Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Iliad Reflection 2/22--as an ancient Greek

If you were an ancient Greek, which of the following statements would you agree with?
A) Achilles’ rage is justified and I support his decision not to fight, even if it means the Greeks might lose lots of men, or even the war itself.


I agree that Achilles' rage is justified and I support his decision not to fight because he's making his own choice and everyone has a right to make their own choice. Not even the gods should be able to defy a person's choices. Achilles had a choice to listen to Athena or not. Athena said, "Down from the skies I come to check your rage if only you will yield. . .Stop this fighting" (Lines 242-245). He could have killed Agamemnon and ended the war right there, but he chose to listen to Athena. He said, "Goddess, a man submits though his heart breaks with fury" (Line254). But I understand why he didn't fight even if his heart was breaking with fury. He knew he could be remembered one day in a story like the Iliad and it might mean a lot to die with your name known in history instead of dying as a murderer (which unfortunately he ultimately did anyway).

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