At first thought of reading the epic poem seems like its main theme is ultimately the totality and gruesomeness of war. Indeed, it tells us of the raw details of war without any lack of description and information. However this ultimate wreckage and emotion of the actual fighting and Trojan War is not the main point of this heroic tale. The real story centers on one great fighter, man, and hero--that man is Achilles. In this essay I will examine a main character Achilles who is seen as a hero. He lives in the society where struggle is everywhere and honor is everything.
First of all, the story is centers on the rage of Achilles. "Rage "Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles- (1) - the "Iliad's- opening lines contain in essence the plot of the following twenty- four books of the poem. It is Achilles' wrath at being deprived of the woman Briseis, his prize of war, by the Greek commander Agamemmon, which causes Achilles' withdrawal from the fighting before Troy and the subsequent death of many of his companions. Among these is his beloved, Patroclus, who dies in Achilles uniform, attempting to ward off destruction from the Greeks while Achilles, defending his own standard of honor. As a hero, Achilles waits for Agamemnon to make suitable recompense for the stolen woman. Only Patroclus' death is able to stir Achilles to fight. He proceeds to kill Hector, the mainstay of Troy and the slayer of Patroclus, and thereby chooses his own destiny: death at a young age, with undying fame.
Achilles shows the greatest military skill of any of the Achaean ranks and has the greatest fighting ability of all of the warriors, Trojan or Achaean. At the beginning of Homer's tale Achilles becomes disenfranchised from the rest of his fellow warriors and chooses to retreat back to his own ships of Myrmidons and refuses to fight for the Achaean cause against the Trojans. Not only is Achilles plagued and troubled by problems with his fellow soldiers, but he ultimately must face the fact that he has chosen to live a short and glorious life, as opposed to his other option of a long and blaze life.