FREE ESSAY ON AGAMEMNON VS. ACHILLES

AGAMEMNON VS. ACHILLES

Agamemnon vs. Achilles
During the ancient Greek period the people believed that the gods lived on Mt. Olympus
and could do whatever they wanted to. The leader of the gods was Zeus; he was the most
powerful god. The gods had the power to intervene with the mortal lives if they felt that
it was necessary. The Iliad is an epic poem. In the story of the Iliad the two main
characters were Achilles and Agamemnon. Achilles was seen as the great Greek hero, he was
the strongest man alive at the time. His father was a god but his mother was only a
mortal. He was bathed in the river Styx as a child and he became almost immortal. The
only piece of his body that could be injured was his heel. In the beginning of the story
we find out that the gods are angry with Agamemnon because he has been mean to a holy
man. The gods in turn sent a huge plague down onto the people. The gods Apollo was
responsible for starting the plague, he was convinced by the holy man to seek revenge
upon the people.
Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae; he was very similar to Achilles. Agamemnon was the
leader of his army and was very proud of his army. Although he never took any big risks
in battle, he always took credit for everything and wanted the largest share of plunder
after it was all over. He shows no emotions, and does not trust his army, and is always
testing them. Agamemnon is not well liked by his people, but he is respected. Agamemnon
is always trying to get something for himself in any situation. This can be seen when the
gods request that he returns Chryseis, a prize from a battle that he won. Agamemnon will
not return the girl unless he receives Achilles prize of war, Briseis. Agamemnon says to
his two servants " Go along, both of you to Achilles quarters and take his charming
Briseis by the hand to bring to me. And if he balks at giving her I shall be there myself
with men-at-arms in force to take her- all the more gall for him" This shows his lack of
respect and care for other people. He thinks that he deserves anything that he desires,
but he is wrong. Chalcas was a seer to the Greeks. He told Agamemnon that he did not
approve of his doings, and that he "brought calamity," and that Agamemnon was "from the
depths of hell." These word from Chalcas show that the seer did not think that Agamemnon
was very good person, and that what he did was wrong.
Everyone on the other hand loved Achilles. Even thought he possessed superhuman
strengths, and held a close relationship with the gods he had many character flaws that
did not allow him to strive in all aspects that he could have. His flaws did not allow
him to act with the nobility and integrity that he could have. Unlike Agamemnon, Achilles
shows his emotions, but he cannot control them. He strives to reach glory in every
aspects of his life, and when he can't he becomes angry and cannot control himself. When
Agamemnon belittled him by taking his lady away from him, his rage built up inside and he
refused to fight anymore. Although Achilles is consumed by the bloodlust, pride and
wrath, he also shows that he has emotions in the final book when he allows the desecrated
body of Hector to be returned to his family and friends. Even though Hector killed
Achilles best friend, he does the noble thing and allows the body to be returned to its
original home. Achilles cried with the old man about the loss of loved ones, and he
allows the man to take the body. "As you wished, sir, the body of your son is now set
free. He lies in state. At the first site of dawn you shall take charge of him yourself
and se him. Now let us think of supper." This quote shows that Achilles believes in
tradition, it is Greek tradition to celebrate the closing of a deal by eating food with
the people involved. The tradition of honoring a corpse and returning it to its homeland
was also shown. The goddess Hera is on Achilles side, and assists him in his life.
Agamemnon does not like Achilles because he knows that he is a better fighter but cannot
admit it. He holds a personal grudge against him, but he can't do anything to change it.
I believe that Achilles anger is justifiable because he had something taken from him
unjustly. Agamemnon stole Achilles lady because he had to return his. This is highly
unfair, and everyone knew this except Agamemnon. When he withdrew from the battle though,
it only hurt his own name and reputation. Achilles was supposed to be a great fighter,
and a real warrior would never withdraw from a battle over a woman. Throughout his life,
Achilles strived to make his reputation strong, and by dropping out of the battle he
ruined all that he had done that was honorable. I think that Achilles could have proven
his point in a better way, and still kept his honor. Overall I believe that what he did
was justified.
In conclusion I believe that Achilles was the better character in this epic. He tried to
be a good person, even thought he had many character flaws that did not allow him to be
as great as he wanted to be. Agamemnon on the other hand, was a horrible person and
extremely arrogant. Agamemnon tries to manipulate people and situations to best fit his
personal benefit. Achilles showed emotions and was able to express how he felt to people;
this factor alone will make readers like him more. Agamemnon and Achilles both held
leading roles in the story, but Achilles was the main character.