(Achilles Statue, Hyde Park: Wikimedia Commons)
I think it is amazing that Achilles was classified as the
bravest and strongest man in Greece because I’m sure there was a lot of
competition for that title.
It seems that Agamemnon is feared by nearly everyone except
for Achilles. Which makes sense since he knows he can kill anyone he wanted to
in a battle.
It’s crazy how one prayer caused Apollo to come down and
start killing things off.
It’s interesting to see how Achilles tried to negotiate with
Agamemnon and it seemed like he was trying to console him. Then, he just gets
enraged and it shows how fast Achille’s emotions can change.
The goddess Athene appearing and calming Achilles down is a
great aspect to this story because it shows Achille’s favor with some of the
goddesses and shows that he respects them.
The part where Achilles tells Agamemnon he will kill if he touches
anything he owns is a really powerful and dramatic scene in my opinion.
Achilles is an extremely complex character because he goes
from being completely enraged to voluntarily giving Agamemnon’s heralds Briseis
and then he cries for his mother.
The part where Thetis asks Zeus to help is intriguing to me
because she goes to him humbly, but the words she says to him when asking for
the favor seem like she’s manipulating him and she knows that he will have to
say yes to her request.
When Hera’s son talks to her about how he couldn’t help her
if Zeus were to attack her and then proceeded to talk about when Zeus physically
threw him out of Heaven can be retold in a much more comical way.
Helen seems calm and laid back with everything happening
around her. This is interesting to me since she is basically the main reason
there’s even a war going on right now.
The conversation between Hector and Andromache is one of the
saddest ones in this whole story because Hector is so confident in his
abilities and want to protect her and their child. However, deep down
Andromache knows that he will die soon and that she will be a widow because of
his pride.
I find Odysseus to one of my favorite characters when he
takes over and tries to convince Achilles to come back to battle. He knows exactly
what to say and he knows that Achilles loves and respects him.
Achille’s reply to Odysseus is surprising because you would
think he might consider going back to battle, but he actually shows growth as a
character by saying he cares about his life more than fame which is a complete
change from earlier.
The movie “Troy”, which I have referenced before, tell this
part of Patroclus differently. First, he takes Achilles armor without asking.
Second, he is not cocky or arrogant as he is in the story. Lastly, Hector, not
Apollo, kills him by slitting his throat thinking he is Achilles. I think I
prefer the movie’s rendition of that part of the story so I will retell it like
that.
Overall, I think I would like to retell the story with characters
of a different era. The character I replace Achilles with needs to be a great
warrior with a complex psyche.
Bibliography: Homer's Iliad (Retold by A. J. Church)
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