Achilles Respect for Authority in The Iliad :: Iliad essays

Achilles Respect for Authority in The Iliad Respect for authority plays an important role in The Iliad. Achilles is a major character in it whose views on authority change throughout the book. In Book One, he seems to have no respect for King Agamemnon. Achilles questions his judgment as well as rebelling against his authority. This is shown best when Achilles says, "What a worthless, burnt-out coward I'd be called if I would submit to you and all your orders." (Pg. 87 line 43-45). This is an outright lack of respect directed toward Agamemnon. By Book Twenty-four however, his views seem to have changed. Achilles talks to King Priam of Troy with respect. An example in Book twenty-four is when Achilles and King Priam weep together over their losses. Book One portrays Achilles as an individualist. This was the accepted way of life in the Bronze Age, which is when Achilles lived. The people who lived in Greece during that era were very selfish and self-centered. Achilles is not the only character in The Iliad who acts this way. Agamemnon, king of the Greeks, is also a very selfish character in this epic poem. The conflicts between these two major characters have catastrophic results. Because Agamemnon doesn't want to give up Chryseis, his war-prize, Apollo cast a plague on the Greeks. Achilles goes to Agamemnon and asks him to return the girl to her father so the plague will end. He agrees to return her, but he doesn't want to be left empty-handed. He returns Chryseis to her home, and he takes Briseis, a war-prize of Achilles. Achilles is so angry with Agamemnon that he vows to stop helping him fight the Trojans. As the battle goes on, Agamemnon realizes how important Achilles and his Myrmidons are to the Achaean troops. The King of the Greeks then swallows his pride and offers gifts to Achilles if he will come back and help fight. Achilles, however, is so stubborn that he refuses all the gifts and will not allow his troops to fight. When he is offered the gifts he rudely responds, "I hate the man [Agamemnon] like the very gates of death who says one thing but hides another in his heart."(Pg. 262 lines 378-379) This quote shows how much