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Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors Assignment | Homework For You

Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors
Introduction
Achilles is one of the main characters in Homer’s Iliad. Iliad is a legendary epic
covering the formative years of Roman and Greek mythology. Iliad pursue glory, heroism,
and love within the authority and inuence of supernatural powers. Achilles possessed
heroic strength and also had close contact with the gods. Achilles had all the qualities of a
grand warrior and he proved to be the most dominant man among the Achaean army.
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Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors

However his deeply rooted character barred his capacity to act with integrity and nobility.
The rationale of this paper is to analyze the character of Achilles and examine how he was
similar of diered from other heroic warriors.
Achilles could not manage his pride or the fury that came about when his pride was
injured. These attributes greatly aected Achilles life since he abandoned his fellow warriors
because he had been insulted before Agamemnon, his commander. Achilles even wished his
fellow warriors to be killed by Trojan warriors.
He was driven by thirst for glory and was willing to sacrice anything for his reputation.
Achilles had extreme temper; for example, though the demise of Patroclus provoked him to
reconcile with Agamemnon, this did not alleviate his fury but he directed his anger to Hector
(Homer, 1990, p. 32). Achilles forfeited twelve Trojan men at the funeral of Patroclus, he also
killed his opponents mercilessly and shamefully vandalized the corpse of Hector. These
events reveal Achilles great anger because he was mourning the death of Patroclus. Achilles
pride, bloodlust and wrath aected him adversely (Virgil, 2006, p. 42).
Achilles is recognized as the greatest warrior in Achaian army and no other warrior
could match him as a ghter. Achilles has a great sense of social order because he decided
to act during the plague that was consuming the soldiers at Achaian camp. Agamemnon,
Achille’s kind did not act so Achilles decided to nd out the cause of the plague by calling for
a congregation of the entire army. Achilles is argumentative and petulant because he argues
that though Agamemnon gets the best prizes from war, he never worked for them. In the
course of argument, Achilles almost killed Agamemnon, though he was saved from carrying
out the heinous act by goddess Athena. Achilles believed that the quarrel between him and
the king was righteous and same as the war against Trojan army. Achilles major
characteristic was excessive pride because he remained angry even after Agamemnon
promise to return Briseis alongside other gifts (Vigil, 2006, p. 47).
Gilgamesh is a warrior who fears death throughout George XIII epic. Achilles on the
other hand is also very keen with his metaphoric wickedness that can only take place after
the death of his earthly life. Gilgamesh and Achilles have a lot of similarities, which include
dynamic attitude on death and life centered. They have similar attitudes especially when
their heroic comrades died. The death of Patroclus touched Achilles very much whereas the
death of Enkidu also caused much distress to Gilgamesh. Achilles and Gilgamesh are two
semi-divine heroes who have various matching characteristics and life-events, and they
focused a lot with their mortal lives, but not relatively in the same approach. Achilles and
Gilgamesh share fundamental similarities in their mortal lives. Each of them is a child of a
goddess and a mortal man who happens to be a king. Achilles is a son of Thetis and has an
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exceptional rapport which enables him to speak with the gods with the help of Thetis
(Homer, 1990, p 27). Gilgamesh on the other hand is regarded as one third human and two
third god, which makes him to stand out as an exceptional character that exists in
relationships with both the mortal world and divine world. Iliad relates the preeminence of
Achilles and Gilgamesh in battle where they reveal themselves as headstrong warriors.
Neither Achilles nor Gilgamesh is concerned with romantic and family relationships.
The major relationship these epic heroes have is with their mothers, where they seek
protection and guidance. Through this rapport, they are able to gain development and
wisdom. Achilles can also be compared to other heroes such as Aenes since their lives is
determined by supernatural powers. In the book Iliad and Aeneid, Achilles and Aenes are
characters who reveal their chivalry and bravely. In the books, Aenes and Achilles are chosen
by gods and favored in various periods of their lives (Homer, 1990, p.26). These characters
have predestined death and fate, they are sons of gods and they have specic
accomplishment and mission in their lives. The major dierence between Achilles and
Gilgamesh is on anger management. Even after the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh
remains cool and does not translate his fury to anyone, but Achilles anger could not be
controlled after the death of Patroclus. Gilgamesh mourns the death of his friend by ritually
pulling his clothes and hair, but Achilles mourns the death of Patroclaus by killing several
Trojan warriors.
An in depth analysis of the epics of the era reveal contrasting features of the heroes.
The circumstance, the physical features and situation might be similar, but the discrepancy
is mainly due to mental and intellect framework of the heroes. Aenes fought major battles
just like Achilles, but their fate was dierent. Achilles was predestined to die in the battle,
while Aenes was predestined to be an architect of a huge town in the planet. Achilles was
more of a cruel enemy and erce warrior and his task was to wrestle and triumph over
bloody wars. On the other hand, Aenes was more civilized and constructive in comparison to
arrogant Achilles. Achilles is violent, stubborn, ruthless and hostile and had a capacity to kill
Trojan warriors ruthlessly in the battleeld. Achilles battle and attack intended huge
massacre. On contrary, Aenes is more placid and sober. Aenes as a warrior had adorable
features of restraint, chastity, discipline and love. He was a true leader who never left his
comrades. Aenes led the warriors to pursue new home and new culture. He was a ghter,
but not even once did he display emotions and power in arbitrary and cruel manner (Vigil,
2006, p. 74).
In conclusion, Achilles was a great warrior, but he was a merciless ghter who killed
many Trojan warriors. Achilles shared similar features with other heroes in the epics. These
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heroes fate was usually predestined and they were mostly sons of gods. They sought advice
from their mothers which helped them to develop and gain wisdom. However, an in depth
analysis on the character of these heroes depict that there are some dierences. Achilles
was a violent warrior as compared to most heroes who were able to manage their fury. In
addition, Achilles, Aenes and Gilgamesh were heroes of their times.
References
Homer, Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Iliad. New York: Viking, 1990. Print.
Hope Nash Wol. “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic Life.” Journal of the American Oriental
Society 89.2 (1969): 392-398. Web.
Virgil, R. Fagles, B. Knox, and S. Callow. The Aeneid.

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