invincibility to kill and slaughter tons of Trojan warriors, and his greed and bloodlust set him on the path for destruction. Even…

Words 976 - Pages 4

Euripide's Trojan Women

This is evident when Pyrrhus, a son of Achilles exposes his intention of offering Polyxena as a sacrifice, who is a daughter of Queen Hecuba. Contrast to Seneca’s play that explains the doom of Royal families during the war periods, Eupiride’s play is solely based on the plight of women during…

Words 554 - Pages 3

Priam and Somax Essay

Chapter 1 Plot Achilles, the greatest warrior of the Greeks stands next to the sea while reminiscing of the past. After his mother’s death he had ‘entered the rough world of men’ [pg 6] where wars and battles prevail. Every morning, he feels the need to ‘tramp to shore’ [pg 10] since he is haunted by the death of his ‘soulmate and companion’ Patroclus, and his raging hatred towards Hector, killer of Patroclus and thus, the ‘implacable enemy.’ When Achilles was a child, his cousin Patroclus,…

Words 3295 - Pages 14