Wrath in Homer’s Iliad: The Destructive Power of Anger on the Battlefield

Wrath in its fullest potential can fuel the most heated of battles, but it can also corrupt and destroy the rational mind. In Homer’s, Iliad, wrath is a key component to understanding Homer’s input of emotion on the battlefield of Troy. Achilles creates this emotion throughout the epic. He shows his anger in three ways. First, he leaves command with his soldiers. Second, he curses the Greeks. And finally he kills Hektor to avenge Patroklos. He is justified in revenge because Agamemnon dishonored him by taking his concubine.

He has a right to get revenge and reclaim his honor because he is a superior fighter. Achilles, however, was taken over by anger and acts dishonorably in this haze of emotion. The beginning of Achilles’ wrath begins when he becomes infuriated by the way Agamemnon has publicly humiliated and dishonored him. Achilles feels that he is a greater warrior than Agamemnon and deserves more than he is rewarded after battles because he shows more honor and bravery than any other man.

After being publicly humiliated and dishonored, Achilles is pushed to the edge of anger and announces, “So must I be called out every order you may happen to give me. Tell other men to do these things, but give me no more commands, since I for my part have no intention to obey you. And put away in your thoughts this other thing I tell you. With my hands I will not fight for the girl’s sake, neither with you nor any other man, since you take her who gave her. ” Achilles leaving with his soldiers is dishonorable because he must fight to fulfill his fate and he cannot gain any glory by not fighting.

Order custom essay Wrath in Homer’s Iliad: The Destructive Power of Anger on the Battlefield with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Achilles inhibits his destiny to leave after he is humiliated by Agamemnon and striped of his concubine Briseis. If Achilles does not fight in Troy, he will not be able to fulfill his destiny of bringing honor and having his name live on forever. This state of wrath he feels inside almost destroys his path to destiny by bringing him away from battle. As he leaves in his rage, he sends a prayer to his mother asking that the Trojan armies defeat his fellow Achaians to bring shame on Agamemnon, which is a result of his wrath.

As the war rages on, the Trojans have pushed the Achaians back to their ships. This is a huge turning point in the war for the Trojans, because if they are able to set fire to one ship, they could destroy the whole camp, leading to a swift defeat of the Achaians, thereby fulfilling Achilles prayer. Achilles cursing the Greeks is somewhat justified because he is using tricks to gain honor. Lendon takes this theory of trickery and expands saying the smartest and strongest warrior will bring gain the most honor.

Achilles’ act of ensuring the Greeks will be brought to the edge of defeat will ensure that he will be able to come in at the end when all hope is lost and save the day by fighting to the death, making him the greatest warrior of all time and carving his name into immortality. When Achilles hears of his beloved friend, Patroklos’ death he weeps, tearing his hair and throwing himself to the ground. This sets the tone of revenge in his heart, as he decides to enter the war, and slay Hektor and twelve Trojans at the funeral prye of Patroklos.

Homer brings to this scene the fury of a man who has lost everything that he held dear to his heart. His king stripped his honor, his lover was taken away from him, and now his closest friend was brutally killed by Hektor. Achilles rage and wrath become so great in this book that he accepts his fate of entering the war, and gaining the glory and honor he deserves by ultimately dying in the war. This act of extreme lament and sadness shows how much Achilles truly cared and respected Patroklos as a person. He becomes enraged from the loss of his ally, and swears to have Hektor slain.

Revenge is a way of honor in the Greek culture. If a father is slain in battle by someone, it is usually the son’s mission to revenge kill the person who had slain his father. In this case Achilles was going to slay Hektor to make right what happened to Patroklos. As the battle rages on, Achilles slays many Trojans. His honor comes into question, as his wrath is so overwhelming he kills opponents before they even have time to announce themselves. Achilles’ honor is somewhat lost as he disrespects the bodies he has slain, by filling up the River Xanthos with blood.

The disrespect of the bodies even angers the river god, who chases Achilles across the battlefield. As his wrath reaches its climax Achilles finally finds Hektor and faces him in combat, killing him in the process. Achilles’ honor comes into question again as he maliciously drags Hektor’s body around the Trojan wall. Achilles is justified in killing Hector to avenge Patroklos, but he acts dishonorably when he defiles Hector’s body. By killing Hektor, Achilles has restored honor to his dead friend Patroklos by revenge killing Hektor.

In the heat of the moment Achilles becomes overwhelmed with wrath and drags Hektor’s body around the walls of Troy. He greatly dishonors the body by letting it get eaten by dogs, and by not giving it to Troy for a proper burial. His wrath at this point has reached its climax, until the old king of Troy, Priam, snaps him out of his wrath by reminding him of when he yearned to have a proper burial for his father. As he becomes remorseful, he becomes ready for the final chapter of his life and Troy falls and his death becomes eminent.

When you look at how Achilles acted on the battlefield, with his bravery and anger, the feeling seem must be mutual for other Greeks. As the readings Achilochus of Paros and Tyrtaus show that Homer’s views changed dramatically in the Archaic age. These views of the Archaic age changed so drastically due to the formation of the phalanx style of war, by bringing single fought combat to a larger scale combat where honor was gained by killing one person, but holding your line in the phalanx and protecting your brothers you were fighting with.

Achilochus first poem states that cowardice is acceptable as long as you survive battle. This goes against every moral fiber of a Homeric point of view. In Homer’s view this would be a sign of great shame and dishonor. His second poem is about how leaders should be experienced in battle and not fresh out of training. This agrees with Homer’s view of how the greatest warriors have been in the most battles. Tyrtaus poem states that holding the line in a phalanx is honorable, while in Homer’s view Achilles gained the most honor, by acting alone and fighting for his own personal glory.

These views of the Archaic age changed so drastically due to the formation of the phalanx style of war, by bringing individually fought combat to larger scale combat where honor was gained by not necessarily by killing, but holding your line in the phalanx and protecting your brothers you were fighting with. Wrath in its fullest potential can fuel the most heated of battles, but it can also corrupt and destroy the rational mind. He became justified in revenge because Agamemnon dishonored him by taking his concubine.

He reclaimed the honor of his fellow friend. And he ultimately slain Hektor and brought forth his of his name living forever. Achilles, however, was taken over by anger and acts dishonorably in this haze of emotion.

Bibliography

1. Homer, Illiad, translated by Richmond Lattimore (Chicago: TheUniversity of Chicago Press 1951)
2. Lendon, J, Solders & Ghosts (New Haven: Yale University, 2005)

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer